Hair Colours And Its Effects
We are no doubt thrilled by the endless number of hair colour options available in the market nowadays. And we have seen many people changing their hair colour according to what’s trending. Hair colouring is not only trendy but also helps to hide grey hair as premature greying is a problem many youths are facing today.
Unfortunately. we happen to live in a world that is full of toxins, starting from cosmetic products to foods. And hair colours are no exception, despite it being trendy and fashionable, hair colours are not really healthy for the hair. This is because, it contains many chemicals which are harmful for your hair as well as your body.
The main chemicals present in most hair colours is ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Ammonia provides the alkaline to the hair thereby raising the pH balance and helping bi lightening of the hair It swells q the hair and opens the hair cuticle letting the chemicals from the hair colour penetrate the hair shaft. The deeper the hair colour penetrates, the richer Is the colour of the hair.
Though ammonia helps bi giving a rich colour and the Initial result is amazing, It damages the hair overtime, making it weak and prone to breakage. While on the other hand. hydrogen peroxide is better known to be an oxidising agent and it helps in initiating the colour on to the hair: making the colour last longer. It also removes sulphur from the hair. And the more of this substance is added, the more volume of sulphur is removed from the hair, making it get hard and lose its weight and volume.
As more and more people are aware of the effects of ammonia present in hair colours, many companies have started launching hair colouring products that claim to be free of ammonia. However. even when the trend of ammonia free hair colouring agents have been growing, many companies still use chemical agents which are similar and related to ammonia. Such chemical agents are monoethanolamine, aminomethyl propanol and resorcinol. These chemical agents don’t give out burning fumes that ammonia does, but has the same effect that ammonia has and therefore, people are tricked into thinking that they are using a much milder hair colouring product.
Though ammonia helps in giving a rich colour and the initial result ¡s amazing, it damages the hair overtime, making it weak and prone to breakage
Side Effects Of Hair Colouring
Allergic Reactions
Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) ¡s a substance used as a hair colouring agent. It can cause severe allergic reactions like itchy scalp, swelling in the scalp, swelling around the eyelids and the eyes, scaly skin around nose, eyes and face.
Asthma
Constant exposure to paraphenylenediamine (PPD) and persulfates used in hair colours and bleach can trigger asthma by sensitising the airways making it difficult to breathe.
Breast Cancer
Apart from causing an allergy, paraphenylenediamine (PPD) can also be a cause of breast cancer. Resorcinol is a chemical that disrupts the endocrine system and the natural hormonal imbalance. It can also increase the risk of breast cancer.
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
This type of cancer is of the lymph tissue often found ¡n the spleen. bone marrow and lymph nodes. Research has found that this form of cancer is often found in people who use hair colouring agents regularly.
Hair Breakage
The hair becomes over processed due to the excessive exposure to the products. It becomes dry, rough, brittle and starts to break easily.
Almost all the hair colouring products contain chemicals which are one way or the other harmful for your hair and body. There are many organic hair colouring agents abundantly found in nature. These are henna, chamomile tea, red hibiscus tea, coffee etc. You can use these organic materials to colour your hair because they are non-toxic and harmless.
However, henna is the only pure natural hair product available in the market which is free from chemicals like ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. There are several types of henna like natural, neutral and black. Nevertheless, it is necessary to go through a simple allergy test even before using the above mentioned organic hair colouring agents. Truly organic or natural hair colours are a better and safer option, even if they don’t give you the magnificent deeply coloured hair that you desire and that which, chemical hair colouring products can give you.
Hydrogen peroxide removes sulphur from the hair. And as more sulphur is removed, it gets hard and loses its weight and volume