Schoolgirl Suffers Severe Allergic Reaction to L’Oreal Hair Dye

Today the Daily Mail reported a story about Carla Harris, a 15 year old schoolgirl who suffered a potent allergic reaction to L’Oreal Recital hair dye, causing her head to swell up to twice its normal size, leaving the teenager in agony for several days. You can see an image of the damage caused on the Daily Mail website.

Despite conducting a patch test prior to using the product, Carla still had a severe reaction after using the L’Oreal hair dye and was admitted into hospital and treated with antihistamines and steroids.

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Common Fragrance Ingredient is a Potent Allergen

A thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden suggests that linalool, a common fragrance ingredient in personal care products and household products, instigates allergic skin reactions in considerably more people than was previously thought to be the case.

Linalool is a colourless fragrant terpene found in various plants e.g. lavender, rosewood. It is also synthetically manufactured to cut costs and used in household and hygiene products as a fragrance chemical. The concentrations used in cosmetics are fairly low but in aromatherapy products, natural products and in homemade soaps and fragrances, higher Read more

Cosmetic Products May be Over-preserved

Researchers, led by Michael Dyrgaard Lundov from Gentofte University Hospital, Denmark, in a study published in the journal Contact Dermatitis, have suggested that concentrations of preservatives may be too high in some cosmetic products. For example, the preservative Kathon CG was found in concentrations of up to 15 parts per million (ppm) even though this preservative is a potent sensitiser and concentrations as low as 2.5 ppm have elicited allergic reactions in sensitised individuals.

Preservatives are added to cosmetic products with a high water content to minimise product spoilage and the proliferation of undesirable
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Europe Bans Two Chemicals From Cosmetics

The European Union has prohibited two chemicals from being used in cosmetic products, in a recent amendment to the European Cosmetics Directive. From November 5, 2009 companies are barred from using diethylene glycol (DEG) or phytonadione. This action has been taken following the discovery of high levels of DEG in some toothpaste products from other markets. Although a representative of the industry trade association, the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association (CTPA) suggested that reputable brands do not use DEG, trace levels are often present as an impurity in widely used ingredients such as glycerol.

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Petrochemical Compounds: An Introduction

A petrochemical compound is an organic (based on carbon) compound derived from crude oil (petroleum) or natural gas, which were formed millions of years ago in the earth’s crust from decayed plants and animals.

These two primary classes of petrochemical are olefins (e.g. ethylene, butylene and propylene) and aromatics (e.g. benzene, toluene and xylenes) produced by chemical cracking (breaking large hydrocarbon molecules into simpler molecules, aided by a catalyst and high temperatures) and catalytic reforming (used to convert low-octane naphthas into high-octane gasoline blending components and often benzene, toluene and xylene aromatics for Read more

Alpha Hydroxy Acids: Miracle Workers or Skin Wreckers?

Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) are lauded by the cosmetic industry and even dermatologists for their alleged anti-ageing properties. AHAs are a group of acids derived from a variety of sources, including fruit and milk sugars. There are a range of AHAs used in cosmetic products, including: glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, ammonium glycolate, ammonium alpha-hydroxyethanoate and alpha-hydroxyethanoic acid. They are used in cosmetic products as exfoliants to remove the outer layer of skin, supposedly revealing fresher, younger, smoother looking skin underneath, and as moisturisers and emollients. Dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons use AHAs in much higher concentrations than cosmetic products Read more