TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Scalp burns induced by hair bleaching JO - Annales de Dermatologie et de Venereologie A1 - Bouschon, P. A1 - Bursztejn, A-c A1 - Waton, J. A1 - Brault, F. A1 - Schmutz, J-l SP - 359 EP - 364 VL - 145 IS - 5 N2 - BACKGROUND: Hair bleaching is increasingly being carried out in hairdressing salons. The products used are a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and persulfates, both active chemical agents. Scalp burns secondary to hair bleaching are a traumatic adverse effect rarely discussed in publications that continue to be little known among healthcare professionals.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with a plaque of scarring alopecia on the vertex. This lesion resulted from a deep burn following a hair-bleaching procedure. Healing took around 4 months, resulting in discomfort for our patient.

DISCUSSION: This is a rare case of scarring alopecia following a basic chemical burn to the scalp. The oxidation reaction induced by the mixture of hydrogen peroxide and persulfates, prepared in a basic medium, causes bleaching of the melanin pigments in hair. The clinical presentation of a single, well limited, painful, oozing ulceration located at the vertex was similar to the other cases published in the literature. Although a chemical burning mechanism is most often incriminated, the procedure is always coupled with use of a heat source and associated thermal burn may occur. The delayed appearance of the lesion appears to be caused by the forming of surfactants by the hydrogen peroxide/persulfate mixture, resulting in slow dissolution of the oxidizing compounds within the stratum corneum.

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Language: fr

LA - fr SN - 0151-9638 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annder.2018.02.004 ID - ref1 ER -