Understanding the Types and Dangers of Resorcinol in Hair Color

Understanding the types and dangers of resorcinol is important for hair colorists that are concerned about the health of their clients and themselves. Resorcinol is a common ingredient in hair color and bleaching products.  It is a highly toxic skin irritant and is severely damaging to the immune system. It is also a frequent cause of hair dyeallergy. Resorcinol is known to disrupt thyroid hormone synthesis and produce goitrogenic effects which can permanently damage the thyroid gland and lead to significant difficulties in regulating metabolism, boy weight, and temperature. The federal government regulates exposures to resorcinol in the workplace, but there are no regulations limiting amounts of resorcinol in hair products or cosmetics.

Resorcinol is often used in acne treatments and always comes with cautions of proper use to insure minimal absorption of resorcinol through the skin and into the blood system where it can cause quite severe health impacts. Resorcinol is known to cause acute and/or chronic heart rate changes, breathing changes, weakness, severe headache, nausea, vomiting and restlessness.

Because Resorcinol is dangerous when absorbed into the blood system, it should not be used on open wounds, irritated scalps, large skin areas, or any skin areas that have a lage amount of pores and follicles. Resorcinol should never be used by pregnant women, women who are or may be breast feeding, or women who are planning a pregnancy as resorcinol may be stored in fat cells and released into the blood stream at a later time. Persons who smoke or use alcohol regularly should discuss the use of resorcinol with their physician before using it. Caution should also be taken when using resorcinol on older clients as there is an absence of research on the effects of resorcinol on aging people.

There has been widespread evidence demonstrating that resorcinol is a carcinogen. Different research has both supported and refuted the link between resorcinol and cancer, but studies are ongoing. Resorcinol has been listed as a top concern by many Government health departments including Canada Health and several state health departments in the United States.

Because the word “resorcinol” refers to a chemical base (1,3-BENZENEDIOL), there are several ingredients that may be used in cosmetics that has the word “resorcinol” in it. Because of this, identifying the specific resorcinol ingredient that is toxic can be difficult. Here’s a guide that will surely be helpful. The first list below represents ingredient synonyms that are the actual toxic resorcinol ingredients and have a Skin Deep Hazard Rating of 9 (High Hazard). The second list represents ingredients that contain the word resorcinol but does not contain the toxic resorcinol ingredients. All of these ingredients have a Skin Deep Hazard Rating of 2 or less and most of them have a Hazard Rating of 0.

Actual Resorcinol: 1,3-BENZENEDIOL; CI DEVELOPER 4; M-DIHYDROXYBENZENE; M-HYDROQUINONE; 3-HYDROXYPHENOL; OXIDATION BASE 31; M-PHENYLENEDIOL; RESORCIN; 1,3BENZENEDIOL; 1,3-BENZENEDIOL; and 1,3-DIHYDROXYBENZENE

Non-Toxic Ingredients that Contain the Word Resorcinol: 4-BUTYLRESORCINOL; BUTYLRESORCINOL; 4-CHLORORESORCIONOL; HEXYLRESORCINOL; and 2-METHYLRESORCINOL

Resorcinol provides an inexpensive color coupler that oxidize with hydrogen peroxide to provide a permanent color effect. Resorcinol is generally used to create more yellow tones. Many of the other non-toxic ingredients listed above can be used as a highly effect and very safe substitute for resorcinol in hair color, but are often not used because these non-toxic substitutes are generally much more expensive, difficult to procure and stabilize.

Organic Color Systems does not contain any resorcinol but instead uses the safe alternatives 4-Chlororesorcinol and 2-Methylresorcinol as non-toxic substitutes.