Hair dye and covid vaccination

I no longer have my hair coloured professionally as oddly enough I react to it, but not to home colouring. This was pre Covid as well, not sure why.

Blue Sky , I have thought of doing it myself but so far not had the courage. My hair is fairly short and fine. Doing it myself would save me cash !!!

Shelflife yes give it a rest first then you could try home colouring, some are mild, no ammonia, some have natural ingredients, etc, and yes at a fraction if salon prices!

That sounds like contact dermatitis which can be triggered by a chemical called paraphenylenediamine (PPD) which is present in hair dye. The darker the colour the more PPD.

I have heard about this about this and it just rumours. There is no scientific evidence to back it up.

www.sheensalon.com/blog/skin-tests-and-covid-vaccinations/

All the vaccine does is to “teach” the immune system to recognise SARS-COV2 so that it can mount a quick defence if it detects the virus. That’s the extent to which it changes the immune system no different to it having “learned” over time to recognise and fight common infections.

PPD is known to cross-react with a variety of medications, including thiazide diuretics used to treat high blood pressure and sulfonamides used to treat a variety of infections so it would be good idea to consider if you are on any meds that may have caused a cross-reaction.

I do not agree vaccine is the reason for this

Composition of the dye, season of the year, other environmental factors, medications, ....

I never really thought it was connected to the vaccination , just not sure why it has happened on this occasion or what I should do to get my scalp back to normal.

Going against what others have said; I distinctly remember hearing something about this in the news about a year ago

It might be what OakDryad refers to - but it was discussed previously as a ‘thing’

You could try Eucerin DermoCapillaire fom Boots.

Thank you , I will definitely try the shampoo from Boots. If that doesn't work I will visit my GP - if I can get an appointment!!

In my case I don’t have a dermatitis type of reaction but I feel unwell sort of fluey about 12 hours later. Luckily this doesn’t happen with home colouring.

Lots of hairdressers were insisting on patch testing on 're opening after the first lockdown but there was no evidence and they soon dropped the practice. Allergies/sensitivities can occur after having the same treatments many times before. I hope it clears up soon it must be very uncomfortable.

DD had a patch test, 48 hours after having her hair coloured last week she was in hospital with a severe reaction, red weals all over her scalp, forehead and neck along with her face and neck swelling so much she couldn’t see out of one eye or hear out of one of her ears. She was discharged but readmitted 2 hours later with mouth and throat swelling.

Fortunately she is recovering slowly but surely, the doctors said they have seen this more than they usually did before Covid.

I coloured mine at home during the pandemic and I too had a very itchy scalp afterwards. However, it did me a favour because it finally made me decide to not colour my hair anymore! I now have quite a bit of sivery, grey hair - my fringe is almost 100% grey. Happy Days!!

There are several covid vaccines. So talking about the covid vaccine as possibly causing the kind of scalp problems that hair dyes are known to sometimes cause is a bit hit and miss.

If the hair salon said it was always people who'd had a particular one of the vaccines (and how many shots – two, three, four?), then it would make sense. As it stands, you cannot know.

I'd suspect the hair dye myself. They are always being 'up-dated'. I'm sorry it happened. Perhaps always ask for a skin test in future.

Thank you for your comments. GrannyGravy I am sorry to learn about your DD experience and appreciate you posting. It must have been a frightening experience for her and your family. I sincerely hope she recovers quickly. Your response has cemented my thoughts about hair colour. Perhaps I should embrace my grey! I will be sorry though as I have always opted for a very natural light colour - much like my natural colour. Nothing loud , a gentle shade I have always been happy with. Although my experience is no where near as severe as your DD's ,I have no desire for a repeat performance!!! Not much consolation for your DD but she has made me think! Thankyou.

I coloured mine at home, but found during menopause ( well before Covid), that I was having a reaction to the dye. I didn't like the feeling it was giving me so stopped dyeing my hair. On consulting with my hairdresser, she told me that in college they were taught you can take a reaction to anything at anytime, whether it be hair chemicals, food or anything else and this was years before Covid was even in existence. Another thing was she had some experience of customers continuing to dye their hair if they only had slight itching. My hairdresser did not understand why people didn't just stop dyeing hair after ANY reaction. My hair is now grey, but in the end, it's been great not to have the worry, or the expense of hair colouring.

Probably best to ‘embrace the grey’ Shelflife! Those of you who have done this, do you just let your own colour come through or have to strip the tint first?

Well, that explains it. I have had exactly the same reaction. I have been using the same product for years with no problems. In the last year or so, I too have had rough patches & dandruff. Coincidentally I have also developed rough patches on other parts of my body. I never connected this with the vaccinations, but an altered immune system & this reaction could be the cause.

Granny Gravy, hope your daughter feels better soon.

So sorry you have had an allergic reaction to the hairdresser’s hair dye. Have you tried using Selsun shampoo?

For the future I would definitely recommend colouring your hair yourself. It really couldn’t be simpler. I use just half a box of l’Oreal on my roots so less than £4 every six weeks.

First time, after a skin test, use a full box, shampoo it in on dry hair using the gloves provided, leave for half an hour, wash out wearing the gloves, use the fabulous conditioner provided, comb through then rinse out. You should have an old towel to hand. It really couldn’t be easier. Keep the applicator bottle.

Next time, fill the old applicator bottle with half the contents of the new applicator bottle then squeeze half the colouring in. Apply the mixture to the roots all over. This takes a bit longer and after about 20 mins comb it through the rest of your hair, leave for 10 mins, rinse, condition, comb then rinse.

When trying to decide between two colours go for the lighter one. (It will have a higher number)

First you need to get your scalp back to normal, good luck.

Espee DD has been advised by the hospital doctor to never dye her hair again, or to tint her eyelashes.

A mild reaction once could be a full on anaphylactic reaction the next for some. I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through what DD has over the last eight days

I think as we get older, our tolerance to anything can weaken. There’s so much I can’t eat now, compared to five years ago. I’ve often had to change cosmetics, soaps etc....as sensitivity increases.

This is the same I’m sure. Probably nothing to do with the vaccines. I’ve continued to have my hair coloured with no problem at all.

As others have said, it might just be worth changing your dye type.

Thanks GG for passing on the advice given to your daughter by the hospital doctor. I am aware that an allergic reaction can be much worse second time round . So for me , it's a case of better safe than sorry !!