Salon Allergy Specialist

Salon Allergy Specialist

Friday, July 25, 2014

Still Reacting to the PPD in my Hair, Can I Remove It? (and a mention to Ms. Perette)

I want to say I'm sorry that Pauley Perette had a reaction to PPD. I am also sorry that there are people out there saying ignorant things. I hope that she gets well, and only reads the nice things that people are saying. We don't need to have a "spokesperson" until she is feeling better, and has decided if she has any desire to be involved with this. If you read this, Pauley, I hope you feel better soon! XO

  Pauley Perette, A.K.A.,  Abby Sciuto on the popular TV series, NCIS, a crime drama from CBS.

On to the regular article!! :)

I often get e-mail requests from clients around the world asking "How can I get the PPD out of my hair, I'm still reacting  after ____ amount of time!" It can be for days, weeks, months, one woman even has cross reactions that have been plaguing her for YEARS. Before I can explain how to know if you are reacting to PPD being released from your hair, or from "un-cured" color, let's check to see what type of color you have used.

There are multiple types of color that we can apply to our hair. There is temporary color, or a direct dye, which is a one step color. These are usually an AZO based dyes, and the most popular ones are generally bright primary colors. If you have used this type of color, these can continue to release for a long time, so you may continue to react from these if you are continuing to see your hair color get lighter, or your towels still get stains. This is the easiest way to tell if your hair is "leaking dye", which is a question that I get asked often. Temporary dyes last only one shampoo, but overly damaged hair, or porous hair, can hold the color for a bit longer. Direct dyes  can hold the color for a longer period, anywhere from a week or two, to several months, even until it's cut off in some cases. Goldwell's Elumen can stain bleached hair until it is cut off, even though it is a direct dye.

Semi-permanent color is a color with no ammonia, has a two part mixing, and is a very low volume of developer. Semi-permanent usually lasts 4-5 shampoos, but can last up to several weeks. It is not very good at covering grey hair. This type of color should not lift. You should not have any roots..

 Demi-permanent color is a bit more penetrating than semi, and will often blend gray hair for a month or so, sometimes longer. The fading doesn't always spell disaster if you are having a reaction. The roots are not very much with Demi, as it usually can not lift more than one level, if at all.

Permanent color uses the strongest chemicals, and the most pigment, which is what PPD is. It will always be a two part mix. It is usually a mix of pigment, peroxide, and ammonia, with a few other things to tweek it to manufacturer specs. If there is no ammonia, there will be a substitute, MEA. (monoethanolamine) It still is permanent color.

So, did you use a permanent color, a demi-permanent color, or a temporary color? Most of the time, it's a regular two part, permanent color.

 Let's assume you have used a two part color, a very dark brown, and your beige towels have a "muddy" look to them in the middle after you are done taking your hair out of the towel from blotting it. This is hair that is leaking, or releasing pigment, or PPD, or para-phenylenediamine. It's possible its TDS, or PTD, but you need to either cure it, or stop it from coming out so your skin can heal. Your going to want to sit under a dryer with a plastic bag, or a plastic bag in the sun, or under a bonnet style hair dryer.good conditioner. Don't rinse it! Take coconut oil, and slather your hair. If you don't have a dryer, or the sun, then just put some plastic on it and watch TV for a while. after an hour or so, shampoo it as usual. You can condition it as usual too.

Give your scalp a few days to rest. Still persisting?

If you are still having issues, then you will want to try rinsing your scalp with 25% apple cider vinegar and 75% water after you shampoo. Do not rinse this off.

If need be, you can shampoo with pure baking soda. You will rinse your hair, put some of the soda in a plastic cup. Grab some and apply it to your wet scalp and gently rub the area it's applied to. let it set for a few minutes, and then rinse it down your hair, rubbing your hair as it goes. This can be a stripping to your hair, so it should only be used as a last resort. If you aren't releasing pigment from your hair, you can START releasing pigment from stripping it.

The best thing that you can do for your hair is keep it DRY. When your hair is wet, your skin can break down, your hair can release pigment, and your hair can damage easier. So, drink lots of water, but keep it off of your scalp!