Hair Dye Precautions

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests taking these precautions when using hair dye...

· Do not leave the dye on your tread any longer than necessary.

· Rinse your scalp thoroughly with water after dyeing.

· Wear gloves when applying hair dye.

· Carefully follow the package directions.

· Never mix different hair dye products, because you can induce potentially harmful reactions.

Almost all hair dye products include instructions for conducting a patch test, to check for allergic reactions before applying to your hair. To test, put a dab of hair dye behind your ear and don't wash it off for two days. If no itching, burning, redness or other signs of allergic reaction develop at the test spot, you can be relatively sure that you won't develop a reaction when the dye is applied to your hair.

If you do react to the patch test, do the same test with different brands or colors until you find one to which you're not allergic.

Never dye your eyebrows or eyelashes. An allergic reaction could prompt swelling, inflammation and susceptibility to infection in the eye area. These reactions can severely harm the eye and even cause blindness. The FDA prohibits the use of hair dyes for eyelash and eyebrow tinting or dyeing in beauty salons or other establishments.