Ecotoxicity, Health Risks and Contact Allergy Due to p-Phenylenediamine in Hair Dyes and Tattoos: Female Students' Perspectives.

ABSTRACT

While the financial advantages of hair coloring and tattooing are widely acknowledged, environmental hazards and health risks linked to this trend due to their p-phenylenediamine (PPD) content have received less attention. Health education on hair-dying products is warranted to enhance the public's awareness of hair-dying ingredients and their side effects.  A cross-sectional study was therefore conducted with 319 students to assess knowledge of ecotoxicity, health risks, and practices of hair dyeing and tattooing among undergraduate students. A random sample of 59 students was checked for any allergic morphology in the scalp and exposed areas of skin near the neck, ears, palms, and nails. Responses collected were used for data analyses using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 17 (Released 2008; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Use of hair dye was significantly high among study participants 58.5% (n=187; p<0.05). However, their knowledge regarding the presence of PPD in hair dyes and associated environmental toxicity (37.8%, n=121) was very limited. The majority of participants did not do any allergy tests before applying hair dye (88.9%, n=283). The study revealed that the main reason for hair coloring was as a fashion statement (93.7%, n=299). Regarding tattooing practices, 96.9% (n=309) of study participants had never practiced tattoos, and hence, the prevalence of tattooing was 3.9% (n=12). These data confirmed that the practice of hair dyeing as a style statement was high among students. However, the majority were unaware of their PPD contents and their potential ecotoxicity and health risks.