(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- As hair dyeing becomes more popular among the younger generation, allergic reactions also become more common.

British researchers warn coloring your hair can lead to dermatitis on the face. It can also leave you with a swollen face in severe cases.

Para-phenylenediamine (PPD) and other similar chemicals are used in more than two-thirds of hair dyes. Currently there are no good alternatives to use in permanent hair dye.

A recent survey at a London clinic for adults with contact dermatitis revealed reactions to PPD have doubled in the last six years to 7.1 percent. Other countries have also seen the same trend. Severe reactions to hair dye among children have also recently been reported.

Researchers report cultural and commercial pressures to dye hair are putting people at risk and increasing the burden on health services. They add it may not be easy to reverse these trends, noting some patients continue to color their hair even when they know they are allergic to the products and risk severe reactions.

More and more people are coloring their hair and at a younger age. A Japanese survey in 1992 revealed 13 percent of female high school students, 6 percent of women in their 20s, and 2 percent of men in their 20s reported they used hair dye. By 2001, those percentages increased to 41 percent, 85 percent, and 33 percent, respectively.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal, 2007;334:220