Systematic review on skin adverse effects of important hazardous hair cosmetic ingredients with a focus on hairdressers

New causes of occupational allergic contact dermatitis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Occupational allergic contact dermatitis (OACD) is an important work-related skin disease. Information about the causative agents comes from many sources, including patch test databases, registries, case series and case reports. This review summarizes new information about common causative allergens and diagnosis.

RECENT FINDINGS

Common causes of OACD include rubber components, epoxies and preservatives. New exposure sources for these allergens continue to be described. Often these exposure sources are related to the changing world around us, such as allergens related to smartphones and technology, and personal protective equipment-related exposures during the COVID-19 pandemic. New allergens are also being described, some of which are related to known allergens (e.g. a new epoxy or acrylate component).Accurate diagnosis is critical to effective management of OACD, which may include removing the worker from exposure to the causative allergen. Safety data sheets may not contain complete information and patch testing with specialized series of allergens and workplace materials may be necessary.

SUMMARY

This review provides current evidence about causes of OACD and important aspects of diagnosis. This is important for clinical practice to ensure cases of OACD are not missed.

Hair Product Allergy: A Review of Epidemiology and Management

Allergy to hair products is an increasingly common issue among people given the exposure to these products on a daily basis. Allergic reactions could be in the form of delayed-type contact dermatitis or the form of immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions. Hair products contain many ingredients and chemicals that patients may have allergies to, but common allergens are hair dyes, fragrances, persulfate salts, ammonium thioglycolate, coconut fatty acid derivatives, and acrylates. Allergy to hair dye is the most common followed by other allergens such as fragrances and persulfate salts. We discussed testing for hair dye allergy along with suggestions for alternative hair dyes that patients may use. Allergy to topical scalp medications is also seen in patients using those products. Allergy to topical minoxidil is seen more often due to the increased use of minoxidil sprays and foams among patients to increase hair growth. We will discuss in this review the diagnosis and alternatives for patients with minoxidil allergy. Hairdressers are at higher risk of allergy to hair products compared to the general population due to prolonged exposure to allergens and specific measures should be implemented to minimize the hazards of exposure.

Machine learning (ML) techniques as effective methods for evaluating hair and skin assessments: A systematic review

Machine Learning (ML) techniques provide the ability to effectively evaluate and analyze human skin and hair assessments. The aim of this study is to systematically review the effectiveness of applying Machine Learning (ML) methods and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques in order to evaluate hair and skin assessments. PubMed, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Science Direct were searched in order to retrieve research publications between 1 January 2010 and 31 March 2020 using appropriate keywords such as "hair and skin analysis." Following accurate screening, 20 peer-reviewed publications were selected for inclusion in this systematic review. The analysis demonstrated that prevalent Machine Learning (ML) methods comprised of Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-nearest Neighbor, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). ANN's were observed to yield the highest accuracy of 95% followed by SVM generating 90%. These techniques were most commonly applied for drafting framework assessments such as that of Melanoma. Values of parameters such as Sensitivity, Specificity, and Area under the Curve (AUC) were extracted from the studies and with the help of comparisons, relevant inferences were also made. ANN's were observed to yield the highest sensitivity of 82.30% as well as a 96.90% specificity. Hence, with this systematic review, a summarization of the studies was drafted that encapsulated how Machine Learning (ML) techniques have been employed for the analysis and evaluation of hair and skin assessments.

[Skin cancer from solar ultraviolet radiation exposure at work]

Due to their professional activities, outdoor workers are exposed to an increased risk of developing occupational skin cancer caused by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation as defined by occupational disease (OD) number 5103. Since the amendment to the Occupational Diseases Ordinance ("Berufskrankheitenverordnung", BKV) in 2015, squamous cell carcinomas or multiple actinic keratoses of the skin caused by natural UV radiation in outdoor workers in Germany can be recognized as occupational disease in the sense of OD number 5103. The main cause of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is solar UV radiation; it is the most relevant occupational carcinogen in terms of the number of exposed workers (i.e., outdoor workers). Circumstances associated with climate change include increased terrestrial UV radiation, an increase in the number of cloudless days and therefore the number of hours of direct sunshine, adverse meteorological effects to the stratospheric ozone layer, and so-called low ozone events and associated more intense UV radiation. In the future, comprehensive considerations will have to be made as to how prevention concepts can be effectively designed to avoid the development of occupational skin cancer in outdoor workers. The treatment of future cases of skin cancer will be a particular challenge due to their high number and only a limited number of dermatologists available. Hopefully, prevention of skin cancer will become even more important in the future.

Contact allergy to ingredients of hair cosmetics in female hairdressers and female consumers-An update based on IVDK data 2013-2020

BACKGROUND

Hair cosmetic products contain several, partly potent contact allergens, including excipients like preservatives. Hand dermatitis in hairdressers is common, scalp and face dermatitis in clients or self-users (summarised here as 'consumers') may be severe.

OBJECTIVE

To compare frequencies of sensitization to hair cosmetic ingredients and other selected allergens between female patch tested patients working as hairdressers and consumers without professional background, respectively, who were tested for suspected allergic contact dermatitis to such products.

METHODS

Patch test and clinical data collected by the IVDK (https://www.ivdk.org) between 01/2013 and 12/2020 were descriptively analysed, focusing on age-adjusted sensitization prevalences in the two subgroups.

RESULTS

Amongst the 920 hairdressers (median age: 28 years, 84% hand dermatitis) and 2321 consumers (median age: 49 years, 71.8% head/face dermatitis), sensitization to p-phenylenediamine (age-standardised prevalence: 19.7% and 31.6%, respectively) and toluene-2,5-diamine (20 and 30.8%) were most common. Contact allergy to other oxidative hair dye ingredients was also more commonly diagnosed in consumers, whereas ammonium persulphate (14.4% vs. 2.3%) and glyceryl thioglycolate (3.9 vs. 1.2%) as well as most notably methylisothiazolinone (10.5% vs. 3.1%) were more frequent allergens in hairdressers.

CONCLUSIONS

Hair dyes were the most frequent sensitizers both in hairdressers and in consumers; however, as indication for patch testing may differ, prevalences cannot directly be compared. The importance of hair dye allergy is evident, often with marked coupled reactivity. Workplace and product safety need to be further improved.

Occupational exposure to VOCs and carbonyl compounds in beauty salons and health risks associated with it in South Korea

Long-term exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyl compounds in beauty products may adversely impact the health of beauty salon technicians. Previous studies have focused on assessing indoor air concentrations of chemicals, such as benzene and toluene, and not on personal exposure concentrations. This study measured the indoor and personal exposure concentrations of VOCs and carbonyl compounds in fifty-three beauty salons in Korea. Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks and sensitivity were analyzed using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The indoor and personal exposure concentrations of acetone were 82.24 µg/m³ and 104.97 µg/m³, respectively, the highest among all measured chemicals. Beauty salon technicians who experienced adverse health effects had significantly higher concentrations of acetone, benzaldehyde, and toluene than those who did not experience adverse health effects (p-value < 0.05). The average hazard quotients of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were higher than the acceptable risk level (1), and the average cancer risks of formaldehyde exceeded the acceptable risk level (10^-6). Wearing personal protective equipment was the most efficient risk reduction strategy for reducing the non-cancer risks of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde and the carcinogenic risks of formaldehyde. The results of this study can be used as a basis for reducing exposure to VOCs and carbonyl compounds among salon technicians.