Salon Sink Injury? Your Not Alone...

You can be injured when getting your hair shampooed. It's true. I have been doing hair for 30+ years, and I hadn't realized how dangerous this can be. I am so thankful that I had been properly trained to do shampoos! I had been contacted by a blog reader who thought she was having a PPD reaction. She was having "Salon Sink Radiculopathy". (I am not a doctor, I am a licensed cosmetologist. I can NOT diagnose ANYTHING. Please see your doctor for a diagnosis!) At the time, her pain was so similar to the pain from PPD, that I was unable to distinguish any difference from where I was, across the continent, on my computer. She saw several doctors, I told her not to despair. I gave her pep talks. Most of all, I was trying to recommend she not buy expensive things to put on her scalp to try to sooth it. It seemed that there were a lot of people who had very expensive over the counter products that would work miracles. Snake oil sales be damned! There is NOTHING that will work miracles except time, and the ones that actually work are NOT $50, $60 or more.  She finally found a doctor who had experience with this situation. Now she has a permanent situation that is painful, with permanent, debilitating nerve damage.  It all could have been avoided if one person had been more caring.


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001423.htm

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Vertebrobasilar circulatory disorders are conditions in which blood supply to the back of the brain is disrupted.

 Most common symptoms may include:

• Difficulty saying words
• Difficulty swallowing
• Double vision or vision loss
• Numbness or tingling most often on the face or scalp
• Slurred speech
• Sudden falls (drop attacks)
• Vertigo (sensation of things spinning around)
• Memory loss

Other symptoms that may occur include:

• Bladder or bowel control problems
• Difficulty walking (unsteady gait)
• Headache
• Hearing loss
• Muscle weakness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Neck ache
• Pain in one or more parts of the body, which gets worse with touch and cold temperatures
• Poor Coordination
• Sleepiness or even apparent sleep from which the person cannot be awakened
• Sudden, uncoordinated movements
• Sweating on the face, arms, or legs

According to the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, (June2002:81:395-399) vertabral blood flow was not reduced when the three positions checked were monitored, but there was a significant change in carotid blood flow when cervical neck support was not used. They also indicated that 84%  experienced pain without cervical support, as opposed to 32% experiencing pain with cervical support.

The three positions used  were 1) reclined with a pillow 2) Salon sink with cervical support for 12 minutes and 3) Salon sink without cervical support for 12 minutes NO CERVICAL ROTATION WAS DONE

Authors made note that "If we had included cervical rotation,  the results would have been even more dramatic."

 The timing of 12 minute durations were for shampoos and measurements because "other reports have indicated that that sustained ischemia [deficiency of blood supply] of more than 15 minutes seems to be poorly tolerated and may lead to infarct." [Infarct means death to the surrounding area, or tissue from lack of blood flow]

 

  NEVER, EVER Allow a client to lay in the sink with or without a chemical unless they are comfortable. Always ask them if they prefer to sit up, even if it is for one minute.

The MOST IMPORTANT THING is to NOT do this:

Six varieties of the Spurling test are shown, including (A) lateral bending and compression; (B) lateral bending, rotation, and compression; (C) extension and compression; (D) extension and lateral bending; (E) extension, lateral bending, and compression; and (F) extension, rotation, and compression.

 (This photo was taken from PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3830095/figure/Fig1/)

.
 I currently use an old sink that is cast iron and porcelain, the first sink style that was made for client comfort. The company began in 1927, in Belvedere, Illinois, and their sinks are known as the "one with the dip in it." They had ten employees, and a new concept "designed specifically for the comfort of the salon customer." Eighty-five years later they are still going strong. It took me five months to find this sink! It's blurry, because I've never tried to include a professional photo of it before. You might have to use your imagination a bit. The lip of the sink is wide, and the chair runs up to the edge. There is no gap, and you can use a towel to adjust each person as they recline. If they are very tall, they slide down in the chair. If they are too short, I have a pillow to place under them to "boost' them up. If they are still uncomfortable, I will move the chair out of the way, and they can stand with their head tipped forward. This is the safest way, if there is any cervical problem at all.

