PTDS para-toluenediamine sulfate -a PPD Hair Dye Substitute?

Using PTDS para-toluenediamine sulfate as a PPD para-phenylenediamine substitute
-is still a unsafe risk:

It’s similar to when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I would get together with my siblings and a couple of our cousins to go on an ‘adventure’. Translation: hike. We trekked through wooded hills while in the country visiting our grandparents in New Hampshire. Unbeknownst to our parents, when we ‘hiked’ in the city, it actually was a real adventure. We dared each other to hike along train tracks and jump off when we saw a train approaching. We always jumped several hundred yards away from the train. We were playing ‘chicken’, but we weren’t too crazy...

… Until we attempted the ultimate dare: hike along a train trestle located over a small lake! We could escape by jumping on side platforms scattered in only a few spots on the bridge or –quite literally- jump in the lake. That was one extremely dangerous thing we did…but only once. We made it to the platforms in the nick of time, but we also wizened up to realize the odds were not in our favor. So THAT was that... And we lived to hike another day –in safer surroundings!

We learn a similar lesson when trying to substitute ppd para-phenylenediamine with para-toluenediamine, -as we learn from the following study.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

PTDS para-toluenediamine sulfate Study

According to this Northwestern University Medical Center study*:  
“Finding alternative hair dyes for individuals allergic to PPD para-phenylenediamine has been difficult. Newer permanent and demipermanent hair dyes that have replaced PPD with para-toluenediamine or para-toluenediamine sulfate  (PTDS) are now available.

PTDS para-toluenediamine Study – OBJECTIVE:

“We examined whether individuals allergic to PPD para-phenylenediamine will tolerate PPD-free hair dyes containing PTDS para-toluenediamine sulfate.”

PTDS para-toluenediamine Study -RESULTS:

Of 28 PPD-allergic patients seen since October 2006, 16 (57.1%) tested negative to all other substances on the dye series. Eleven tested positive to PTDS; of these, several were also allergic to other substances in the hair dye series. There was only one patient who was allergic to ortho-nitro-PPD and not to PTDS. Of 7 additional PPD-allergic patients seen from 2004 through 2006, 4 (57.1%) tested negative to PTDS. In total, 20 of 35 individuals (57.1%) tested positive to PPD but negative to PTDS. Ten of 13 PPD-positive patients for whom PTDS hair dyes were recommended subsequently used a PTDS hair dye, and all tolerated these products.

PTDS para-toluenediamine Study -CONCLUSION:

Fifty-seven percent of patients allergic to PPD para-phenylenediamine in this study will likely tolerate newer permanent and demipermanent hair dyes based on PTDS. Most individuals not allergic to PTDS will also test negative to other substances in the dye series. All 10 patients who tested positive to PPD and negative to PTDS who subsequently used a PTDS dye free of PPD tolerated these products. Many individuals allergic to PPD will benefit from the newer PTDS-based products.
Do you agree with the researchers conclusion?  

Did you notice that they added the words: likely, most, many?  This means that even substituting  para-phenylenediamine (PPD), with PTDS para-toluenediamine sulfate, you are still on a risky path. Are you ready to take a dangerous risk to your health…hoping that maybe you’ll be okay with this chemical dye which is actually a derivative of PPD? It’s still ‘a hike on the train trestle’ –playing ‘chicken’- with very little chance of escape. Once you have a serious reaction, it’s too late to reverse your course. Isn’t it more logical to ‘hike on a safer route when’ it comes to your precious hair, skin and overall health? The safer route doesn’t come from chemicals. The safer route is found in nature.

*Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Medscape, Research by Andrew Scheman, Christina Cha, Manpreet Bhinder of Northwestern University Medical Center.

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 Author: L.J. O'Neal, writer and researcher. (L.J. is also a Lustrous Henna®  user.)

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