White spirit and sebum production?

[Meri]

I never thougt that I'd say this, but... I'm worried that my hair isn't getting dirty fast enough!

Remember my adventures with the white spirit bottle 6 days ago? I soaked my hair and scalp in white spirit and oil for 40 minutes in an attempt to remove henna. I haven't washed my hair since, and it's still squeaky clean. That's a bit over twice the time it usually takes for me to go into sleek ponytail mode. Something's not right!!!

Thinking back at the big red Xs and "harmful" labels on the spirit bottle, I'm really beginning to worry. Is there a connection between sebum production and ethanol? Have I harmed my hair follicles in some way, and if yes, is this repairable?

Meri

[Martine]

I don't think I've ever heard of using ethanol on hair to remove henna. Just curious where you got the idea to use it. And did it remove the henna?

[Jonobie]

Originally Posted by Meri

Remember my adventures with the white spirit bottle 6 days ago? I soaked my hair and scalp in white spirit and oil for 40 minutes in an attempt to remove henna. I haven't washed my hair since, and it's still squeaky clean. That's a bit over twice the time it usually takes for me to go into sleek ponytail mode. Something's not right!!!

Yipes. I have no idea. I looked up some toxicology sites to find out more about white spirits (obviously, none of them talk about the effect on hair, but I thought it might be useful) -- and a lot of it seemed kind of disturbing. It's appearently the main ingredient in paint thinner.

Here's the sites -- many of them talk about how you're supposed to avoid contact between the skin & the chemical:

http://www.nohsc.gov.au/OHSInformation/Databases/PracticalGuidanceMaterial/w/001014.htm

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/WH/white_spirits.html

My guess is, if it is used primarily as a paint thinner, that your hair just got cleaner than it has ever been before. Did/does your hair feel stripped?

It's also possible that somehow your scalp got really irritated from the liquid and is recouperating from it. If you're still noticing the problem in a few days, you might try to call a poison/toxology hotline (there's often numbers listed on bottles of potentially hazardous chemcials) to see if they have any suggestions, or go see your doctor.

Sorry I don't have any other ideas.

Jonobie

[Feye]

Maybe your hair got used to the oil and quickly cut down on sebum-production? I don't even know if that is likely to happen, but I've heard jojoba oil being applied to the scalp to lessen the sebum production. Maybe that soak was just enough to get you there?

[Meri]

Here's the article that gave me the idea: http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1141.htm

And if hairboutique recommends it, it can't be wrong, right?

If I recall correctly, Goldenhair did the same treatment when she removed henna. It didn't work for me though. Thanks for your advice everyone, I'll go surf Jonobie's sites now.

Meri

[Jonobie]

Originally Posted by Meri

Here's the article that gave me the idea: http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1141.htm

And if hairboutique recommends it, it can't be wrong, right?

If I recall correctly, Goldenhair did the same treatment when she removed henna. It didn't work for me though. Thanks for your advice everyone, I'll go surf Jonobie's sites now.

Meri

Hmmm... looking at the article, the only thing I see listed is this procedure:

1.Saturate hair strands with a mixture of 70% alcohol applied with sterile cotton balls. Avoid the scalp area.

2. Follow 5-10 minutes later with a coating of mineral oil. Apply the mineral oil on top of the 70% alcohol. Avoid the scalp area.

3. Cover your new oily head with Saran or similar plastic. A plastic shower cap will also work well.

4. Sit under a hood dryer for 30-45 minutes.

Is that what you used? And did you use mineral *oil* (as in, like baby oil) or mineral *spirits* (as in, like paint thinner)? They're different, although both are by-products of petroleum. I'm guessing you used the spirits, based on your previous comment about lots of warnings listed on the label. (Mineral oil is a laxative if taken internally, but other than that, doesn't generally require a lot of warning labels, especially since some people take it specifically for that purpose.) But I could be misunderstanding your message.

(Aside: For an in depth look at the mineral oils & spirits, see:

http://www.nature.nps.gov/toxic/minoil.pdf )

Hence my worry. If you drenched your scalp in baby oil, the worst I can imagine happening is requiring a lot of shampoo to get it out, and I'd guess your sebum product will even back out soonish. If you drenched your scalp in paint thinner, I have a lot more worries, but no idea what might happen from someone doing that.

Does that make sense?

Cheers,
Jonobie

[heather]

i'd be a little worried

could it hurt to call a doctor, or poison control center to ask what the consequences (if any) of using that product on your head are?

heather

[Meri]

...and he got a nice laugh . Apparently since my skin did not respond in any more violent manner (think rashes, itching, flaking or similar), all I've done is cleaned my hair really well.

It wasn't the oil I was worried about, since I used polydecene-based body oil that I've used on my skin for several years, but the alcohol. I cheated a bit, you see, since the recipe called for application of the alcohol with cotton, and that got quite tedious after a while. I ended up applying the most of it with a hairbrush and inevitably getting a fair bit on my scalp.

But Jonobie, are you saying that white spirit is classified as an oil rather than an alcohol? That might explain why it didn't work. I used it because it was the closest I could find to the 70% specified in the article, but an ester sidegroup might not react with henna in the same way as an alcohol would - any idea of the molecular formula for henna, by the way?

Or maybe I should just give up and go buy some more henna. If you can't beat 'em, join them .


Meri

[Jonobie]

Originally Posted by Meri

...and he got a nice laugh . Apparently since my skin did not respond in any more violent manner (think rashes, itching, flaking or similar), all I've done is cleaned my hair really well.

Well, that's a relief! I'm glad to hear it wasn't anything more serious than a *very* through cleaning.

Originally Posted by Meri

It wasn't the oil I was worried about, since I used polydecene-based body oil that I've used on my skin for several years, but the alcohol. [...]

But Jonobie, are you saying that white spirit is classified as an oil rather than an alcohol? That might explain why it didn't work.

Hmmmmmm. I think we're meaning different things by "white spirits", which explains all of my confusion. See, I thought when you said "white spirit" that you meant "mineral spirits" (since some people use those words interchangably), and thought that, perhaps, you had confused mineral oil and mineral spirits. (Since some people do that, too. )

But your paragraph above seems to indicate that the "white spirits" you're referring to is actually the *alcohol* you used, not the mineral oil. I'm guessing, then, that you used something like rubbing alcohol, which is (to my knowledge) not classified as an oil. Sorry for all of the confusion on my end about spirits and paint thinner -- I am *awfully* happy to hear that you merely put oil & alcohol on your head; I was pretty worried. ;-)

Originally Posted by Meri

any idea of the molecular formula for henna, by the way?

I'm not a chemist, nor should I play one in this group. ;-) I just like to tool around and find information online.

Originally Posted by Meri

Or maybe I should just give up and go buy some more henna. If you can't beat 'em, join them .

Cheers,
Jonobie

[Anne]

that sounds scary!!!

does your hair still smell like the ethanol?

I hope your hair is okay.

Just for future possible hennaing, it fades pretty quick.