Toxic chemicals found in at-home hair dyes from LOral, Revlon and more, says watchdog

There’s nothing pretty about this. A watchdog group tested more than 20 top-selling at-home hair dyes and found toxic chemicals across the board — including a substance classified as a probable human carcinogen that showed up in every single one.“Harmful chemicals have no place in our everyday products,” Oriene Shin, safety advocacy manager at Consumer Reports (CR), which conducted the deep-dive, said in a press release.“Not in the dyes adults use to cover their grays.

Not in the chalk kids use for school spirit day.Not anywhere.”Skin irritation is one of the most common complaints from hair dye users, with symptoms ranging from redness and itching to a burning sensation.Beyond those short-term reactions, researchers warn the bigger concern is what repeated exposure over time could do to the body.“Some compounds in permanent hair dyes are designed to penetrate deeply into the hair shaft, and once in the body, certain chemical ingredients or their breakdown products may contribute to DNA damage, inflammation or hormone disruption,” Dr.

Adana Llanos, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, told CR’s Leigh-Ann Jackson.For the investigation, CR sent 21 boxed hair dyes and two temporary hair chalk products sold online and in stores nationwide to a third-party lab for testing.Researchers were looking for phthalates, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs — chemicals that easily evaporate into the air and can be inhaled.Short-term exposure to certain VOCs can trigger headaches, nausea and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat.

Over time, exposure has been linked to damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system.Some VOCs are also known or suspected to cause cancer.“Our testing found that some hair dyes released VOCs at levels high enough to raise real concern, particularly for people who color their hair frequently at home,” said Ashita Kapoor, CR’s director for product safety.One chemical stood...