Why Does Dying Your Hair Make Your Scalp Dry?
Dying your hair has become an at-home convenience and a salon luxury. Regardless of which method you choose, you should know what the contents of your hair dye are and how they might irritate or damage your skin before coloring your hair. Understanding what products are available and what they contain will help you determine which product to use.
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Categories
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has separated hair dye into three categories: permanent, semi-permanent and temporary. Permanent hair dye is noted as the most common and is further broken down into oxidation or progressive types.
Oxidation Dyes
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Oxidation dyes are one type of permanent dye. According to the FDA, oxidation dyes contain three products to create what is essentially a chemical reaction. The intermediate (or p-phenylenediamine) product creates the chemical reaction, and the preformed dye (or nitro-p-phenylenediamine) adds color variation. The third product is the developer, an ammoniacal solution containing soap, detergent, conditioner and hydrogen peroxide.
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Progressive Dyes
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According to the FDA, progressive hair dyes use lead acetate as a color developer. Another type of permanent dye, it works by using the sulfur contained in your hair keratin (a protein). The lead acetate creates a chemical reaction with the sulfur and will darken your hair color depending on how long you leave it on.
Contact Dermatitis
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Oxidation or progressive hair dye essentially causes a chemical reaction and can deplete moisture from your scalp, resulting in irritation. However, scalp dryness can also be the result of contact dermatitis or an allergic reaction to one of the chemicals contained in the hair dye (American Academy of Dermatology).
Prevention/Solution
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Follow the instructions carefully on the package if using an at-home hair dye. By doing a test strip or patch, you can determine whether the product is safe for you to use. If you feel the dye is making your skin irritated or burn, do not use the product.
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References
- Photo Credit hair dyeing image by Mikhail Malyshev from Fotolia.com
