Everyone likes to look good and feel good, right? Hair dye helps people achieve the looks they desire, but there are still some aspects of hair dye that may raise concern. People want to know what is in it, if it is healthy, and what the statistics may show. This essay will address each crucial detail so that these question can be answered properly. It is important to understand the chemistry behind hair dye before being able to fully understand how it works. To begin with, a dye is not the same as a pigment. The difference is that the molecules in dye have to attach to the molecules that color (White 1989). Agents do not have to do that. The reason our hair has a natural color to it is because it is made out of pigments called melanins. Melanins
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Having explained why everyone does not share the same hair color, now the chemistry behind how hair dye works can be revealed. Hair dying molecules can only be composed when the primary intermediates are exposed to an oxidizing agent. These oxidizing compounds can remove some of the double bonds. This is also the reason for a person’s hair color to begin with. Ultimately it is oxidising the natural pigments in hair. This is also known as bleaching the hair. The next step is adding color to the already bleached hair. To form the substance capable of dying the hair certain coupling agents have to be added to the mixture. The coupling agents are not what dye the hair themselves, but they mix with the primary intermediates to form the product that is actually able to color hair. When different levels of these two compounds mix, the different outcomes are what form the different shades of hair dye. When the coupling agents and primary intermediates are mixed together it forms an outcome of an alkaline PH and most of the time ammonia is produced too. When these two things are set on the hair, it causes the hair coloring that people are looking for. This …show more content…
Studying hair dyes can be difficult because not every hair dye is made the same. In studies on animals, they were given large amounts of dye to see if their cells changed like a cancer cell’s would. Dye was also applied to the skin of animals to see if it would be absorbed into the bloodstream leading to blood cancers. Most every study could not show any distinctive link to cancer. Researchers also used people in cancer research studies. They used people who are exposed to dyes at work, such as hairdressers, and also people who dye their hair often. The study showed that people who dye their hair repeatedly showed no increase in the risk of bladder cancer. In contrast, the people who were exposed to hair dye at work showed a slight increase in their risk of obtaining bladder cancer. Other than bladder cancer, there has not been any clear relationship between cancer and hair dye. The American Cancer Society states that for people who decide to dye their hair, there are some precautions that they need to take before dying hair. They recommend always wearing gloves when applying hair dye to hair so that less of the dye actually touches skin. Some people may be allergic to certain types of dyes, and they may not even know it. The Society urges people to do a patch test before each time dying hair. This is
Having explained why everyone does not share the same hair color, now the chemistry behind how hair dye works can be revealed. Hair dying molecules can only be composed when the primary intermediates are exposed to an oxidizing agent. These oxidizing compounds can remove some of the double bonds. This is also the reason for a person’s hair color to begin with. Ultimately it is oxidising the natural pigments in hair. This is also known as bleaching the hair. The next step is adding color to the already bleached hair. To form the substance capable of dying the hair certain coupling agents have to be added to the mixture. The coupling agents are not what dye the hair themselves, but they mix with the primary intermediates to form the product that is actually able to color hair. When different levels of these two compounds mix, the different outcomes are what form the different shades of hair dye. When the coupling agents and primary intermediates are mixed together it forms an outcome of an alkaline PH and most of the time ammonia is produced too. When these two things are set on the hair, it causes the hair coloring that people are looking for. This …show more content…
Studying hair dyes can be difficult because not every hair dye is made the same. In studies on animals, they were given large amounts of dye to see if their cells changed like a cancer cell’s would. Dye was also applied to the skin of animals to see if it would be absorbed into the bloodstream leading to blood cancers. Most every study could not show any distinctive link to cancer. Researchers also used people in cancer research studies. They used people who are exposed to dyes at work, such as hairdressers, and also people who dye their hair often. The study showed that people who dye their hair repeatedly showed no increase in the risk of bladder cancer. In contrast, the people who were exposed to hair dye at work showed a slight increase in their risk of obtaining bladder cancer. Other than bladder cancer, there has not been any clear relationship between cancer and hair dye. The American Cancer Society states that for people who decide to dye their hair, there are some precautions that they need to take before dying hair. They recommend always wearing gloves when applying hair dye to hair so that less of the dye actually touches skin. Some people may be allergic to certain types of dyes, and they may not even know it. The Society urges people to do a patch test before each time dying hair. This is