Allergic contact dermatitis caused by cysteamine hydrochloride in permanent wave agent—A new allergen for hairdressers in Japan

Abstract

In addition to the Japanese baseline allergen series version 2008,11 we used cysteamine HCl 1% and 0.5% pet. (Table S1). We also included the participants' own perming solutions, as used by them at the salon, for open tests. RESULTSDetails of the 3 male and 4 female hairdressers, ranging in age from 22 to 73 years, are shown in Table S2. Regarding the cysteamine HCl patch tests, 5 patients showed positive reactions to both 1% and 0.5%. One patient showed a positive reaction to 1% alone, and the other patient, who had a positive reaction to 0.5%, had not been tested with 1% (Table 1). The results of the open test showed that, among 6 patients tested with the reducing agent of the permanent wave products, 5 showed erythema, partly oedema, or papules. Moreover, 6 patients also showed strong positive reactions to components of oxidative hair dye products and related substances. On the other hand, none of the 7 patients showed a positive reaction to ammonium thioglycolate. DISCUSSIONThe active chemicals used to create permanent waves are salts and esters of thioglycolic acid, L-cysteine, and cysteamine HCl. Contact dermatitis caused by cysteamine HCl is reportedly rare, and all cases were related to occupational use. 8,9 On the other hand, Tanita et al reported that 18.8% of 48 hairdressers showed positive patch test reactions to cysteamine 1% pet.in Japan. 12 In a Japanese multicentre study, 10 4.5% of patients (6/132) showed positive patch test reactions to cysteamine HCl 0.5% pet., and 12.6% (24/191) showed positive patch test reactions to cysteamine HCl 1% pet. Although 1% cysteamine HCl had exclusively been used for patch testing, the multicentre study showed that 1% cysteamine HCl may cause false-positive reactions, so a 0.5% concentration was regarded as being more suitable. 10

Simultaneous Determination of Cysteamine and Cystamine in Cosmetics by Ion-Pairing Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

“…Although cysteamine is typically more expensive than other reducing agents such as thioglycolic acid and cysteine, cysteamine has the following advantages as a cosmetic ingredient: 1) reduction can occur at a more neutral pH and 2) less hair damage occurs compared with conventional reducing agents (20). Cases of cysteamine-induced allergic contact dermatitis are rare, but some patch test studies demonstrated positive results (7,8). Among 1,347 hairdressers patch-tested with 0.5% cysteamine, 16 clinically relevant positive reactions (1.2%) were observed from 1994 to 2004.…”

“…Among 1,347 hairdressers patch-tested with 0.5% cysteamine, 16 clinically relevant positive reactions (1.2%) were observed from 1994 to 2004. Recently, allergic contact dermatitis was assessed in 17 hairdressers in Japan, and 7 of these individuals had allergic reactions to cysteamine (8). Therefore, cysteamine may need to be included in a test series with hair waving and dyeing agents.…”

“…It functions as a reducing agent at concentrations between 5% and 12% in permanent-wave solutions (5). However, recent studies in Europe and Japan reported that cysteamine can act as an allergen to hairdressers (6–8). Therefore, cysteamine needs to be evaluated for its potential as an allergen due to its presence in hair waving and dyeing agents (8).…”

Kontaktallergien – Neu aufkommende Allergene und Auswirkungen für das Gesundheitswesen

“…Neben dem „klassischen“ Wirkstoff Ammoniumthioglykolat wird zunehmend auch Cysteaminhydrochlorid eingesetzt, und bei 7/17 japanischen Friseuren in einem Zentrum wurde es als Allergen getestet (positiv auf 0,5 % und 1 % pet.) [227].…”

Contact Allergy—Emerging Allergens and Public Health Impact

“…Besides the "classical" agent ammonium thioglycolate, cysteamine hydrochloride has been increasingly used and reported as an allergen in 7/17 Japanese hairdressers tested in one department (positive to 0.5% and 1% pet.) [227].…”