 I place a clean towel on every client's neck, and help them lean back. I ask them if they need a pillow, or if they feel okay. I also have a chair near by in case they want to put their feet on it. My chair is from the 1970's, so it doesn't have the raised foot rest. I make sure that they have their neck comfortable, and then I adjust the water, I wet their hair, and turn the water off. I make sure to tell the client that if they lift their head up, they may get water down their back. I will lift up their head for them. I only lift up,and only a small amount. If I need them to turn, I ask THEM to look to the left, or right side for me. I also tell them to let me know if there is any discomfort, this is relax time.

The sink with the attached chair look like this:

"The Beauty Parlor Stroke", according to the Journal of American Medical Association, included "a variety of complaints attributable to poor blood flow in arteries leading through the neck to the back of the brain, including severe dizziness, imbalance and facial numbness. Four out of five suffered strokes leading to permanent neurologic damage." This means that if you have symptoms at the salon, you need to address them. As we age, your carotid arteries are not as flexible as they used to be. You want to make sure that you don't have downward pressure placed on your head. If you have had any cervical issues, shampoo before you leave home, or face forward in the sink. Don't be a statistic.

Things that are important:

1) You should be comfortable at the sink. Your shampoo should feel GOOD.

2) If your not comfortable, use your mouth until you are. You can always turn around and face forward!

3)Your nerve endings for your entire body run from your skull, through your neck, down your extremities. You don't pay attention to this until they cause you pain!  

Do you have a story about what happened to you? Send it to me at mycrazysinkstory@gmail.com

Maternity and PPD, or hair color chemicals...

The color that I use in the salon, which is 100% lab certified organic, is perfect for anyone who is expecting, or is nursing. I still recommend checking with your doctor, and proper patch testing, but it's perfect to keep up your moral while your growing baby can stay healthy away from all of those chemicals. I used to think that I used worse chemicals to clean the toilet, but now I find myself using mild peroxide and dawn dish detergent to clean, or some baking soda. Even vinegar and water to clean the windows. Why we switched to chemicals I'm sure was because they smelled pretty, and made our lives easier. We just didn't know they would endanger our lives. So, organic henna, indigo, cassia and amla. Cover your greys, and feel beautiful, with healthy, shiny, youthful hair!

To learn more, a friend wrote an amazing book you should buy.

Natural Hair Coloring, by Christine Shahine (link)

Visit www.christineshahine.com to buy product

Gina

PPD REACTION: oozing...and eczema on your eye lids

 PPD reactions can be as small as eye lids itching, or getting a little eczema on them. It can be a little bit of itching on your scalp. I'm here to tell you that HAIR COLOR DOESN'T ITCH. Sometimes if you have a cut or a scratch, maybe in that one area, or if using a very high lift tint, but that's it. In some of the most severe reactions for PPD, people have oozing wounds that can last over six months. I try to explain that it is similar to a blister, but there is not a covering there. What it actually is is lymphatic fluid. If I then get more questions, I will say, "Back up. First, let's talk about the lymphatic system is, and what an allergen is."

 The lymph system is the body's drainage system. It is composed of vessels and structures called lymph nodes. The vessels move excess fluid from all over the body back into the blood circulation. Along the way, however, these fluids are forced to percolate through the lymph nodes so that they can be filtered. Harmful organisms are trapped and destroyed by the white blood cells, called lymphocytes, that are present in these nodes. Lymphocytes are also added to the lymphatic fluid that flows out of nodes and back to the bloodstream.

Allergic reactions rarely occur during the first encounter with the allergen because the body needs time to accumulate, actually make, the antibodies. The immune system forms antibodies against the foreign substance, and they normally work to protect the body from further attack. In the case of an allergy, however, the antibodies and other cells involved in this function trigger an overreaction to the foreign substance. The antibodies stimulate specialized cells to produce histamine. This causes the small blood vessels to enlarge and the smooth muscles (such as those in the airways) to constrict. Histamine release can also cause other reactions, such as hives, welts, and anaphylactic shock.

