03/16/2026
How Risky Is Hair Dye?
The concern with hair dyes isn’t what they do to your hair — it’s what happens when they enter the skin around it.
“The scalp has a very rich blood supply,” says Melanye Maclin, MD, a research and development dermatologist. “Those chemicals absorb into the scalp and enter the main bloodstream.”
Some research links hair coloring to cancers and other health problems. Here’s what experts are saying and how you can stay safe.