Florence Weinberg, Sea Point
I have only recently seen your article about hair dye allergies (“Hair-raising ordeal after bad reaction to dye,” Off My Trolley, April 7).
I have been allergic to hair dye all my life so know a thing or two about it.
The statement the company gave you, that the allergen has to enter the blood, is patently untrue. Contact with the skin is all that is required for a reaction to take place. Also, when patch tests are done, it is necessary for the patch to stay on for 48 hours. A short test in the salon is not enough. My advice to customers and to hairdressing salons is to test all who are using a product for the first time. A small drop high up on the inside of the arm covered with a plaster is all that is required. It is possible to become allergic to products in hair dye at any age and at any time.
I write this to help correct the wrong perceptions folk may have of allergies and allergens.