Antibodies are created by the lymph system. Antibodies are proteins that the body makes in response to invasion by a foreign substance. The process of antibody formation begins when an antigen,  stimulates specialized lymphocytes, called B cells, into action. Antibodies then counteract invading antigens by combining with the antigen to render it harmless to the body. Some antibodies coat the harmful organisms so that the body's scavenger cells can recognize and destroy them better. The antibody molecule combines with the antigen molecule by matching combining sites; they fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Other antibodies that neutralize toxins produced by bacteria are called antitoxins.

I hope I haven't lost anyone yet!

Now that we have discussed the difficult part, I can explain that your body is reacting to what it thinks is an invader. Antibodies have formed to the PPD, as if it was a bee sting, and lymphatic fluid is attempting to counteract the invading foreign substance. If you are oozing clear fluid, it is your body trying to flush away a foreign substance. In this case, the PPD. This fluid is similar to what's in a blister, but the top skin is not there.

In some instances, early PPD reactions can show by eczema on the eye lids. This is particularly simple to watch for, but very easy to miss. I can not stress the importance of getting to the doctor and having a T.R.U.E. test done. STOP coloring with chemicals ASAP if you have this reaction.

The life you save could be your own.
 

Gina xx

Why I Use the Henna I Do in My Salon (with photos)

I often hear of clients saying that they used this brand of henna, or that brand of henna, when I say VERY OFTEN, to use Mehandi's henna. Different brands of henna's can have other additives in it, even though they are not supposed to. They can have pesticides, or over-spray of pesticides from other crops. I now use henna, amla, cassia, and indigo from Christine  Shahin, at http://faces-of-astarte.com/. She lives in Little Falls, NY and I also recommend her book, Natural Hair Coloring It has a ton of recipes in it. I only change the liquid to hibiscus tea. 2 bags per 8oz. of boiling water.  

The first reason I like the henna I use is that it is 100 percent certified organic. You can go to the lab of choice, type in the lot number of your batch, and you will have all of the information on your batch in your hand. The exact amount of lawsone content, the exact tolerances of pesticides, (zero) the rest is all there as well. I am a nerd, so I feel that having this information at my fingertips before I choose to use it is important. YOU however, can trust me that the tolerance amounts are so tight that your colors will be amazing.

The other brands, they have some guess work. The lawsone amounts are the lowest for hair quality henna. If you look at the photo on the right, which was just colored with Hesh Henna, you can see the striations of the coloring. The roots stayed the brown color, and you can still see the old color red with the hilighting in it from the top right corner of the photo down to the middle left of the photo. Notice in the second photo, the roots do have a very small amount of red, but it barely shows, and only in certain lights.

                                                                                                                                                                                     

The third photo shows the edge of the striations in another area.

The henna I use is called Body Art Quality Henna, or BAQ henna. This is what they get from the first sift when they dry and grind the henna leaves. It is used to do wedding art and is usually kept in India, the Sudan, Africa, or wherever it's been grown. After the BAQ henna is sifted, then they sift for hair henna for their country, and the end of the henna is sent here for hair. It's the lowest quality henna there is.

 Here is a photo of the hair corrected with the correct brand of henna. It will take 3 to 4 days to complete the rich color coming through the hair completely. This is called curing. My lighting and photography is not the best, but the end results four days later was so beautiful, my client called me to say thank you for making her engagement photos spectacular.

If you are not using strong BAQ henna and very good quality indigo, you will not be able to get results like this:

This is what the color of 50/50 henna/indigo with some amla looks like after an hour under the  bonnet dryer.

This is the final result, but without the four days of getting richer in color. 

This is the client's brow after coloring, notice the 2 greys at the tail for reference. 

