Have You Experienced Headache After Dyeing Hair? Find Out What That’s About!

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Are you thinking about dyeing your hair? It’s a great way to change your look. However, some people might develop a problem with dyeing their hair. 

Have you ever experienced headaches after dyeing hair? This is a problem that can be more common than you think. There are some people who really experience headaches as a side effect of using hair dyes. 

There are various reasons why that could happen and today, we are going through those reasons to help you better understand them. Plus we’ll help you get rid of the headache that you might develop from dyeing your hair. 


Contents

Why Do You Have a Headache After Dyeing Hair?

Developing a headache after dyeing the hair is quite common. It’s a side effect of using the hair dye and although many people might expect this to happen, it is still worthwhile to know why it does.

Developing a headache after dyeing the hair is quite common

Hair dyes are made of a combination of chemicals, commonly a developer like hydrogen peroxide as well as other ingredients. There might be something in the ingredients that could cause you to have a headache.

After all, you will leave the hair dye in contact with your hair and scalp for quite some time in order for it to work. 

Here are a few reasons why you might get a headache after dyeing your hair (particularly if you color twice in a day):

1. Allergies

The first reason could be the ingredients themselves. As we’ve said, you are going to expose yourself to the chemicals in contact with your hair and scalp for quite some time. 

That time may be enough to trigger your allergies and cause you to have a headache. 

One of the most common allergens found in hair dyes is PPD or paraphenylenediamine. This is mixed with the dye to help give your hair a natural look. This helps make sure that the dye doesn’t wash off when you shampoo your hair.

It is possible to develop contact allergic dermatitis if your skin is sensitive to PPD. That’s the reason why most hair dyes suggest you do a patch test before using the product. 

2. Scent Triggers

There are some people whose migraine can get triggered simply because of the scent that the hair dye produces. Depending on the quality of the hair dye that you use, it might produce some triggering scents for you. 

It is possible that the migraine is triggered by the fragrance included in the hair dye. Similarly, it could be caused by the intense odor of the bleach that is used to remove the color of the hair. 

It is the strong scents that usually trigger the migraine. In order to avoid this, choose a No products found. that is free of perfumes or other harsher chemicals. 

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3. Physical Stress

Another thing that could cause your headache when dyeing your hair is the physical stress that you go through.

When coloring the hair, there could be a need to pull the hair tight so that the roots could be efficiently colored. This action can be stressful on the scalp.

When coloring the hair, there could be a need to pull the hair tight so that the roots could be efficiently colored. This action can be stressful on the scalp.

Apart from that, there are dyeing procedures like highlighting that involve the use of foil. Sectioning the hair and wrapping individual sections can pull on the hair due to the added weight of the foils plus the chemicals used. 

For some people, doing a lot of things on their heads is enough to give them a headache. If you are the one who dyes your hair, then you could get physically stressed from having to raise your arms and color your own hair. 

4. The Length Of The Procedure

In order to properly color the hair, it needs to be sectioned and then the hair dye needs to be applied carefully. That may take quite some time to do. This is particularly true with balayage dying.

Additionally, you have to let it stay in your hair for quite some time for the chemicals to work. All that could make you miss your lunch or could leave you hungry or low blood sugar. Sometimes, that would be enough to cause you to have a headache. 

5. The Salon Environment

Many people prefer to have their hair dyed at the salon by a professional. That’s a good choice especially if you want your hair dyeing done right. The professionals are more experienced and may do a better job at achieving the color you want. 

However, going to the salon could cause you to have a headache. If the chemicals from your hair dye don’t trigger your headache, there could be other chemicals in the salon that could. 

Apart from the chemicals, the environment at the salon could be the culprit. It could be the bright lighting in the salon or it could be the noise due to the hair dryers running. It may also be a combination of all those.


How To Get Rid Of Headaches Due To Hair Dyes

Getting headaches due to your hair dye could be very annoying and a big hassle — especially if you love dying your hair. The first thing to do to help get rid of those headaches is to try to pinpoint what causes them.

Once you’ve done that, you can do the following to counter the cause. 

1. Do A Patch Test

A patch test will help you know if you are allergic to the hair dye or not. With this, a small amount of the hair dye is applied to the skin and is left there for observation. 

If you develop an allergic reaction in the areas, usually applied behind the ear, then it would be best not to use that specific hair dye. It would be better to look for other hair dyes that won’t cause allergies. 

2. Use Henna Instead

PPD is the main chemical that you could be allergic to. Many dyes use this chemical for hair dyes but if you are allergic to it, you can try henna as an alternative. 

 Henna Â  is natural and made from plants. It doesn’t contain PPD and can be used to dye the hair. However, the color available is more limited as compared to other hair dyes with PPD. 

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Written by Kayla Young

Kayla is the founder of LuxeLuminous. She has worked professionally in the tanning industry for years. She has been interested in esthetics since childhood, and has tried every hair, skin, and makeup product ever produced (more or less).