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Meowx
21-08-15, 13:04
I went to the hair salon yesterday to get blonde highlights. But after doing the highlights, they put toner (hair dye) all over my scalp, properly massaged it into my scalp for 5 minutes, then washed it out. They hadn't done an allergy test because highlights don't touch the scalp, so I assumed they couldn't be putting actual hair dye on me. I assumed toner must be some kind of special shampoo. But as soon as they used it, I could smell the toxic hair dye chemicals and feel my scalp burning and itchy. As she was massaging the 5000 carcinogenic chemicals into my scalp, the stylist told me the toner was hair colour. I googled toner and found out it is the same as hair dye in terms of chemicals and you need to have an allergy test before using it.

I am SO angry and feeling really frustrated/scared/worried/depressed. I try so hard to avoid any carcinogenic chemicals, and they just throw a load on me without telling me. I spent last night anxiously researching hair dye chemicals and reading scientific articles, and found out that hair chemicals have been linked to lymphoma/bladder cancer/leukaemia, and an estimated 20% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in women is due to hair dye. I am convinced that chemicals in hair dye are NOT safe and could trigger autoimmune diseases or cancer. It could take 25 years for the cancer to develop after using hair dye, but the risk is there. The chemicals in hair dye damage your DNA and that replicates over time, spreading the damaged DNA throughout your body. Unfortunately, my degree was in biological science, which makes my health anxiety all the much worse. I know the risk is probably small, and something may kill me before cancer from hair dye can kill me, but what if it doesn't? And I die a horrible cancer death from some idiot 25 years ago massaging hair dye into my already-delicate scalp without telling me.

My scalp itched so much after and still does. I already had lots of broken skin on my head as I suffer from seborrhoeic dermatitis. I now have lots of scabs on my head. My work colleague commented my forehead looked red and damaged, so it's not just me imagining it. The chemicals would have rapidly entered my bloodstream through the broken skin on my scalp. And my face and body itch too (although that could be anxiety and my Dermatographic urticaria). I also feel weirdly warm all over, but don't have a fever. I read that people still excrete hair chemicals in their urine 3 days after having their hair dyed. I hate the thought of that crap running around my body. I'm trying to drink water to flush it out.

This was the first time I've had colour done at the salon for almost 10 years - and every time before was only highlights, none of this "toner" business. I've done all-over box dye at home around 5 or 6 times, but stopped doing that as I didn't like the idea of the chemicals touching my scalp. For the last 4 years I've done my own highlights around once a year. But I thought this time I'd go to the salon and get highlights done professionally.... never again. What makes it worse is I have no idea what was actually in the stuff they used on my scalp. At least with box dye, the ingredients are all there and I've read that box hair dye is more tightly regulated than salon hair dye. I also read that salon hair dye is stronger and has more chemicals.

My main worries are:
1 - Cancer from the hair dye
2 - Autoimmune disease from the hair dye, which could lead to cancer or just a poor quality of life

I know I sound ridiculous to other people. My mum told me not to worry as it was only the once, and I've only dyed my hair all over my scalp less than 10 times in my life, the last time before this was 4 years ago with box dye.
I know that people dye their hair all the time and go to the salon all the time .... but people get diagnosed with cancer ALL THE TIME!
I don't want to be one of those people. I try so hard to avoid unhealthy things that other people flock to willingly. My worst fear is cancer, more so than death, I fear suffering from cancer (hospitals, treatment, chemotherapy, sickness).

I feel so angry at myself for going to the hair salon and allowing them to do this. I am normally so cautious, but I just wrongly assumed they were professionals and wouldn't put hair dye on someone's scalp unless they'd had an allergy test. When I last had hair dye at the salon, I was around 15 years old, and the salon I went to always insisted on allergy tests even though I had highlights which didn't touch the scalp. I've never had this "toner" thing massaged into my hair and scalp before, I was not expecting it. I feel so stupid for not researching it properly.

I can't concentrate on anything else, I feel sick at the thought of what I may have done to my body. And my hair looked better before my natural shade. I just wish I'd never gone to the bloody salon :doh:

