Woman’s head swollen in 'worst allergic reaction' to hair dye

A woman has been left terrified after experiencing a horrific allergic reaction to hair dye. The 26-year-old admin assistant’s head and face swelled up, making her unrecognizable to her husband.

Burning Scalp and Swollen Head

Kelly Kruppner had her naturally red hair dyed brown by a professional at a salon on Sunday, October 24. She did not experience any reactions to the product until the next morning, when she woke up to find her face and head had doubled in size.

As the days went by, Kelly’s scalp was covered in painful chemical burns that doctors say may take a month to heal. She could not wash her hair due to the severity of the burns.

Kelly, from Brockport, New York, US, said the hair stylist had applied a patch test for the dye behind her ear and had left it on for an hour before applying the product onto her hair.

Kelly has shared pictures of her swollen face and burnt scalp to advise others to leave their patch tests on for at least 48 hours. She said:

It was fine throughout the dying and it felt good even after and then the next morning I had these rash type things that kind of looked like I got a really bad sunburn. Then I woke up at midnight on Monday night and my face was all blown up and swollen and the rashes were even worse and looked more like burns - they were blistering and scabbing.

Worst Reaction to Hair Dye

According to Kelly, she had never had an allergic reaction to hair dyes in the past, and so this came as a horrific surprise to her.

Doctors told her what she had was then worst reaction they'd ever seen from hair dye. Because she could barely open her eyes due to the swollen face, Kelly was advised to stay off work for some time and to avoid driving.

I went to the emergency room and they said it was going to take three to four weeks for the burns to fully heal - they said it ended up being a chemical burn instead of just an allergy.

She has also been warmed not to ever dye her hair again, meaning she would have to wait for the permanent dye to grow out before she can get back her natural red locks.

The burns are starting to scab over horribly and itch but my face is nowhere near as puffy, I'm starting to look like me again. I'll definitely never do it again and I would advise anyone to patch test regardless of what product they use just to be safe after having my experience.