 People will ask me how easy is it to remove henna. It's NOT easy to remove. In fact, it WILL NOT FADE. It has been used for at leaast 10,000 years for a reason. I personally saw Pharaoh Ramses the 2nd's mummy in Egypt. He died at 91, and you could see after 4,000 years that the mummy had henna coloring on the hair still, and on the fingers. He was a VAIN man. I don't think any synthetic colors could withstand the desert heat for thousands of years. Here is how it took me two bleach sessions to remove henna from pure white hair. The hair had been colored full red twice with henna. Here is a series of color, and bleaches I did to

first bleach, on scalp with 2 boosters

show how it comes out.

Second bleach, off scalp,
 then trimmed,
One month after first bleach.

Toning with a high lift tint,
and double blue base

final result with a comparison.

Sorry about the gaps, I still am having trouble posting photos on this blog. Here are a few examples that you can see, that will give you examples as to why I continue to use Christine's. The lawsone, or pigment, also known as iron oxide in the plant can be much higher than in any other brand, depending on which batch you choose from there. So, I showed you how a cheaper brand came out, and what it looked like corrected. It was nicer before the four day curing than the other brand was AFTER it cured. I showed you what a grey coverage on dark brown hair looked like, after it's shampooed out, and after drying and styling. I also showed you what it takes to actually remove the organic henna out of your hair. It will not be an easy feat. Plan on doing some heavy cutting! Don't use imposter henna, and you can have the results above. I don't make a penny, nor do I get any discount from them. The henna just happens to be well choosen!

 Have a great January!

Gina xx

Happy New Year, and Some PPD News

The First Perms 1920

Well, here is the new year, and I am still trying to wrap up the old year. The more things change, the more they stay the same! I will make this short, but hopefully everyone will find it sweet.

Entry Lighting

I have a very good, and helpful friend who has a web sight  that everyone here could find helpful. I have tried to link it here several times, but I admit, I often have computer difficulties. I am getting better everyday, WOO HOO! Jeanne, this one's for you! Please check this out, it has invaluable information.

allergictohairdye.com

I have put a few things on a web sight to be voted on to see it I can get them put into production. If I could get some of you to vote on them, it would be a fantastic help!

This first one is listed as a tube,similar to a double ended mascara tube, to sell to hair dressers with developer in it, and they could put the clients color into the other end. The developer would have a foil seal to keep it separated from the color, and  it would come with a small spatula/brush. The client would take this home and it would be enough color to do his/her part or hair line. Empty ones would work with henna as well. The pre-mixed henna could go in one side, and the powder indigo/amla/cmc/salt could go into the other end. There would be a specific amount of water to add, and the same spatula. I will pitch this later on. It could be frozen until needed as well.

Client custom touch-up
http://www.quirky.com/ideations/829280


This is the one that is for the triple patch testing. I am not sure that it will get through, but if I could get SOME funding, it would help. Please join Quirky.com and vote for them!!

patch testing
http://www.quirky.com/invent/819263/action/vote/query/sort=ending_soon

The Nail Room

Other than that, I am working on hair growth without formaldehyde, that's still going great. I have been doing a lot of henna, and I have had a lot of clients coming from out of town. Past Toronto, Canada, Erie Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and the big city as well. Thank you to them!!

Happy New Year to all, I hope everyone has a fantastic year!
Gina

UPDATE: KOLESTON INNOSENSE, SEE NEW ARTICLE - P&G develops new ME+ molecule with less allergies for Wella, is it SAFE?

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is having a great holiday season this year. We just had a beautiful snow this morning, it made the Christmas music on the radio a LOT more bearable today. I received an e-mail today that was a request for information on the new ME+ molecule from Wella, which is a Proctor & Gamble company. The new diamine information became available to me in October, but I was not impressed about the information that I read. P&G's inform said it would not people who were already allergic, and it would not stop all allergies. So, I chose not to write about it. I now realize that I need to put the information out about it, good or bad.