Mostly, I feel depressed. There are so many things in life I don't do because I don't want to get cancer: I don't smoke, I don't even drink alcohol socially any more, I never drink fizzy drinks, I barely ever eat fast food any more, I avoid eating/drinking from plastic where possible, I refuse X-Rays and medical scans unless medically essential, I don't take any pharmaceutical medications even when it could make my life better e.g. I refused antibiotics and hormonal pills for acne and medication for IBS, I avoid using the microwave, I don't fly on airplanes (because of the solar radiation) more than once a year and where possible will convince family/friends to go on holiday somewhere with a shorter flight duration... I'd love to do some of these things, but I don't, because I don't wanna get cancer. This may help you understand how utterly mad and frustrated I am that someone smothered my scalp in 5000 carcinogenic chemicals. :(

sial72
21-08-15, 16:49
Ok, first of all, 1 hair dye application will not give you cancer, those studies or from years of repeated use.
Second, it is very good that you want to take care of yourself to diminish your risks of getting cancer BUT at what price? Never enjoying life?
None of us have 100% guarantee of not getting cancer by leading a healthy life.
So I would suggest you stay healthy without obsessing about it so that you can enjoy life x

Meowx
21-08-15, 17:49
Ok, first of all, 1 hair dye application will not give you cancer, those studies or from years of repeated use.
Second, it is very good that you want to take care of yourself to diminish your risks of getting cancer BUT at what price? Never enjoying life?
None of us have 100% guarantee of not getting cancer by leading a healthy life.
So I would suggest you stay healthy without obsessing about it so that you can enjoy life x

Thank you for your response! I do actually enjoy life a lot and enjoy things that other people find boring, and many things that other people find exhilarating just don't appeal to me, so I'm not concerned about not enjoying life.

I'm happy most of the time but then get these crippling health anxiety periods which are usually triggered when I think I have taken something or used something that could have damaged my health and I feel so angry at myself and i get depressed at the thought that I could have caused myself to get cancer or shorten my life expectancy in some way. My hair colour now looks rubbish any way so I can't even reconcile it by saying at least my hair came out good... lol.

It's difficult to just forget it and move on (I'm an obsessive person) when I could have damaged my health and I do strongly believe even one short exposure to hair dye chemicals could trigger cancer or autoimmune disease, and nothing I've read so far has abided those fears.

Fishmanpa
21-08-15, 18:17
Obviously you're hyper focused on this. Reassurance doesn't work but perhaps a comparison to put it in perspective.

In the big picture a couple exposures to hair dye isn't any different than say... sitting in a traffic jam for hours inhaling exhaust fumes or getting a few bad sunburns or eating meats that have been raised using growth hormones etc. etc. etc. They're everyday life occurrences that happen to us that can expose us to chemicals and other things that may or may not cause health issues down the line.

I have a friend that never smoked, never drank alcohol, exercised and ate healthy all his life and he got some rare form of lung cancer. Go figure! Life is a crap shoot essentially. Enjoy it to the best of your ability cause you won't be takin' it with ya.

Positive thoughts

countrygirl
21-08-15, 18:36
Your only problem would have been an allergic reaction as one hair dye application will have no effect on risk of cancer.
The data on hair dye and cancer was from the older hair dyes where the dark colours had high levels of one chemical. Hair dyes now have much lowered levels and its only in the daker dyes anyway.
You can also buy hair dyes that do not contain this chemical, this is what I do - buy it myself and the hairdresser uses it for lowlights.

Meowx
21-08-15, 19:14
Your only problem would have been an allergic reaction as one hair dye application will have no effect on risk of cancer.
The data on hair dye and cancer was from the older hair dyes where the dark colours had high levels of one chemical. Hair dyes now have much lowered levels and its only in the daker dyes anyway.
You can also buy hair dyes that do not contain this chemical, this is what I do - buy it myself and the hairdresser uses it for lowlights.

That's what I had always heard, that nowadays hair dyes are safe, but actually there has been some recent data showing carcinogenic properties of current chemicals in hair dye, and some recent epidemiological studies showed increased risk of certain cancers in people who have used hair dye. The worst thing I found was studies on the effect of hair dye on unborn children (increased risk of certain cancers), and it was consistent across most studies. Blonde hair dye wasn't exempt.

I'm annoyed because I never made the conscious decision to have my whole head covered in dye, I intended just to have highlights. When I do my own highlights, I am so careful not to get any on my skin/scalp, and if I do I wash it off immediately. But the hairdresser didn't properly explain that the toner was a hair dye product, and she should not have put it on me anyway because I had not had an allergy test done. This was the itchiest I have ever been after using hair dye. My hairline is so sore and itchy still. My face and body have been reallyyyy itchy all day and I keep breaking out in hives. I get hives anyway due to my urticaria, but they are definitely worse since I had the hair dye. I wouldn't be surprised if my skin has become sensitized to dye now. I have a lot of other allergies (nuts, certain fruits, dust mites, hayfever) and get allergic urticaria, so I'm prone to it.

Funnily I had thought about bringing the box dye that I normally use for highlights and asking them to use that, but thought it would cause problems, wish I had now :(

I know I just need to forget about it and move on, but it's the worst combination of worry+anxiety+regret+anger.