Im a 25 year old boy from the UK who thought it would be a laugh on Saturday night to let my girlfriend dye my hair....and now im sitting here on Tuesday night with a burned up hairline thats infected, and a face like OddJob off the old James Bond movie Goldfinger. Went to the hospital yesterday morning when i woke up because my face was slightly, but not really, swollen. I worer a beanie hat and a hood over my head and you couldnt really tell anything was wrong, but last night my face just ballooned! Both of my eyes were swollen shut earlier today but they appear to be improving and the swelling appears to be going down. I only have enough medication to last till Monday, and i am on antihistamines, an oral steroid tablet (Prednisolone) and an antiobiotic for my infected scalp (Flucloxacillin).

I had henna tattooes when i was 18 and they became infected also and took months to heal over properly.

Im gonna look like i got Freddie Kruegers hairline for a bit arent i?

I got regular tattooes though and had no problems.

More people need to know about PPD!!!!!

Thanks for this website, it feels good to know im not the only one. The doctor in the hospital said its the worst case she has ever seen. But reading this forum has give me a boost that im not going to look like this forever.

Am i the only male on here?

Thanks for all of your archived knowledge .

Hi there,
You might be the only male on here, sorry to hear that you have an allergy to PPD.
I live in New Zealand and the other day on one of our current affairs show it had a story about a guy who had had a very bad reaction to PPD. The annoying thing was though that they didn't go into explaining just how bad PPD is in hair colour and made out that it is a rare thing to have a reaction. One hairdresser said she only knew of four cases in New Zealand but there of course would be more than that and certainly more people with PPD allergies that haven't resulted in severe reactions. It annoys me that it is not common knowledge to the general public that PPD is really toxic and dangerous.
Take care.
Christine.

Why would you feel silly? Coloring your hair has been popular by both sexes since has been in existance, and the ancient Egyptians mummy's still have the henna on their hair. I have been there to witness it myself! As far as the allergy, 30% of the general population has an allergy to something, so count that as 1 in three. The fact that your allergy is to PPD, does not make it more, or less significant. So, don't beat yourself up over it! READ, and study, knowlege is power. You can do a lot to make sure you don't get that bad again. There are many people that do not know what they are allergic to as soon as you do, so, you are lucky in a way. I hope you are feeling better, and that you are on your way to healing. If you have any scabs, don't pick at them!! Good luck!!

Gina

Dear Freddie...just kidding! Believe me, I looked like the elephant girl myself. My husband said I looked like something from Star Trek...

I hope you're staying away from PPD AND tattoos!! People like us cannot afford to mess around.

btw, I took Prednisone - I don't know if that's the same as Prednisolone??

You're the only male I know of on here, but here's a link to another guy who went through it:

http://www.apricotsunset.com/ppddoc.htm


Best of luck, and keep us updated if you learn anything new.

Thanks again for posting (and like Gina said, please don't feel silly).

gogo

It might not be necessary to stay away from tattoos, as long as they aren't temporary.
Permanent black tattoos are usually made with charcoal.
With a proffessional tattoo-artist who KNOWS the ingredients (good tat-artists should know this).
I've got friends who work with it and I asked them about it
Also asked the doctor but he was against tattoos to begin with :P
You might want to stay away from colored tats though (might be azo-dyes).

I am sorry to hear about your trouble.

Look on the bright side you have a girlfriend.

Hope you have recovered.

Best.