It took chemists around the world 20 years to develop this molecule, and they turned down many chemicals before this one. It is an important step in my industry, because it is moving in the right direction. A baby step, but a good step. If it helps to cause less new allergies, then it is a good thing. The name of the chemical is 2-Methoxymeth-p-Phenylenediamine, which did gave me a bit of an eyebrow raise. This is why it will not help people who already have allergy problems with PPD.  While I would like to see a color that the allergic clients could use, we have to crawl before we walk, or we will never run.

Dr. Carsten Goebel, immuno-toxicologist with P&G, stated "that there is data backing up the information." Dr. Bryan Murphy, section head at P&G, said that "there is a growing interest in color that is reduced in the risk of allergic reactions."  From Dr Bianca Piraccini, a dermatologist from the University of Bologna in Italy,
[An]Allergy has two phases. The first is called ‘induction’, when the allergy is developing but shows no symptoms. The second phase is called ‘elicitation’ which is when the symptoms can actually appear. The claim for ME+ is that it has lower potency than PPD/PTD, and so induction of allergy is less likely. But it still could elicit reactions, especially in those already sensitised to PPD/PTD. As Dr Piraccini says: “Severe allergic reactions can still happen, but the induction of an allergy is less likely with the new ME+ technology”.

Wella currently plan to launch the new ME+ molecule as part of their Salon Professional portfolio in early 2014. The product will be called Koleston Perfect Innosense and it will come to salons in 22 shades on launch.

The first link here is to an article in Europe, the second is to the Adobe file from P&G. The third is the European Union's evaluation on the chemical.

http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Formulation-Science/P-G-announces-first-permanent-hair-dye-molecule-with-reduced-allergy-risk

http://www.pg.com/en_US/downloads/innovation/factsheet_Wella_ME+_final.pdf

http://www.trichocare.co.uk/download/HE+_2-methyoxymethyl-p-phenylenediamine.pdf

So, the verdict? It's not safe for anyone with allergies. Sorry folks.

Teenage Boy's photos of PPD reaction

I saw this boy on the Dr.Oz show with his mother last year. His mom was a hairdresser, and she actually had known about hair color allergies. The show did talk about the allergies some, but some of the information was not correct. I contacted them via e-mail, but I was  never contacted back again. I have also contacted them 3 times since, but I never get a response. (I have also contacted the Ellen Show, with the same response, I suspect it has to do with advertising money) I have wanted to post these photos here for quite a while, but I am never in the right place at the right time. Finally, here are the photos. I did have them on my facebook for a bit. It was the son's first hair color, but you can tell in the first photo that he has had a tattoo, so he has been exposed to some inks. He also may have come into contact with hair color with his mother being a hair dresser, you just never know. The poor mother felt terrible...so would I! Lesson learned.

Formaldehyde releasers and hair loss, quick results

After doing a months worth of reading and trying a few different brands of product I had my mother try the alcame clean shampoo. It uses a plant based stepan mead mix in stead of sodium laurel sulfate, and has no formaldehyde releasers. Within two weeks, my mother called me at work to say she had a lot of new hair, her bald spots were filled in, and her hair was very full. I responded as any hairdresser, or DAUGHTER would," Mom, there is NO was you could possibly grow that much hair in two weeks. You're crazy." She said she was going to drive over to prove it. I had a client, and I felt impending doom. I am not used to being wrong, but if she is driving over, there is a reason. Of course, my customer was having a good old time watching me squirm. It turned out that both of my parents came, and even my father wants to try the shampoo. I had to take a photo of the area that was previously completely hairless on my mothers scalp, and take a photo for a before photo of my dad. My customer left with a bottle of the shampoo as well. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't really push products. If you like what I use, and you buy it, you will buy it again. I believe that is more important than a big sales pitch. 

You can read the previous blog and vo to the health food store and purchase much of the same kind of product if you are careful and read the ingredients. Alcame uses 80% recycled plastic, has designed it's bottle so the cap acts as a balance to use every drop, and is highly concentrated. The Pure line has no botanicals,  no essential oils,  no pthalates, no preservatives, ( aka formaldehyde releasers) no sodium laurel sulfate, no petrochemicals, and no fragrance. 

www.alcame.com

Check them out, it's made in Rochester, NY by a friend of mine, Frank Lipani. He is a genius!

