A study of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding hair dye use among general population

Background: Hair dye usage is extremely common all over the world. Hair dyes have been reported to cause a wide range of adverse effects, therefore, the consumer’s knowledge about hair dyeing and related side effects are important. Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of general population towards the use of hair dyes. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and fifty consecutive persons using hair dyes were enrolled for this questionnaire-based cross-sectional, descriptive study. Results: These 250 patients comprised 141 men (56.4%) and 109 women (43.6%) (M: F 1.29:1), aged between 16 and 74 (mean 47.13) years. The majority, 212 patients (84.8%) were aged between 20–60 years and 66.4% (n=166) belonged to an urban background. When asked about the reason for using hair color, the principle reason was “to look younger” (59.6%, n=149). Most of the respondents were using synthetic hair dye preparations (55.2%, n=138) and when asked about the brand of hair dye being used, 25.2% (n=63) did not know about the brand they were using. When asked about their perception regarding safety of HD, 61% (n=152) respondents agreed that hair dyes are not safe and on being asked about the carcinogenic potential of HD, only 24% (n=60) respondents agreed. When enquired about the safest variety of HD, majority of respondents (52.4%, n=131) believed that plant based hair colors are the safest. When asked about the safety of HD during pregnancy and lactation, 68% (n=168) of the respondents were unaware regarding this aspect. 14.4% of the respondents reported suffering from some adverse effects due to hair dye use but only 11.11% (n=4) of those stopped using hair dyes. Conclusions: There is lack of awareness about the hair dyes and their adverse effects in the general population. There is an urgent need to increase awareness among consumers regarding the adverse effects of hair dyes and the available safer alternatives. Limitations: Small number of respondents and the use of a convenience sample, which might not be representative of the whole community.