Iranian Journal of

Background and Objectives: Chemical hair color are one of the most widely used cosmetics. The presence of heavy metals in these products can affect the health of consumers. Unlike other cosmetics, no study has been conducted on the heavy metal levels in the synthetic chemical hair colors. This study determined the concentration of heavy metals in these products and the risk assessment of non-carcinogenic effects by these elements were calculated.

Material and Method: 32 samples of chemical hair color from eight brands (3 local and 5 imported ones) and four most used colors were collected from the markets in Tehran. The concentration of cadmium, lead, and barium was determined using ICP-MS. The information required to assess exposure risk was gathered through  a questionnaire distributed among citizens of Tehran. The assessment of exposure was conducted using Mont Carlo method and  non-carcinogenic risk was determined using the index of Hazard Quotient. .

Results: Barium concentration measured was 0.86 mg/kg and concentrations of Cadmium and Lead were 0.45 and 185.34 µg/kg respectively. Among the elements, Pb with Hazard Quotient equals to 7.46×10^-4 had the most risk and cadmium with Hazard Quotient equals to 3.57×10^-5 had the lowest risk. Moreover, the Iranian brand and blond had the highest risk among the samples.

Conclusion: Based on the index of Hazard Quotient, heavy metals in the studied samples had no risk for consumers of these products.