Bleach Allergy, or Persulfate Allergy, Metal Allergies, and The MELISA test

While the majority of my clients are enjoying getting some holiday hilights, and happily going to their parties without any swollen eyes, or blisters. It has just been brought to my attention that there actually might be a reason that some of the people I have been in contact with over the years have allergy issues with bleach. I have read the ingredients of several containers of bleach, and I assumed that there must be some PPD in some of the bleaches that have a little bit of blue added to the normal color. This is not true with the bleach that I use, and there is nothing in the bleach that I use that is a major allergen. I know this because I have researched each chemical myself. I had just done the same for a patron of a board I often reply on, when she had posted that one of her past bleaches had contained "Titanium Dioxide"

Titanium Dioxide - also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it is sourced from ilminite, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food coloring. When used as a food coloring, it has E numberE171. (from Wikipedia)

I Googled hair bleach, and titanium dioxide, and the first one that came up was Redkin, Up  to 7 . Here are the ingredients:
Potassium Persulfate, Sodium Silicate, Sodium Persulfate, Corn Starch/Zea Mays, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, PPG-2-Ceteareth-9, Sodium Metasilicate, Sodium Stearate, Amorphous Silica, Mica, Ammonium Sulfate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Poloxamer 182, Titanium Dioxide/CI 77891, Polyquaternium-22, EDTA, Sodium Sulfate (D5572/3)

Normally, you would not be allergic to bleach. If you were, you would know long before you were old enough to bleach your hair. You drink chlorinated water, swim in chlorinated pools, and have bleach added to your laundry. I checked this with an allergist to be sure. However, I have said that there are buffers and such that can be specific to manufacturers that you can be allergic to. Titanium Dioxide is used as a whitener, or to enhance pigment, and as a thickener. It is also used in the old surfer movies, on the noses of the dudes on the top of the tower, in the small, red swim suit. It is still being added to sunscreen today. It used to be added to desitin baby balm, and might be in some of the tubes, but not all of the mixes. It is used in styptic powder, and some tattoo inks. It seems to be lurking around when you least expect it.

The client who had alerted me to this quandary, has been having a difficult time because her only visible allergy has been to nickle and cobolt. Now it seems as if she might have to so new testing, as her T.R.U.E. test did not help her as much as it could have. Now she will have to re-test with the MELISA test.

http://www.melisa.org/faq.php

This is a special metals test done with a blood test, that you might need of you are not showing that you are allergic to any thing on the T.R.U.E. test.

Hope you get to spend some time this year with loved ones,
Gina