Indigo Gives me a headache, am I alone?

Some people are getting headaches from indigo. I previously had not had issues in the salon, nor on my own head, with several hundred uses per year. I can't say how many times I have heard this, and I was stumped. It nagged at me...I sat at stop lights, thinking of what to type into a group search engine. (I use dog pile a lot) So, here are the answers. The first information is some chemistry.  It's from Wikipedia, "Indigo Dye". I know people can change things on wiki, it currently matches the other info I have. If I missed something, let me know. I chose this article because it was short, easy for others to look up, and the least technical. Most of my personal information is much more chemistry based, and I have to sit with it almost every time I need it. I can't just whip it off the top of my head. -but I wish I could!

Chemical synthesis of Indigo
Given its economic importance, indigo has been prepared by many methods. The Baeyer-Drewson indigo synthesis dates back to 1882. It involves an aldol condensation of o-nitrobenzaldehyde with acetone, followed by cyclization and oxidative dimerization to indigo. This route is highly useful for obtaining indigo and many of its derivatives on the laboratory scale, but was impractical for industrial-scale synthesis. Johannes Pfleger[10] and Karl Heumann Karl Heumann eventually came up with industrial mass production synthesis. The first commercially practical route is credited to Pfleger in 1901. In this process, N-phenylglycine is treated with a molten mixture of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and sodamide. This highly sensitive melt produces indoxyl, which is subsequently oxidized in air to form indigo. Variations of this method are still in use today. An alternative and also viable route to indigo is credited to Heumann in 1897. It involves heating N-(2-carboxyphenyl)glycine to 200 °C (392 °F) in an inert atmosphere with sodium hydroxide. The process is easier than the Pfleger method, but the precursors are more expensive. Indoxyl-2-carboxylic acid is generated. This material readily decarboxylates to give indoxyl, which oxidizes in air to form indigo. The preparation of indigo dye is practiced in college laboratory classes according to the original Baeyer-Drewsen route.

Now, if you get your indigo from anywhere besides where I order from, you could be getting some of this in your package. The other explanation could be that you are getting pesticides in your indigo. Both of those can be causing headaches. If you read the second sentence, it refers to "o-nitrobenzaldehyde" , which you will notice has the nitrobenzene right in the name. That is directly related to the PPD allergy. The NITRO and the BENZENE.

If you are getting your indigo from a good source, I can try to help you. I finally had a reaction in the salon, and I can tell you exactly why it happened. In my case, I was taking a client from bleached blond to black. I first colored it with henna, then indigo. I had her under the dryer for an hour, and instead of washing off the indigo and replacing it with new indigo, I allowed her to remain under the dryer for another hour. She developed a migraine. So, the amount of time you have straight indigo on your head is a contributing factor. I normally have the client under the dryer with straight indigo for about 30-45 minutes. With this normal timing, I have never had a problem. I have also never had a problem with mixing the henna and indigo together and putting a client under the dryer. The timing for that is the same, about an hour.

 I would also have liked to check to see if the plastic wrap being wrapped close on the head is better, or if it's better to have some amount of breathing room. This would only be for the straight indigo. since the looser plastic wrap can sometimes allow the indigo to dry, it will be difficult to test. I may not have the patience to actually try this. Success sometimes is best left untouched.

I hope that this will help some of you who have had headaches with the indigo. If you have not been using heat as a catalyst, then it's time to invest in a heated conditioning cap from Sally's. It's quiet, and you can hear the TV, or kids, and you can un-plug and go to the laundry area, kitchen, and so on.

 http://www.sallybeauty.com/heat-cap/SBS-255503,default,pd.htmlhttp://www.sallybeauty.com/heat-cap/SBS-255503,default,pd.html

You can also purchase a bonnet style dryer, which is what I use.  I've had many of them given to me, as I collect old ones.

http://www.sallybeauty.com/hard-hat-dryer/SBS-255270,default,pd.htmlhttp://www.sallybeauty.com/hard-hat-dryer/SBS-255270,default,pd.html

It will be the best investment you make for your color. Remember, if you buy an ugly outfit, you can throw it back in the closet, return it, send it to the rescue mission, give it to ________, (we all have that person who looks good in everything!) or just plain old throw it away! Hair is not so easy. If your spending several hours to do something organic, healthy, and good for you, save your pennies and do it correctly. In the desert, they had heat. A LOT OF HEAT.  They sat in the sun, sometimes in 120 degree heat. We may not have access to that, but we can mimic that. You have to think outside the box, and remember that these plant pigments have been used for thousands of years. What did they have that we don't? Sun, heat, dry air. That adds up to a dryer, or for sanity, a heated cap.

