How Do You Treat a Chemical Burn From Hair Dye Toner?
A chemical burn from hair toner should be treated as a heat burn: rinse the skin with copious amounts of water or saline solution, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Protect eyes, brush solid material from skin, remove all contaminated clothing and rinse with plain water for 5 to 30 minutes depending on the chemical used.
Hair toner contains caustic chemical ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, persulfate and ammonia, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Hydrogen peroxide can cause chemical burns and blistering in formulations of 10 percent or greater. Rinse contaminated skin for 5 minutes and clean very well with soap and water, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry recommends. Persulfate burns must be rinsed for at least 15 minutes, and skin burned with ammonia formulations must be rinsed for a minimum of 5 minutes.
Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia are aggressive caustic oxidizers that corrode human skin. Persulfates burn the skin, causing swelling and itching. Chemicals in hair toner can generate superficial chemical burns and irritant contact dermatitis, which causes skin rash and an inflammatory reaction, according to Mayo Clinic. Regular use of toner chemicals increases the chance of developing allergic dermatitis, whereby small exposures to these ingredients sets off an immediate inflammatory response. Chemical burns from hair toner can also lead to hair breakage, scars and alopecia. Deep burns may require hospitalization, surgical excision and grafting, according to the U.S. Library of Medicine.
