Friend dreadful reaction to hair dye.

If she can’t use any dyes etc then maybe get it cut shorter while it grows out and keep trimming till the brown is gone. Both my daughters did this during covid, they both had long hair and didn’t want to cut it only a trim every 8 wks. It took over 2 yrs of grinning and bearing it. But put up in a messy bun or a clip it wasn’t too bad. Now they are very happy being grey ladies and get lots of compliments.

You can get natural hair dyes , without chemicals..

My DM bought herself a wig, had her hair cut very short and just let her dyed hair gradually grow out until, eventually, she emerged with a lovely head of white hair!

A hairdresser might be able to help with removing the dye but that might mean more chemicals.

Squiffy

My DM bought herself a wig, had her hair cut very short and just let her dyed hair gradually grow out until, eventually, she emerged with a lovely head of white hair!

Hey, 👍🏻 good idea.
I once read that dark hair dye contains something unpleasant which can cause a reaction.
The other thing to do is to have it cut slightly shorter in layers and ask the hairdresser to put some silvery blonde highlights through it.

Maybe be careful of highlights in case of more reaction

I have curly hair and decided to stop dyeing it in December 2023. My hair normally grows fairly quickly, so I thought it would only take a year or so. Rather strangely a lot of my hair is growing in my natural dark colour so it looks like I have dark streaks in my hair, with the curls it actually looks quite good. My hairdresser was asked how long it took her to do my hair, 30 minutes she replied, as she only cuts it. Your friend may find it quite liberating and actually quite like reverting to her natural colour.

During menopause I took an awful reaction to hair dyes, soap and shampoo. I just stopped dyeing my hair as it quite frightened me the itching etc I developed. My hairdresser at that time said she saw some ladies who although had a reaction to dye, would not stop dyeing their hair and at times she was sending people to their doctor. They seemed to expect the hairdresser to be able to fix it and she never understood why they didn't just stop the colouring. Anyway, I've let mine grow grey/ white. I'm still careful with soaps and shampoos. My hairdresser did say that at college they were taught that you can take an allergy to anything at anytime.

Buy a wig or two, shave off natural hair and wait....

Thank you for your advice. I will pass all this onto her. It is really a problem for her as her hair is her most striking feature and she is depressed about it. The best thing would be to cut it really short and this would still look good but I know she hates shorthair.

She could try out other brands and do the 24 hour patch test first

If she’s been advised by her GP its dangerous Cossy?

Yes cut it short and have it styled really nicely, then the two tones might look intentional. When she has a head of white hair I recommend Provoke, I use this, it is a purple shampoo and conditioner, is not dye, it just highlights the natural white making it silvery.

Thank you. Good ideas.

Reading this with hair dye on my hair. No reaction so far.

M0nica

Reading this with hair dye on my hair. No reaction so far.

Fingers crossed!

I disagree with the advice to cut the hair short if your friend doesn’t like it. I stopped colouring my hair (which is also curly), as it was making my scalp itchy. I used wide hairbands and hats to cover the roots during the first few months. I avoided hairdressers, as they are in the business of colouring and most of them won’t encourage their clients to have their natural colour.

Once I was past the first 3 or 4 months my hair started looking better with the two colours and I grew it quite long. My hair is now bright, silvery white curls and I receive far more compliments about it than when I dyed it brown.

I had exactly the same reaction a few years ago. I have not been able to dye my hair since and don't like the colour but, unfortunately, have to live with it.

pascal30

You can get natural hair dyes , without chemicals..

'Natural' or otherwise, ALL hair dyes contain chemicals, and you can have a reaction to any of them!

I have very curly hair and I think it made the process of growing out the dye easier as there was no obvious line between the colours. I hope your friend can learn to enjoy the process of growing the colour out. I eventually kind of enjoyed seeing all the different colours.

NemosMum

pascal30

You can get natural hair dyes , without chemicals..

'Natural' or otherwise, ALL hair dyes contain chemicals, and you can have a reaction to any of them!

PURE hair dyes claim to be completely chemical free.. as do other organic ones

Probably one option is to have her hair professionally coloured by a hairdresser. They will (or certainly should) insist on a patch test first to ensure there is no bad reaction. Dark brown hair over white isn't a great idea At One's Age as it looks really false. My natural colour used to be close to black but I seem to have become blonde over the last 15 years, (and yes, I've had more fun!) so now I only have a few highlights done so as to embrace the oncoming grey. Patch test though - really important.

Probably developed an allergy to some ingredient in the dye, may well be in others. What's wrong with being natural!

They have to have something in to be able to colour the hair. Just because it's classed as "natural" it doesn't mean there will be no reaction to it. Steer clear.