Allergen Content of Best-Selling Ethnic Versus Nonethnic Shampoos, Conditioners, and Styling Products.

Background: Hair products are a potential cause of allergic contact dermatitis. There are limited data on the allergen content of ethnic hair products.

Objective: To identify allergens unique to ethnic hair products (shampoos, conditioners, styling products) and provide a resource for low allergen hair care products for patients with ethnic hair types.

Methods: The top 100 best-selling shampoos, conditioners, and styling products for ethnic and nonethnic hair products were determined from 3 major online retailers (Walmart, Target, Walgreens). Allergen was defined as presence on the 2017 American Contact Dermatitis Society Core 80 allergen list.

Results: The 2017 American Contact Dermatitis Society Core 80 allergens were tabulated for ethnic and nonethnic shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. A list of low-allergen shampoos, conditioners, and styling products was identified. Fragrance was the most common allergen for ethnic shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. Other notable allergens included methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone, formaldehyde releasers, cetyl steryl alcohol, tocopherol, decyl glucoside, sodium benzoate, and phenoxyethanol.

Conclusions: This study identifies important differences in allergens found in products marketed for ethnic hair compared with those marketed for nonethnic hair.