Shanika McNeil, 29, from Texas, dyed her hair black with her regular hair dye last January. Waking up the next morning with a severe headache, Shanika saw redness and swelling on her forehead and realized she had an allergic reaction. The young woman thought the bump on her head was funny at first, she thought. But doctors said the swelling could go down to his throat and suffocate him. It took two weeks for Shanika, who started appropriate treatment under doctor’s control, to fully recover.
TAKE THE PATCH TEST EACH TIME YOU USE
On the third day that Shanika woke up after dyeing her hair, she noticed that the swelling had covered her eyes. On the third day she suffered temporary blindness. Shanika urges people to patch test every time they use paint, even if they’ve used it before with no problems. She believes the burn is caused by paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical commonly found in black henna and dark hair dyes. Shanika said, “I dyed my hair myself on Sunday evening and it was fine, I had no problems. Then I woke up in the morning and had a headache – it lasted all day and then probably around 3 pm I noticed lines and redness on my forehead. Then all the symptoms started suddenly – my scalp it started to burn like it was on fire.”
“I was laughing at myself”
I went home and made an appointment with the doctor for the next day. As the hours passed, I noticed that my forehead was swelling. The next morning I went to the doctor and took the paint with me because I knew it had to be, and he told me I had an allergic reaction to a substance in paint called PPD. Medications were given to help with swelling. I left and went home and at this point I had no pain from the meds. Every hour I looked at myself, my forehead was getting bigger and the swelling was getting worse. I was laughing at myself because I looked so funny.
WHEN THE PAIN STARTED, THE SWELLING DID NOT FEEL FUNNY
‘It looked like I was an emoji, it was so weird. My whole family was panicking because I looked so weird. A lot of people said I looked like I was fighting. I just thought it was funny but a few days later when the pain started it wasn’t funny anymore. My eyes were completely swollen, so I couldn’t see for a few days.’ Shanika claimed that when her swelling continued to worsen despite taking medication, her doctor warned her that it could go into her throat and insisted she go to the hospital.
BLIND FOR THREE DAYS
Over the next few days, however, the swelling became so severe that he was blinded by his swollen eyes for three days and had to take time off from work while waiting for the swelling to subside. Almost two weeks after dyeing her hair, the swelling has finally subsided and the “ooze” sores on her scalp have begun to heal. Shanika said, “The swelling moved from my forehead to the middle of my face, so my eyes were completely swollen and burned.
“I HAVE NOT DYE MY HAIR SINCE”
It was so swollen that it took a while to come down. I had to use baby shampoo for weeks because that’s all I could do.” Shanika claims that her severe allergic reaction left her with bald spots, eczema, and a scalp that was painfully sensitive from brushing her hair even though she had never experienced any of these issues before. Shanika said, “I haven’t dyed my hair since, and I don’t intend to.