Dye-ing to look good
By: Lindsay Kutac
Caitlin Rinehart, seventh grade student at Bradley Middle School, has attention turned to her because of her dyed hair. She may pull it off, but you wonder what kind of damage is being done to her hair. Dying your hair, particularly partially, is becoming ragingly popular throughout San Antonio. And you should know, for a fact, that all of them have not spared a thought to the shocking kind of harm is being done to their scalp.
Apparently, Miss Rinehart has had her hair dyed twice. Once blonde, once red, and both times have been done professionally. When asked why she would dye her hair, she answered, “I liked the way it looked.”
Many hair dyes have the chemical compound para phenylenediamine, and sometimes, it’s fatal. The element seeps through the scalp and makes direct contact with the brain, like when “a woman who died [of] death from anaphylactic [reaction to PPD] shock”
It’s not just para phenylenediamine, though. Another toxic chemical is resorcinol;
“Resorcinol is a phenolic chemical used in [the] cosmetics (hair dye) industry. Resorcinol is a […] toxic and corrosive chemical.” This means it can erode the scalp skin.
One final ingredient that is high up on the hazard list is: p-Aminophenol. This colorant agent is derived from coal tar. Do you really want that in your hair? One poor lady was hospitalized for three days because of a p-Aminophenol reaction: “Both my eyes swelled up and the skin at the side of my earlobes was really swollen and itchy. the worst part was the awful pus that was still oozing from my head all the time.”
Don’t dye your hair. You may risk thinning hair, cancer, or even death! Most people don’t consider that when they want a new look, but you should keep it in mind, because no matter how much you may want a new color, most people aren’t dye-ing to look good.