Cheers, as a friend of mine in NYC says!

Gina

Remember, I am NOT a doctor, if you are having any symptoms that you think may be an emergency, please call 911. If it is not an emergency, please call a doctor. The doctors that usually deal with the PPD allergies the best are allergists and dermatologists. You may need the T.R.U.E. test information from the FDA web sight.  Feel free to provide the doctor with the link as well, or a printout of the information. Here are the links:

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Allergenics/ucm294326.htmhttp://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Allergenics/ucm294326.htm

The next one is just the PDF of the actual test.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Allergenics/UCM294327.pdfhttp://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Allergenics/UCM294327.pdf

PPD - THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH

Hair dressers, doctors, and laymen alike don't always know all of the truths about this hidden deadly allergy. The amount of miss-information far exceeds the amount of correct information. I read on message boards about hairdressers saying that box home color is the culprit, when the diamines in the color that ALL of us use is the same thing. I have a PPD free salon, and I still have clients that become reactive to TDS, or Toluene-Diamine Sulfate.

Anaphylactic shock

Statistics say that the rate of allergies to hair color have been relatively steady, around 6%. Since I have been specializing in this for the past 13 years, the majority of people I hear from are self diagnosed, and can not find doctors to treat them. I suspect that these numbers would change dramatically if there was proper diagnosis and documentation. This also should note that PPD was voted as the number one allergen in the U.S, in 2006 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

Anaphylactic shock

 Why is this so important? I hear from hairdressers, "No one has ever even heard of PPD, or anyone who is allergic, so why be concerned?" Look at the numbers, which seem to grow exponentially. The manufacturers of hair color don't want you to know these facts.  In 1950, 7% of the adult female population in the U.S. admitted to coloring their hair. So, according to the National U.S. Census Department, there were about 60 million adult women. 7% of that would equal 4,200,000. There has been approximately a  6% rate of allergy to PPD, making the number of allergies to PPD round about 252,000 in 1950. -Remember, once allergic, always allergic! The same statistics state that there were 73 million adult women in 2013, and 75% of them admitted to coloring their hair. This only includes women above 18, so no younger teens, and no men are included in these numbers. Large companies, like P&G, or Loreal continue to sweep these stats under the rug, and try to make them seem immaterial. If you looked like these photos, and could not touch hair color again, would you believe that? The percentages of the allergic will always continue to accumulate, as once you become allergic, you are ALLERGIC FOREVER. Medical journals ALL say, more education is needed. If they PROPERLY taught the symptoms in hair school, and did updates for ALL licensed hairdressers, maybe we could save some people from a lot of pain and suffering. A little prevention is worth a POUND of cure.

Systemic and topical

The symptoms that start begin with itching. How many of us colorists have had a client that ask for something to scratch their scalp with? HAIR COLOR DOESN'T ITCH! -Of course, there is the exception of some very high lift tints, and liquid oil bleaches. The next sign is eczema on the eye lids. Not everyone will get these signs. Some people go right into anaphylactic shock. If they have a compromised airway, they will dye. PERIOD. They can't talk to call 911, if they can, they may not make it by the time the ambulance gets there.

The worst eye eczema I've ever seen

Why don't we patch test? Because it is like preparing your client to have the allergy. You CAN NOT REACT  on your first application. Only your second. This is proven chemically, so if there is a doctor who would like to challenge me, I will gladly take out medical journals to prove this. This is also what large color companies stand behind when they are sued by loved ones when people die. People love to say, well, that just doesn't happen. IT DOES. IT HAS, AND IT WILL AGAIN. People have died. Jackie Kennedy Onassis died from Lymphatic cancer, directly related to coloring her hair. Her doctors came out and said this, but finding information about this is difficult. It gets scrubbed from the web as soon as it pops up. Two women in England died from this. One 17 year old died from anaphylactic shock, and the other went from anaphylactic shock to a coma, and died a year later. She was a young mother, and a real estate agent.

Patch testing that can go wrong. Local only

Chemists don't know why some people react, or when they will react. They can react the second exposure, or the thousandth exposure. There is no rhyme or reason. They have spent a lot of money and time trying to figure this out. If I find out anything, I will post it. They are getting closer, From what I'm reading, they are finding new information all the time. It might not be a cure, but at this point, a WHY is a start.

Systemic

Systemic

There are two different kinds of reactions. One is systemic, one is external. Systemic is when you have it going through your blood stream, you will have to get to the ER. External is when you have itching, redness, or anything minor that is localized.


