DERMATITIS IN HAIRDRESSERS .1. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST 4 YEARS

Contact dermatitis among hairdressers is common. In The Netherlands, r egistered sick leave for hand dermatitis among hairdressers rose from 21,050 days in 1986 to 54,293 in 1991. In a survey among 45 hairdresse rs in 5 different salons, 12 had a history of hand dermatitis and 16 s howed moderate to severe hand dermatitis. After extensive investigatio ns, 13 were classified as having allergic contact dermatitis and 3 cum ulative irritant contact dermatitis. In the past 4 years, 103 hairdres sers were extensively patch tested and glyceryl thioglycolate (GTG), a mmonium persulfate and nickel sulfate were responsible for the majorit y of positive reactions. Hair dyes and preservatives were responsible for a moderate % of the positive reactions. Positive reactions were al so found to cocamidopropyl betaine and sodium coco hydrolyzed animal p rotein. These 2 allergens show a rather capricious patch test reaction pattern and irritant reactions may easily be confused with allergic. The relevance of positive patch test reactions to these chemicals shou ld always be questioned. Atopy was not a frequent cause of hand dermat itis in this study. Chemicals with a thiol group can be demonstrated w ith a chemical spot test. With this test, contamination of the hairdre ssing salon with thioglycolates was demonstrated. It is emphasized tha t contamination of hairdressing salons with GTG is probably a signific ant factor in explaining the severe flare-ups in GTG-sensitized hairdr essers who no longer use GTG permanent-waving solutions.