Artificial Melanin Could Replace Dangerous Hair Dyes

Hair coloring subjects a person to many dangerous chemicals. There’s not much agreement over the potential risks common hair dyes can pose, but many experts do warn that people should use them with caution. A recent breakthrough, however, could make coloring hair much less risky by using a synthetic form of a chemical our bodies already make. 

The Problem With Traditional Hair Dye

According to the American Cancer Society, hair dyes can contain a multitude of chemicals, some of which do not have to pass FDA approval before a product begins distribution. Researchers have analyzed several compounds common to hair dyes, looking at people who color their hair regularly or work with the chemicals consistently. 

Results have been mixed in many cases, but some evidence suggests regular exposure may raise a person’s risks of developing leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma and bladder cancer. People who work in salons and barbershops may be at higher risk than those who are in contact with the chemicals less frequently. Use of darker colors and more permanent formulations, which contain higher concentrations of stronger chemicals, may further increase individual risk. But a new development may change everything.

A Whole New Approach to Hair Color: Melanin

The next generation of hair dyes might be just as effective at providing permanent hair color in any natural shade but without requiring the use of dangerous chemicals. In a report recently published in Chemistry of Materials, researchers share a new hair coloring technique that uses an artificial peptide fashioned after our own natural melanin.

Found in hair and skin, melanin is one of the pigments that gives humans color. Its synthetic counterpart, polydopamine, works much like melanin, with different intensities determining hair color variations. Application doesn’t require the use of traditional hair coloring chemicals. Experts do warn that allergic reactions could still occur in a small percentage of the population, but they’re likely to be a lot rarer given how unlikely most people are to react to melanin.

As an added bonus, this new process offers the same types of protection natural hair color does. Like melanin, polydopamine has sunscreen properties, so use may protect the scalp against sun damage, providing beauty and function. How neat is that?

We could soon see a whole new way to change our hair color, with dangerous chemicals becoming a thing of the past and a whole new generation of dyes that work more like our natural pigments. The technique is still new, so we may not see it hitting the salons anytime soon, but with more research and a little more innovation, we might be able to say goodbye to traditional hair color for good.

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