Help? Bad reaction to hair dye!

I'm afraid it's really hard for any of us to say. I don't think any of us here are doctors. All I can say is, it's definitely not the worst reaction I've seen, by far, I've seen much worse. But if it scabs, whatever you do, don't pick it.

Doctors really don't like hair dye much, because they see the bad side so frequently. People can become allergic to dye suddenly at any age and after using it for years, so it can be a shock. So doctors do have a habit of being quite harsh with people that have had reactions, so if it was a doctor that told you this, they are right of course, but they do tend to give you the worst outcome possible to scare you in to not using it again. The most likely thing to happen is, it'll heal and it'll be fine.

Having said all that, on looking at it again. It doesn't look like a reaction to me, it looks like a chemical burn. Still not terribly deep, unless this was a while ago. When did it happen? The fact it's mostly outside your hair line also leads me to think you'll be fine, if it was very recent, it might scab over, but if it's older, it'll eventually fade.

If it is a reaction, never use it again. If it's a chemical burn,  you can use it when your skin has healed, but make sure to wipe it off your skin past your hair line. I've done the same thing in the past with bleach on the nape of my neck, when you're doing it yourself it's harder to see there so I've ended up with similar looking burns. They healed fine. The time to start to worry is when it's oozing pus and lovely stuff like that!

So yeah, just to reiterate, don't pick at any scabs that may or may not happen!

Thanks for your reply. I am definitely allergic to this Just For Men stuff now. I tried a test patch on my arm and it's itching like crazy... and red.

The reason I got such a bad reaction on my head was because I harshly tried to rub off the die that was left on my skin. STUPID ME.

It is slowly getting better. I am using aloe and cortisol as well as benedictory.

Should I see a dermatologist or general practitioner aspap?
I really need to get the gray out of my hair since I am looking for a job.
Is there anything I can use?
How can I make sure I don't cause hair follicle damage?
Thanks for your help.

It looks to me like a mild reaction to the dye. If you have any, put some sudocrem on it overnight. It will really help.
You should stay away from box dyes from now on. It was most probably a reaction to the PPD in box dyes but you would need tests to know for sure.

You can try using a direct dye, the Adore range has some nice natural colors. You will need to presoften the hair by using a very low volume peroxide (10 vol or less) for 5-10 minutes then rinse, shampoo and then color. Its much more gentle than box dyes.

Thank you for your input.
So it is possible to have my hair colored then.
Is natural hair dye just as risky as boxed hair dye for creating hair follicle damage?

Direct dyes will not damage your hair in anyway. They work by staining the cuticle. They have no harsh chemicals and most of us find they even help condition your hair. They will not damage the hair follicle and are safe for use on the scalp.
I use them on my bf who has very sensitive scalp and face skin and have never had a problem.

Thank you for your reply.

If it is a reaction, don't some adore dyes have PPD in them? I'm not sure, it's not something I've looked at in detail.

Is natural hair dye just as risky as boxed hair dye for creating hair follicle damage?

Be careful with dyes branded as "natural". It's a word thrown at lots of products, but it doesn't mean you can't have a reaction to them.

If it is a reaction, don't some adore dyes have PPD in them? I'm not sure, it's not something I've looked at in detail.

Is natural hair dye just as risky as boxed hair dye for creating hair follicle damage?

Be careful with dyes branded as "natural". It's a word thrown at lots of products, but it doesn't mean you can't have a reaction to them.

So I guess I should always do a test. I will.
Maybe I shouldn't do anything from now on.
How can I make sure I didn't do follicle damage? I am probably over reacting.

This is the patch test I did last night. It's red and very itchy. I know I used too large an area.  *stars*

Should I never even attempt to use another hair die product after this? What about professionally done?

What is henna hair dye? Is that an option?
Thank you.

It depends what exactly you are allergic/sensitive to.
A common allergen in hair dye is PPD, there are dyes available that don't contain PPDs which in theory would be safe to use. I think 'Just for men' is a slightly different formulation to most box dyes, so if it isn't a PPD allergy you might be ok using other brands of dye.

As far as i know neither of the adore ranges ( adore shining and adore plus) contain PPD but i have never used the plus range so i cant confirm that.
Adore plus is 'natural' colors only, which are supposed to be better at covering grey so there is a possibility that those are the ones which may contain PPD.
It is always best to check the ingredients and do a patch test before using.

You could ask your doctor to do a test and that way you can be 100% sure what caused the reaction. As wicked pixie said, it might just be the formulation of that specific brand.

I cant really help with the Henna question as I have never used it myself but i do know some of the other members have used henna from Lush. Hopefully one of them will help you out.

I've used henna from Lush - they range from bright fiery copper, through a few shades of reddy-brown, brown, I'm not sure if they have a dark brown/blackish one?  It's been a while since I looked.
The Lush henna blocks have a lot of coconut oil and other conditioning things in them so they're quite good for your hair.  Possibly easier/less hassle than using "real" henna powders but I've only experienced the Lush version so not really sure on that.
However be aware henna is quite permanent and pretty much has to be grown/cut out if you change your mind, so it's important to do a strand test first in case you hate it!
How you treat your hair while the henna mix is on also affects the outcome - if you let it cool and dry, it'll be darker/more brown - keep it moist and hot (eg wrap your head in clingfilm + a hat) will maximise the reddishness.

If you go into a Lush store, have a chat and look at their range, ask them for a sample so you can do a skin patch test and a strand test.  Maybe even get a couple of shades.  Be sure to include greys in your strand test!

You can also ask your GP to refer you for skin patch testing by a dermatology department (I've done that too), explain to them what happened, what you reacted to etc, show them your pictures.  They'll take it from there.

For the moment, apply sudocrem or a cool compress to your red patches and take an antihistamine tablet for a couple of days.  You can also get antihistamine cream but be very gentle with it - any aggravation only increases the itch in my experience  🙂

Thanks for the replies. It's slowly getting better.
Maybe I should just stay away from coloring my hair. After all, I would hate to do damage to my hair follicles What do you think?!

one more thing.  *stars*
I am really afraid my hear is looking thinner where some of of the red is. I pray to God I didn't do damage. I have to think I didn't. I have to.  :'(

Please stop worrying about damage to the follicles. This is really only something that happens when you have serious, very deep chemical burns to the scalp. I can tell you many here have had quite bad burns from dyes and bleach and the vast majority (if not all) still have hair in those spots.

I recently had a bad experience when someone else bleached my hair and practically scrubbed the bleach into my scalp. I had a lot of quite bad burns and a lot of very large scabs all over my scalp. I have no bald spots now.

I'm afraid, if you do have thinning spots, it's either the hair has broken off at the scalp (you'll start feeling the hairs growing back very soon), natural male pattern balding) or that you're seeing something that just isn't happening because it's something you're so worried about happening.

I would actually advise you to stay away from dying for now, but more to try and let your body deal with the red patches and the trauma of a reaction.