Systemic

Local, hopefully

If you want more information, I offer private paid consults for clients by e-mail that are $60 and up. I offer PPD classes for salons, $250 plus $25 per person to cover workbooks. (I have a 5 person minimum, plus accommodations and travel) The class can be one hour to three hours, depending on how many people are attending, and the time that's available. (Hands on is extra)


I hope you are getting less snow that Syracuse, NY has been! Have a great day,
Gina
ginamarietaro@gmail.com

Wella Koleston Innosense, the answer to PPD allergies? IT'S NOT...

Here is the full information on why the new super color that Wella claims is the best thing to happen to hair color since it's invention. I'm here to tell you why IT'S NOT. The advertisements have been misleading, and with hairdressers and laymen alike being kept in the dark about the truths of what can happen to them with hair color. I'll give you a little bit about the merger, and then explain the chemical information more in depth.

P&G  acquired Wella in 2003, and now owns not just Clairol and Wella, but they also own Sebastian, Nioxin, Graham Webb and Back to Basics, Belvedere, Sassoon Professional, Londa Professional, Welonda,  High Hair, and indecently, an international fragrance company. ( Gucci®, Rochas®, Escada®, Montblanc®, Dunhill®, Anna Sui®, Escada®, Cindy Crawford®, Mexx® and 4711®. )Reuters reports that P&G is "exploring the sale of Wella", but I'll believe it when I see it. They have wanted to expand their professional line to compete with rival company, L'Oreal.

According to Wikipedia, this is what they report  on the molecule in the color:

Me+ In 2014, Wella patented a new molecule called ME+. This molecule is a substitute for PPD, also known as P-Phenylenediamine, which is present in most colouring products to fix the colour. PPD has been known to cause mild to severe allergic reactions. The ME+ molecule is currently used in the Wella Professionals colour brand Koleston Perfect Innosense, which is the first permanent colour product to be approved by the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF).

All of this sounds fantastic. If it helps a few people, even a lot of people, to not become allergic to hair color, then that would be great. However, when I look at the MSDS papers, it's really more about those BENZENES. They are known carcinogens, and in most hair color. They boldly listed it in the ingredients, who can stop them from doing this? In the U.S., no one.  Remember, our Congress said that the FDA can't touch hair color. This means they can put whatever they want in it. It would take an act of Congress to change it. Anyone old enough to remember what it took to put a small note in the tampon box about toxic shock syndrome? (google that, you won't believe it! It's from the 1980's Lucky us!!)The chart below is copied and pasted directly from the MSDS on level 5/7 Wella Koleston Innosense. I count THREE benzene based chemicals. I would not allow this chemical into my salon. PERIOD. There is a link  for the MSDS for Benzene, should anyone want to look at that.

http://www.cpchem.com/msds/100000068511_SDS_US_EN.PDF

Chemical Name Partition Coefficient (n-octanol/water)/

 

Alcohols, C16-18 6.65

Ammonia solution 13.8

Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-sulfo-omega-hydroxy-, C12-14-alkyl ethers, sodium salts, 0.3

1,4-Benzenediamine, 2-(methoxymethyl)- -0.65

Sulfuric acid monododecyl ester sodium salt (1:1) -2.03 (at 20 C; Computational Approach in OECD Guideline 107)

Resorcinol 0.8 (octanol-water,20 °C )

Ethanol, 2-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-ylamino)-, hydrochloride (1:1) 0.412 @ 36 C and pH 4.65

1,3-Benzenediol, 2-methyl-   .018 

In the chemistry of permanent hair color, you need Primary Intermediates, and Couplers. It's not used  very often, but one Primary Intermediate group is Dihydroxy-Benzenes. These PI's are the main "dyes", or color that you can react to. Color couplers help give a change to the color, so these "dyes" allow for more choices in the color palette. Some of these are Phenols and Resorcinols. If you look at dye structure, (below) all the hexagon shaped molecules stand for benzene. It is referred to as the "Benzenoid Ring", so having benzene structures in hair color is not new. In fact, it is a part of every color that I have ever seen.

Here is a link to a Government Accountability Office Report to our U.S.Congress, from 1977-1979. Interesting reading!! -well, maybe scary reading...

http://www.gao.gov/assets/130/120763.pdf

It doesn't matter that it might save clients from a hair color allergy. I would have to see a lot of serious in vivo testing, done properly to even believe that it would do what they say. I will be checking this out, and posting on that when I have the time. Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, it's been so very busy! I'll do my best to try to get something in every month.

Gina

I'm Allergic to PPD, What Can't I Use?

