Solicitors are not usually known for their altruism, and those who specialise in personal injury have developed a peculiarly unsavoury reputation for themselves. So it was with some scepticism that I read a recent press release about Greg Almond of Almonds (personal injury) Solicitors in Manchester who has started a campaign to ban PPD (para-phenylenediamine), a chemical component of many hair dyes (both used in salons and for home use) that can cause serious allergic reactions.
Greg Almond has already won one claim against a major hair dye retailer who sold a kit which contained PPDs and is representing another woman who has suffered hair loss and permanent damage to her hair follicles following the use of another home hair dying product. However, his ‘campaign’ has really been got off the ground by the recent tragic death of 17-year-old Tabatha McCourt who is thought may have had a violent allergic reaction to the PPD in the hair dye that she was using.
PPD was named allergen of the year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society while the safety of all hair dyes remain under scrutiny by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Cosmetics and Non-Food Products. See an article in Cosmetics and Toileteries for more elucidation. Greg Almond is urging the government, via his local MP, to follow the lead of those European countries (Germany, France and Sweden) who have banned PPD and has submitted a FOI request asking for data on what investigations, testing and or research have been conducted into the chemical.
If you want to know more about PPD, what allergic reactions it can cause and how to treat them the New Zealand Dermatological Society have a helpful page on their website. You could also check Professor John McFadden’s article on hair dye in the February 2007 BMJ.
Another take on the problem…..
Does this GregnAlmonds have a site advertising his campaign? My mother just suffered a severe allergic reation to having her hair coloured. She experianced many side effects just to list a few, severe redness, itching blistering and oozing of the scalp. she ended up going to emergency for treatment and had trouble even laying her head down at nite to sleep for weeks. By the time they got her to a specialist he said she has such a severe allergy to the ppd he could not do any further testing of it on her as it would burn a hole right through her skin. This causes many issues as she is a hairdresser and the product they use all contain ppd. Any info on this campaign would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Natasha – Your poor mum – that sounds horrendous. I don’t think Greg Almond has a campaign website but why don’t you contact him through his office website http://www.almondpersonalinjurysolicitors.co.uk Good luck and I do hope that your mum’s sensitivity gradually reduces.
I have just been reading about another, probably fatal, reaction to PPD – see the MailOnLine’s article about Julie McCabe who collapsed after using a L’Oreal ‘Preference’ hair dye which contained PPD and who has been in a coma since. See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2063862/Julie-McCabe-coma-using-LOreal-Preference-hair-dye.html
I used a hairdye back in November 2011 and had a.severe allergic reaction much like your poor mum Natasha, 3 months later and Im still being poisoned by it, Im back to an oozy scalp, going mad with itch and getting no sleep. Im from Belfast but found Greg through his campaign and he is now representing me in a.case against the makers of the dye, You should definitely get in touch with him. The more people who speak out and back the campaign the more likely it is that something will be done before more lives are ruined or ended by PPD.
I was told on a kit’s instructions to put a tiny dab behind my ear…
I ended up in Hull infirmary with an ear three times it’s normal size
and was told by the Doctor that if I’d used it on my head, I’d have ended
up in Intensive Care!
This dangerous chemical must be banned NOW!
And what I want to know… Is there really a NEED for it???
Can anyone please confirm if diesel contains PPD?
My son aged 17yo at the time suffered a diesel spill over his head, forearms and face. He immediately developed red swollen areas on his arms and face, then a few days to a week later, his hair began to fall out in patches where the diesel had been in contact, which was pretty severe. He has now gone on to develop alopecia totalis. We believe the diesel, without doubt was the trigger. His face, arms and eyelids had crusty, weeping sores which have now calmed down with the help of steroid creams but his hair has not returned. He turns 19 next week and wont go out to socialise and refuses to be seen without a hat – even in the house! We need help!
Hi Sandra -
I have just been looking at PPD and deisel on line and it appears that it diesel, along with black rubber, oils, greases, photocopying and printing inks, temporary tattoos and some cosmetics, does contain PPD. If you look at the DermNetNZ site it gives you some information about it.
What an awful situation for your son. I do hope that it does not turn out to be irreversible….. Although so many boys now choose to shave their heads that maybe, in time, he will come to feel less self conscious about having the equivalent of a shaved head. I do hope so.
Best – Michelle