Hairdressers warn of post-Covid hair dye allergies

Hairdressers have reported that customers are experiencing new allergic reactions to hair dye after contracting Covid, as scientists investigate how the virus could be reprogramming our immune systems.

The BBC reported that the reactions, including rashes and burns, have been recorded by salons in parts of the UK.

One customer said she suffered a reaction to a patch test after having Covid, despite using the same hair dye for ten years. She explained that she developed a “hot burning sensation” behind her ears that worsened “to the point where it had taken layers of skin” off.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF), the trade body that represents hairdressers and beauticians, has advised hairdressers to always carry out patch tests at least 48 hours before colouring their clients’ hair to avoid facing legal action.

This is not the first time a connection between this type of allergy and Covid-19 has been suggested. Last winter, rumours swept around the hairdressing community that clients had developed allergies to hair dye after having coronavirus.

The NHBF had speculated that the heightened skin sensitivity may have have been due to the fact that people hadn’t had their hair dyed for a long time, naturally developing a sensitivity during the lockdown months.

Scientists at Imperial College London are researching how the virus could be reprogramming our immune system, in a similar way to other illnesses.

Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial, told the BBC that “among the very bizarre and horrible things the virus does, one of the things it seems to be able to do is reprogramme, tune up and tune down, different parts of the immune response”.