The question I am most often asked..."Can I use _______ color?" I use a cheat sheet that is a compilation of colors that are professionally available. There are also many colors available at drugstores, which have the ingredients listed on the package by law. I'm a member of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, both the New York Chapter, and the National Chapter, so I'm aware of any new developments. I can access ingredients of most products. A few color companies I have contacted won't discuss what the diamines were in their color, which means that you don't want to try it. Secrecy is never a good thing! There is reason it's important to know and trust the company and brand of color.

http://www.actasdermo.org 

This link is a Spanish study done that includes PPD testing of several colors available in Spain. It found one blond color by Wella that had PPD in it that did not include it in the ingredients. It is dated from 2010, so this COULD have been corrected by now. Scarier information included that was from reference material was that about 45 percent of the hairdressers tested in 1981 were sensitized to PPD.  I will remind readers that in the U.S., in 2006 PPD was voted as the number one allergen. Between then and 2012, the number of people who became allergic doubled. I am not sure how this could possibly have happened, because no one can find a doctor who has heard of it TO THIS DAY. That is the second most asked question, followed by "Where can I find a hairdresser that will understand this?" I offer classes to anyone who will listen, so don't be afraid to ask!

This is a list of ingredients to look for- it is NOT complete!

• PPD  PARA-PHENYLENEDIAMINE
• PTD PARA-TOLUENEDIAMINE
• TDS TOLUENEDIAMINE SULFATE (not all will be allergic to this...only 60%)
• AZO DYES - OFTEN LISTED AS A COLOR, OR LAKE
• PPDA
• Phenylenediamine Base
• p-Phenylenediamine
• 4-Phenylenediamine
• 1,4-Phenylenediamine
• 4-Benzenediamine
• 1,4-Benzenediamine 
• para-Diaminobenzene (p-Diaminobenzene)
• para-Aminoaniline (p-Aminoaniline)
• Orsin (trademark)
• Rodol (trademark)
•  Ursol (trademark)
• 2-Nitro-1
• 4-Diaminobenzene
• Dye GS
• Durafur Brown 2R
• Fouramine 2R
• 1,4 Diaminonitrobenzol (German)
• 1,4 Diamino -2-Nitrobenzene
• C.I. Oxidation Base 22
• Fourrine Brown 2R
• NCI-Co2222,4-Amino2-Nitroaniline
• 2-Nitro-1,4-Benzenediamene
• Fourrine 36
• o-Nitro-p-Phenylenediamine
• 2-Nitro1,4-Phenylenediamine
• Nitro-Phenylenediamine
• Oxidation Base 22
• Ursol Brown RR
• C.I. 76070
• Zoba Brown RR
• 2-Nitro-4-Aminoaniline

The following colors are PPD based colors, so DON'T USE:

Aveda - Pre 2011
Beth Minardi
Clairol Natural Instincts
Dickson
EcoColors
Framesi
Goldwell
Herbatint - Pre-2014 
ISO
Lanza
Logics
Loreal
Matrix (There is one without PPD, it's TDS)
Naturtint Reflex
Paul Mitchell 
Pravana
Redkin
Scruples 

The following are TDS based colors, so SOME many not be allergic:

Actyva
Alfaparf
Aloxxi 
Aveda - Post 2011
Clairol Beautiful, Advanced Grey
Framesi Eclectic
Farouk/Chi
Kemon-yo, Ne-Yo
Kenra
Mastey Teinture
Matrix Colorinsider
Pravana Silk Degrees
Sanotint (most people react to this)
Schwartzkopf Essensity, Igora
TIGI
Wella Koleston/color charm - (May contain PPD) 

The following have AZO dyes, which many people CAN use:

Clairol : Beautiful, Born Blond Toner, Glorious Greys, Jazzing Shades 94, 96, 97, 98 & 99, X-treme FX Color Shocks, and Loving Care
Cosamo
Davine's Finest Pigments
Goldwell's Elumen
Manic Panic (the red sometimes bothers people)
Roux Fanciful Rinse
Roux Color Mousse

This is NOT a complete list. This is only for people to avoid asking me the same questions over and over. EVERY COLOR SHOULD BE TRIPLE PATCH TESTED! Twice on the inner arm, three days apart, for 15 minutes, and then once behind the ear. Mixed if this is an option. There should be NO marks what so ever after testing is finished. No welts, bumps, rash, hives, itching, or redness for the entire three days. It took me a few years to develop this way of testing, but it will save you from getting your entire head covered with a reactive product because the current patch testing doesn't work. 

I hope this blog helps some people to react less. 

Read my other entries, they can help! If you like what your reading, subscribe to this blog. I write once a month.

Happy Fall! 
 


 
 

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!

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