Vinma H Shetty, Farzana Nazmuddin, Ashish Shetty.
Cosmetic hair colorants - to beautify or to destroy!.
J Pak Assoc Derma Jan ;27(1):19-22.

Objective To determine the adverse effects of hair colorants on hair and skin and to find an association between types/usage of hair colorants and their adverse effects. Methods This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was done on female medical students and faculty only. A questionnaire was given to a sample of 150, which matched our criteria. SPSS software 17 was used for data analysis. Results Mean age of the subjects was 25.41±3.13 years. Incidence of adverse effects among frequent users of hair dyes was 48.8%. Incidence of adverse effects among occasional users of hair dyes was 38.5%. Diffuse non-scarring alopecia (34%) was the most common adverse effect on hair. A higher percentage of adverse effects were observed in subjects who used permanent organic hair dyes. Conclusion There is a significant positive association between hair dye use and various adverse consequences in the hair and skin. Furthermore, permanent hair dyes cause more damage than other vegetable or temporary dyes.

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