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 Occupational eczema, a severe itchy skin rash, is often caused by
such chemical exposures and frequently drives hairdressers and
trainees out of the profession, researchers report in the journal
Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In a small study, hairdressers who used longer, more protective
disposable gloves - and used them only once - had much lower
exposure to a common skin-irritating chemical in hair dye, compared
to when they reused gloves.
Evelyne Aerts, an author of the study, told Reuters Health she
decided to investigate the subject after a pregnant hairdresser
asked her whether it was safe to continue working with chemicals.
Of particular interest were PPD and PTD (paraphenylenediamine and
paratoluenediamine), chemicals frequently found in permanent hair
dye and known to cause allergic skin reactions.
Past research has shown that under real work conditions, using
gloves has not protected hairdressers from being exposed to these
chemicals, the study team says.
Aerts and lead author Tom Geens, both of Provikmo Occupational
Health Services in Bruges, told Reuters Health in a joint comment
that this is likely to be because hairdressers commonly misuse
gloves, with some industry guidelines even instructing hairdressers
to turn gloves inside out and reuse them.
Hand eczema “is a major problem in the sector, and it has been shown
previously to be an important reason to leave the profession, or
even earlier, the training,” the authors said by email.
The researchers recruited 11 hairdressers from two hair salons in
Belgium and observed them over a two-week period.
During the first week, the hairdressers followed their normal glove
use routine, which involved washing disposable gloves, then turning
them inside out and reusing them. The participants also tended to be
less careful with glove use while using lighter colored hair dye.
During the second week of the study, the hairdressers followed the
study team’s glove recommendations, using gloves during the entire
dyeing process and only using disposable gloves once. The
hairdressers also used gloves with a longer cuff that were made of
nitrile, which tends to be more chemical-resistant than traditional
latex.
The researchers monitored subjects’ exposure to the dyeing agents by
collecting urine samples before and after their shifts on three
consecutive work days. They collected another sample after at least
two days without exposure to see if the substances built up in the
hairdressers’ bodies.
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The results showed that the hairdressers’ overall exposure to PTD
was much lower in the second week, while only using gloves once.
Urine concentrations of the chemical were about one sixth of what
they were during the week when gloves were reused.
The researchers did not find a difference in the hairdressers’
exposure to PPD and the chemical did not appear to build up in the
body.
The study did not directly examine how proper glove use affected
symptoms of hand eczema. But, the researchers conclude, the results
show that correct glove use does reduce exposure to a very common
cause of eczema among hairdressers.
Dr. Pil Kyun Jung of the Department of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine in Korea notes that glove size is also
important to consider. “Especially in the case of using loose
gloves, concentrations and absorption of such substances can be
amplified,” Jung said in an email.
Geens and Aerts strongly advised against reusing disposable gloves
and recommended using them throughout the entire dyeing process.
“Protective gloves should be worn while mixing color, application of
color and during rinsing and washing after dyeing,” they said.
Beyond changing gloves as often as possible and washing hands if
there is an unexpected exposure to hair dye, “After washing hands,
proper moisturizing using hand lotions or creams" will help prevent
irritation, Jung advised.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1IR24ON Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
online August 6, 2015.
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