Chemical Hair Color Alternatives -Still Unsafe.
Gray hair makes many of us anxious, searching for a safe way to cover it up. Gray hair makes us want to get back our youthful appearance. In desperation, we may have used hair color filled with harmful chemicals like Para-phenylenediamine (PPD), mixtures of ammonia with peroxide, and/or para-toluenediamine sulfate (PTDS). As consumers are being made aware of the harmful effects of Para-phenylenediamine (PPD), manufacturers have begun producing "alternative hair color" with para-toluenediamine sulfate (PTDS). They claim that para-toluenediamine sulfate (PTDS) is a safe alternative to Para-phenylenediamine (PPD). Is a Chemical-Based, "Alternative Hair Color" for Persons Allergic to PPD -Safer for Gray Hair?
Before you use that bottle of hair dye to cover your gray hair, please read below. The following is a partial abstract from Medscape article, "“Alternative Hair-dye Products for Persons Allergic to Para-phenylenediamine”:"In the past, finding alternative hair dye products for individuals allergic to para-phenylenediamine (PPD) was a nearly impossible task. Hair coloring products containing PPD have traditionally yielded far superior cosmetic results than have alternative dyes. Individuals allergic to PPD have had limited alternative products from which to choose. These products typically had less realistic color or did not cover gray hair adequately.
Hair-dye products are divided into permanent, demipermanent, and semipermanent types. Most available products in each of these categories contain PPD. However, hair coloring products are now defined by "lift." Permanent dyes first lighten, or "lift," the ambient hair color with ammonia and peroxide to allow the dye to cover gray hair more effectively. "Lifting" or lightening the ambient hair color turns the darker hairs closer in hue to the gray hairs. The result is that gray is more effectively covered when the hair is colored. This is not ideal for men because most men want some gray to show through so that they do not appear to be wearing a hairpiece. Some women also prefer this type of "natural" look. Therefore, demipermanent dyes were designed to cover most but not all gray hair. Demipermanent dyes usually incorporate ethanolamine to give some "lift" and do a moderately effective job of covering gray. Semipermanent dyes have no "lift" and cover gray hair minimally.
Recently, many manufacturers have started to produce permanent and demipermanent hair coloring products in which PPD has been replaced with para-toluenediamine sulfate (PTDS). These products are as cosmetically elegant as the corresponding products containing PPD. Unfortunately, PPD and PTDS are closely related ingredients, and it is possible that individuals who are allergic to one of these ingredients may also be allergic to the other.*
*Italics ours.
Source: “Alternative Hair-dye Products for Persons Allergic to Para-phenylenediamine” by Andrew Scheman, Christina Cha, Manpreet Bhinder. US National Library of Medicine. Medscape.
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