Here is the photo of my moms' hair

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween, here's to a "hairy" November!

Gina xx

Hair Loss from PPD , Formaldehyde Releasers and Sodium Laurel Sulfate?

Last week I had a new client that had some hair loss, but had never colored her hair. This was shocking to me, because she was referred to me from a source that usually sends PPD referrals. I began to read through my collection of information, -read as "notebooks of scribble", before I hit the web. I had read something about this before, but I had not remembered how small the articles were, about 4 paragraphs. When I did some reading on-line, I found more information that had been done, and had to add Sodium Laurel Sulfate to the list. I remembered reading something about Formaldehyde, but I was shocked to learn that it was IN THE SHAMPOO I WAS USING!!! I can say that I have been using a line of products I love, but I have been having trouble with hair falling out since my thyroid has been off. Since I switched to Indian shikakia powder, the hair in the shower drain has been cut down to 1/2 of what it was. (you can get it in your local Indian grocery store, or order it on Amazon.com) Here is the information:


 Two of the articles were medical journals that stated that hair loss issues in women can be cause in part from hair color. One was from the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology, done in 2012, this study was done on mice and stated that Peroxide or H(2)O(2) and MEA, or Mono-Ethanolamine, may be the key causative ingredients for hair dye-associated dermatitis and hair loss. The second one I had was a medical journal about a woman (41) who had presented hair loss with severe scalp pain. They had ruled out  andro-genetic baldness, and had determined that the cause was due to an allergic reaction to hair dye. (PPD in particular) 

Two of the articles were about Formaldehyde Releasers, which are used as a preservative in shampoos, and other health and beauty aids. I was shocked to learn that even a few of the high end products that I was using in my salon had Formaldehyde Releasers in them. The names of the releasers were as followed: Quaternium 15, DMDM Hydantoin, Ureas, and Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate.

Here is a bit of the information I learned about the Sodium laurel Sulfate, which is a salt that is cheap, and makes shampoos and soaps lather really nice. I found an article on  livestrong.com from August of 2013 that said this:

Improper use of shampoos containing SLS can lead to hair loss, according to the National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation. According to the NTEF, hair loss can be the result of poor rinsing that leaves SLS deposits in your hair follicles. These deposits penetrate your scalp and corrode the hair follicle, causing hair loss. MaximumHair.com reports that SLS also affects the rate of new hair growth, which occurs at a rate about eight times slower than normal. In addition, Personal Health Facts reports that NaCL, the salt used as a thickening agent is drying to your hair and, by increasing the potential for breakage, also contributes to hair loss.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/303970-sodium-lauryl-sulfate-hair-loss/#ixzz2iNSIVOru

I was pretty blown away to read the 8 times slower bit. I am not so sure that I believe the web sight it came from, but I am experimenting with using nothing on my hair but the powder from India for a short while. I am enclosing what the gob in the shower has looked like for the past 3 Monday mornings. I am not sure how easy it is to tell, but there really is about half as much hair there. I hope it's not too graphic for anyone who is squeamish out there. What a difference so far! -On the bright side, I found several articles that said that they may be able to prove that SLS isn't cancer causing after all. (Believe it, or NOT...)

The False Safety of Sunless Tanners, DHA, and the FDA

Tanning booths and sunless tanning is a part of the industry I have chosen for my career. I have worked for salons that offered both, and I have used both. I can say that I used them rarely, because I could not sit still long enough to lay in the tanning bed, or to keep the tanning cream or spray from becoming smeared. I have also unknowingly sold sunless tanner from Aveda with the false pretense that the chemical would be safer because it came from walnut shells. I know know that this is not safer. Here is some information direct from the FDA web sight on DHA, the active ingredient in sunless tanning products.

Thank you, FDA!

