Disfigured after a hair coloring, a student testifies to warn about the risks of these products

"I had a light bulb head." Estelle, 19, a student in English who lives in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), made a very important allergic reaction to PPD (an abbreviation for paraphenylenediamine), a substance contained in a hair coloring. a famous brand. After posting photos of her disfigured face on her mother's Facebook profile, she testifies in The Parisian, Tuesday, November 27, to launch an alert "to all who use these products".

"Ten days ago, a Friday, a few hours after 'changing her head', from blonde to brunette, her scalp starts to scratch, the top of her head to swell", reports the daily. The pharmacist advises him Antihistamines and an itch cream, but on Sunday morning, his face is still swollen. She goes to the emergency room. She "chokes", "breathes badly". An infusion with corticosteroids and antihistamines is not enough: an adrenaline puncture is given to her and she is hospitalized for one night.

Estelle acknowledges having "do something stupid" : she tried the coloring on her skin before applying it on her hair, but waited only 30 minutes, against 48 hours recommended. "The leaflet states that an allergic test must be performed before staining. Certainly she did not follow the instructions to the letter. But (…) it is essential that the warnings are clearer (…). Specify on the packaging that the product conholds PPD, a highly allergenic product that can lead to catastrophic reactions ", says the young woman's mother on Facebook on November 20, four days after the coloring. Since then, the photos and his comment are no longer public on the social network. As for Estelle, she has now found her normal face and has no sequelae.

"We have known PPD for a long time, 2 to 3% of the population is allergic to it while today, one in two people dyes their hair, I have seen patients disfigured", Explain Dr. Catherine Oliveres-Ghouti, a member of the National Union of Dermatologists, interviewed in The Parisian. In 2013, the ANSM alerted about the PPD present in black ephemeral tattoos based on henna.