Today, everybody knows that certain metals, such as nickel, chromium and cobalt can cause health problems and allergies. Not everyone may know, though, that these three potentially toxic elements can be found in high concentrations in hair dyes.
Studies show that constituents of hair dyes show up in the urine within 24 hours, which means they’re circulating throughout the body after the application.
There is substantial evidence that nickel, chromium and cobalt are essential elements required for the body in extremely low amounts; however, all three can cause serious problems in the body, when in excess.
Let’s address nickel toxicity here. Excess nickel has been well established to be toxic to the kidneys and carcinogenic. A single cigarette typically contains from 2 to 6 mcg of nickel. Nickel is absorbed more efficiently in the lungs than in the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms of chronic nickel exposure include dermatitis, chronic rhinitis, and hypersensitivity reactions. Nickel can hypersensitize the immune system, causing hyperallergenic responses to many different substances. Consider the type of allergies caused by nickel in earrings or in scissors used by hairdressers. One study, done by Aecono Consulting, shows that allergy, in particular to nickel, is found in 10% of women in industrialized countries. The other potentially toxic elements, chromium and cadmium, will be addressed in future articles.
You may not be showing physical signs that you’re accumulating nickel or other toxic elements yet, primarily because your body hasn’t reached a critical load of them. Once the body reaches the ‘overflow’ point, that’s when signs and symptoms start to appear.
Growing numbers of women and men are turning to hair dyes that are known to have low levels of these metals. One European-trained cosmetologist, Ted Berry, at his salon, Hair Color To Go™, has been using hair coloring imported from Europe for over a decade on clients. It’s one that’s documented to be low in nickel, chromium and cobalt. Ted created a patent-pending system of affordable custom European hair coloring mixed for an individual.
“There’s a difference between sensitivity to nickel, chromium and cobalt and an allergy. If someone is allergic to these potentially toxic elements, they shouldn’t use any dyes with any amounts of the metals in them. But if they’re sensitive to hair dyes, it’s possible that there will be reduced sensitivity from the European hair color because of the extremely low percentages of these toxic metals in the dyes," he said. “It’s always best to do a patch test of the dye on skin before it’s applied to the hair."
To use dyes or not is always the question.
“The answer is that either way, there are pros and cons. When you factor in the benefit of a more youthful appearance, suddenly the quality of life gets better and it seems to outweigh a lot of the cons… It’s worth it to a lot of people to dye their hair and look their best every day," Ted said. “When you think of all the other chemicals and pesticides that are encountered on a daily basis, such as from smoking, air pollution, and food contaminants, these are probably accumulating at higher rates in the body than six or seven applications of hair dyes throughout the year."
He searched for years to find a safer hair dye before he found one from Europe that actually provided optimal professional color for clients.
“Some people use Henna, but Henna doesn’t cover gray hair well because it can create yellow or green tones on the gray. won’t make you blonder, is messy because it’s a powder, is tedious to apply, and it’s limited. Compound henna products can contain fine metallic salts; if they do, they aren’t compatible with most other chemical services. If henna dye could somehow give professional color, hairdressers would use it. But it doesn’t."
His patent-pending system involves a highly accurate way to customize your hair coloring, even though you may be miles away from his salon. All formulas are mixed to your color expectations, formulated by a certified cosmetologist for the composition of your hair. The porosity of one’s hair determines the amount of color lifting and also color distortion. You can conveniently apply your color at home, achieving better quality than over-the-counter products without visiting a salon.
Ted made the process a simple three-step process:
1) Order your hair color analysis kit, which consists of 22 actual hair samples to be used to determine your existing hair color and condition. The swatches come with full instructions and the evaluation process takes only a few minutes.
2) Submit the Analysis information online, by phone or by mail.
3) Receive your custom formulated hair color, formulated by your own personal Senior Color Consultant. She’s one of several Hair Color To Go™ European-trained hair color technicians who is a certified cosmetologist and expert in hair care science. She will contact you by email or phone and assist you in obtaining your first hair color product.
Try this professional grade color for yourself. For more information, see www.HairColorToGo.com
Dr. Donna Schwontkowski is known as “Sacramento’s Detox Expert" and teaches detoxification and cleansing as well as other natural health classes. She’s also the editor of Health & Fitness Magazine. Find out more about her extensive background and services at www.DrDonna.net or contact her directly at DrDonna@DrDonna.net
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Thursday, March 22, 2007 View other articles written by Dr. Donna Schwontkowski(36)
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