Cosmetics and the etiology of contact dermatitis

Cosmetics are a frequent cause for skin inflammations now a days. They cause allergic or irritant contact dermatitis, as well as contact urticaria. Amidst the variety of daily used cosmetics, the most frequent allergens are hair dye, fragrances, sham poos or other toiletries, hair perm chemicals. The most frequent irritators are detergents or hair dye. The precise solution of the etiopathogenesis of the contact dermatitis, caused by cosmetics, is of vital importance for an well-grounded preventive strategy for both domestic and occupational conditions. The research covers 150 patients with contact dermatitis (allergic and irritant) and contact urticaria. The etiology was established with the help of: medical history, dynamic clini calobservation, indoor epicutaneous tests (the chamber test). Of all the tested patients, 89 had allergic contact dermatitis, 52 had irritant contact dermatitis, and 9 - contact urticaria. With the allergic contact dermatitis, the most frequent cause was detergents (30.98%), followed by paraphenylenediamine (23.57%), hair perm chemicals (14.63%), Paraben Mix (9.75%). With the irritant contact dermatitis, the etiological cause was pre-dominantly the detergent (80.76%) and paraphenylenediamine (19.28%).Scripta Scientifica Medica 2010;42(1):7-1