Determination of Lead, Arsenic and Nickel concentration in Iranian and Foreign Hair Colors

Background & objectives: The tendency of humans, especially women, to have the beautiful appearance, has increased the use of the chemical hair colors.  Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and nickel are present in these products as a preservative and colorant. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of these elements in Iranian and foreign hair colors brands and compare them. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study. Four Iranian and four foreign brands of hair colors were selected and collected from the hairdresser's of Hamadan. After the acid digestion process, the concentration of three elements of lead, arsenic and nickel was measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy and reported as micrograms per kilogram of dry weight. SPSS 24 software was used for statistical analysis and independent t-test and ANOVA were used for comparing Iranian and foreign brands. Results: The mean concentrations of lead, arsenic and nickel in 4 types of Iranian hair colors were 14.5, 12.01 and 8.78 (μg/kg), respectively. The mean concentrations of these three elements in 4 types of foreign hair colors were 5.39, 0.91 and 1.92 (μg/kg), respectively. There was a significant difference between the concentrations of lead, nickel and arsenic in Iranian compared to foreign hair colors (p<0.05). Conclusion: The mean concentrations of lead, nickel and arsenic in both Iranian and foreign brands were within the range suggested by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although, the average levels of these elements in Iranian hair colors were higher than foreign brands. Therefore, it is necessary to take appropriate measures to develop a national standard and control the quality of this type of cosmetics.