Hair dye and covid vaccination

GrannyGravy13

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.

Doctors seeing this more now than pre Covid doesn't mean the vaccine caused it.

Could be any number of correlation reasons - people starting to colour their hair after not doing so in lockdown for example.

You ll hate me Bluesky I ve went from very fair to blonde/white over night I like the colour it is and hairdressers say it’s good
Embrace it, we are what we are be proud of yourself and our changes

I wonder if their stock hasn’t expired and they’re using the vaccine as an excuse?

I let my silver moon highlights come through and an delighted. I have a large white lock in the front and everyone tells be it looks very sophisticated.

I love that everyone’s silvers come out uniquely. My hair is dark brown at the back and now it’s so healthy it’s grown down past my bra strap.

It did get thinner after I caught covid, in 2020, but thickened up again.
I noticed no thinning after the vaccine shots.

I wonder if you’ve become used to not having the chemicals on your scalp and now get dermatitis from contact?

It might be time to get highlights/ lowlights /balayage instead of a full head of chemicals on your scalp.

You might be surprised as I was that the pattern of silver in your hair is so unique and interesting and the texture so good.

My hair is strong long and really shiny now - I get a lot of compliments on it - far more than when I coloured it ?

I had a very bad reaction to my usual hair colour about 3 years ago. My hairdresser changed it to a similar colour but with an anti allergy formulation. All was well afterwards. Going grey isn’t for me.

Same here M0nica that’s why I’m hesitant to go grey. I envy those fair ladies that go from blonde to white without any fuss!

I colour my own hair and have had no averse reactions.

It is easy to say just grow grey, but my hair is going white round the edges whil the whole of the crown says its original dark brown. It is not an attractive look. It is not even a passing phase, other members of my family have been stuck at that stage well into their 80s, they died before the phase ended.

So I will continue to colour my hair, one way or the other.

I bet that it’s vitamin D related Jane. Definitely. I’ll bore you with my hair story later

I know this is an aside but somewhat related..my hair has been falling out since I've had covid and I mentioned it to my hairdresser and she said no end of people who have had covid have had problems with their hair falling out

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 !!

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.

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

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.

Granny Gravy, hope your daughter feels better soon.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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!!

You could try Eucerin DermoCapillaire fom Boots.

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