Hairdresser patch checks at all times felt like an pointless faff… then a routine magnificence salon journey turned my mannequin appears into THIS

The face staring back at me in the mirror was swollen up like a balloon. My eyes were so puffy I could barely see out of them. Truly the stuff of nightmares.

As a model and influencer, my job relies on my looks, so having a face that no one would ever want to photograph is far from ideal.

What was to blame? The hair dye that had been used to turn my extensions a darker brown the day before.

Like millions of women in Britain, I dye my hair. And it’s big business: the UK hair-colourants market was worth an estimated £434million in 2024.

But unfortunately, I’m among the one in 20 people in the UK who have a contact allergy to paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is found in hair dyes and tints, and is added to peroxide, the chemical used to bleach and lighten hair.

Whenever I come into contact with it, my immune system overreacts, triggering severe inflammation and swelling.

In this instance, because it was for hair extensions, meaning the dye wouldn’t be applied near my scalp, I thought it would be OK. It wasn’t.

Despite my best efforts, I’ve suffered three terrifying incidents like this – all involving hospital treatment. I have now been warned that if I have a similar reaction again I could go into anaphylactic shock. So hair dye could literally kill me.

The first time I was in my early 20s and had used an at-home brow kit to tint my eyebrows.

A s with all dyes, you are meant to do a patch test beforehand, but I hadn’t read the instructions properly – to my cost. I simply applied the mixture, wiped it off after ten minutes and admired the result.

Then an ominous tingling sensation became intense itching. When I woke the next morning, the area where I’d used the dye had started blistering and weeping and I could feel pressure around my eyes.

Over the next few days, the swelling spread to such an extent, it changed the shape of my face; the bridge of my nose disappeared. Scabs formed in the exact shape of my brows.

My then-boyfriend’s mother insisted I went to hospital, where doctors prescribed strong antihistamine tablets. It took two weeks for the swelling to go down and another week until the scabs had fully healed.

It was six months later that I had the hair extensions reaction. Noticing they had turned reddish, I had them dyed back to brunette. Mindful of the doctor’s warning, I flagged my allergy but was reassured the dye was hypoallergenic and wouldn’t be going anywhere near my scalp anyway.

But during the process, a tiny amount dropped on to my temple near my hairline. It was only there for a couple of seconds before I wiped it off.

I thought I’d got away with it, but by the next morning there was blistering and swelling on my forehead and right eye. The rest of my face followed suit. By day two I was back in A&E to be given the same meds.

I swore it would never happen again, but I was caught out again four years ago. This time it was a lash lengthening and lifting treatment. I told them I could only have the lift part due to my allergies, but they misunderstood and applied the dye. So yet again the reaction happened overnight.

My lashes fell out, too – if I touched my lash line with my finger, a clump of them would fall out. It was awful.

Weeping scabs formed, which got into my eye, making it even more irritated. It was itchy and I rubbed my eye so much that the sclera on my eyeball, the thin membrane covering the white of the eye, became baggy. If I moved my eye from side to side, I could see it wrinkling and bunching up in the corners.

It was like something from a horror movie. I went to A&E again, where they gave me an adrenaline shot, warning me that next time I could have a potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.

After things calmed down, I went to a hairdresser and did some proper patch testing to find the exact cause of the problem. The NHS and all good hairdressers and beauticians recommend doing a patch test 48 hours before any dye treatment, even with brands you’ve used before, as an allergy like this can develop at any time.

When I posted photos of my traumatised face to my 261,000 followers on TikTok, I had many hairstylists ask me if they could show the images as a warning to clients who don’t want to do a patch test. I’m happy to be a cautionary tale and shine a light on this issue.

I’m still searching for a way to tackle my grey hairs. I’m only 27 but they’ve multiplied from a cute one or two to a real sprinkling, which is very obvious if I put my hair up. It’s a family trait, as both my parents started going grey in their early 20s.

My hair is a big part of my look, so the grey has knocked my confidence. I think natural henna is next, but I’m going to find a really experienced colourist.

One thing is for sure, I’ll be doing a patch test first.

@penelopechloe

As told to Edwina Ings-Chambers