A method for assessing occupational dermal exposure to permanent hair dyes

Hairdressers have an increased risk of developing occupational skin diseases due to exposure to skin irritants and sensitizers. In the present work a method of assessing dermal exposure to permanent hair dyes was developed. The sampling performance characteristics of hand wash sampling with bag rinsing were studied for five hair dye compounds. The effect of residence time, sample load and different matrices were studied. Thirty volunteers were exposed to a reference solution of these compounds and to commercial hair dye products. The sampling efficiency after 5 min residence time was between 70 and 90% for the dye components in the hair dye products. Sampling efficiency decreases with increasing residence time, making the time of sampling an important factor. Hand wash sampling should be performed as soon as possible after the work task of interest. We conclude that the sampling efficiency is adequate for measurements of dermal exposure to permanent hair dyes. Hand wash sampling with bag rinsing is a useful tool for field studies of dermal exposure assessment in hairdressers.