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm134064.htm

What are "sunless tanners"?
Neither the laws nor the regulations enforced by FDA define the term "sunless tanner." It typically refers to products that provide a tanned appearance without exposure to the sun or other sources of ultraviolet radiation. One commonly used ingredient in these products is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a color additive that darkens the skin by reacting with amino acids in the skin's surface.

DHA is listed in the regulations as a color additive for use in imparting color to the human body. However, its use in cosmetics--including sunless "tanning" products--is restricted to external application (21 CFR 73.2150). According to the CFR, "externally applied" cosmetics are those "applied only to external parts of the body and not to the lips or any body surface covered by mucous membrane" (21 CFR 70.3v). The industry has not provided safety data to FDA in order for the agency to consider approving it for use on these exposure routes, including "misting" from tanning booths.

In addition, no color additive may be used in cosmetics intended for use in the area of the eye unless the color additive is permitted specifically for such use (21 CFR 70.5a) DHA is not permitted for use in the area of the eye. The CFR defines "area of the eye" as follows:

"the area enclosed within the circumference of the supra-orbital ridge, including the eyebrow, the skin below the eyebrow, the eyelids and the eyelashes, and conjunctival sac of the eye, the eyeball, and the soft areolar tissue that lies within the perimeter of the infra-orbital ridge." (21 CFR 70.3s)

As with the lips and other areas covered by mucous membrane, the industry has not provided safety data to FDA in order for the agency to consider approving it for use in the area of the eye.

What does this mean for DHA spray "tanning" booths?

As noted above, the use of DHA in "tanning" booths as an all-over spray has not been approved by the FDA, since safety data to support this use has not been submitted to the Agency for review and evaluation, When using DHA-containing products as an all-over spray or mist in a commercial spray "tanning" booth, it may be difficult to avoid exposure in a manner for which DHA is not approved, including the area of the eyes, lips, or mucous membrane, or even internally.

Consequently, FDA advises asking the following questions when considering commercial facilities where DHA is applied by spraying or misting:

Are consumers protected from exposure in the entire area of the eyes, in addition to the eyes themselves?

Are consumers protected from exposure on the lips and all parts of the body covered by mucous membrane?

Are consumers protected from internal exposure caused by inhaling or ingesting the product?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," the consumer is not protected from the unapproved use of this color additive. Consumers should request measures to protect their eyes and mucous membranes and prevent inhalation.

Has FDA received reports of adverse reactions associated with sunless tanners?

FDA has received reports from consumers stating that they have experienced adverse events associated with sunless tanning, including rashes and, primarily in the case of spray tanning booths, coughing, dizziness, and fainting. It is uncertain what, if any, ingredient or combination of ingredients in the sunless tanning products might have caused these adverse events, whether an individual's allergic reaction might have played a part, or whether factors unrelated to the sunless tanning products may have been involved, such as pre-existing medical conditions.

Under the authority of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), FDA requires ingredient declarations on cosmetics sold on a retail basis to consumers. In this way, consumers can know what ingredients are contained in the products they purchase and avoid ingredients to which they may be sensitive. However, the FPLA does not apply to products used exclusively by professionals, such as those used in spray tanning booths.

Who is responsible for the safety of spray tanning booths?

The FD&C Act does not authorize FDA to approve cosmetic products or ingredients, with the exception of color additives that are not coal-tar hair dyes. Firms and individuals who market cosmetics are responsible for assuring that the products they market are safe when used under labeled or customary conditions of use and properly labeled. FDA can take action against firms and individuals who violate the law. The practice of administering such products by professionals, such as in salons, is generally the responsibility of local and state health authorities.

Consumers and healthcare providers can report adverse reactions from cosmetic products, including sunless tanners, using the contact information in Bad Reaction to Cosmetics? Tell FDA.

You can read more of this article at the FDA web sight. I included the link at the beginning of the information. I am not sure why so much of my industry is unregulated. I am more surprised by each chemical I begin to look up. I will be posting more often if the results are as fruitful as they seem to be. 

-sadly, Gina