Scalp oozes yellow fluid due to allergy to bleach. The fluid dries crusty and flaky and clumps my hair. What do I do?

Go back to the doctor. It shouldn’t last this long.

See if you can get a referral to a dermatologist. The sores will heal, but you have to not scratch at them. I know it is hard. You need to see a dermatologist. I don’t like the term ‘allergic reaction’ here. I think the chemicals have burned your skin and who ever did the treatment should be held accountable.

See a dermatologist.

I need to ask a very obvious question – Why do you bleach your hair, given your body’s reaction to the procedure? There are many other ways to look attractive and feel good about yourself.

@Love_my_doggie sometimes we put faith in people who call themselves professionals. Sometimes, those professionals lack training or knowledge and they end up fucking up a process that should otherwise be routine. If I had a dime for every beauty school graduate who failed their chemistry section, I would have a great deal of money. MANY hairdressers aren’t given the proper training or if they are given the training, they aren’t held to the importance of certain aspects. Chemical burns are way too common. She now needs a dermatologist and she needs to deliver the cost of the treatment to the hairdressers who did the damage.

Dermatologist. Possibly it’s infected. Even if it’s not, you need to treat it.

@cazzie Of course you’re right about inept people who handle chemicals, but @Alice35 didn’t specify whether her ordeal is isolated or repetitive. When I read her question, I got the sense that this isn’t a first experience. I could certainly be wrong, but that was just my impression.

For what it’s worth… Many years ago, I had a professional manicure that left two abscesses under two different fingernails. The dermatologist told me that the manicurist had likely used dirty instruments, without benefit of an autoclave or even a soak in disinfecting solution. Months later, I ran into the salon owner, who demanded to know why I hadn’t returned after such terrific service. I gave him an earful and, as you might expect, he told me that I was wrong; clearly, the infections had come from elsewhere.

I have a couple of questions after reading the original details again. Have you not washed your hair all week? I don’t see why you wouldn’t wash your hair. I’m not a doctor, but it seems like you need to keep the area clean. Can you phone the original doctor and ask about washing your hair while you wait to see a dermatologist? Don’t wait too long. If a derm won’t get you in seriously consider going to the emergency room. I rarely suggest going to the ER, because mostly they just care that you don’t die on their watch, and then tell you to follow up with your doctor, but if you think it might be an infection, emergency tends to be good at treating those things. It’s overkill probably if you can easily get an appointment with a dermatologist.

I forgot to ask my other question. Is the yellow oozing a new symptom, or you had that since the very beginning of the irritation?

Thank you all for the kind answers! I’ll go to a dermatologist first thing monday since its the weekend now.

@cazzie I did go back to the salon the next day and after much discussion, they agreed for a full refund of my payment. They made me sign a waiver thing before the bleach process so I guess now the best I can ask for is the refund as they’re “protected” (via manager’s words) :(

@Love_my_doggie Well, I wouldn’t have if I knew this would happen. It was my first time coloring and bleaching my hair (and I told that many times to the hair stylist) and this happened..

@JLeslie I did, but for the areas that are irritated I didn’t apply shampoo as I’m scared the shampoo may irritate it more. Do you have any ideas on how to tell if it’s infected or not? And, the yellow oozing has been there since the very beginning. It was really bad at first and got much less, but it still is oozing nonetheless :(

I guess since the yellow oozing was always there it’s just a symptom of the burn. I have very little knowledge about contact dermatitis and burns, I just got a little worried when you described it as yellow oozing, because that can be how infections are described, but I can’t see your head, and even if I could I’m not an expert. I would say if the painful area is growing that’s an emergency. I’d also say if you see red stripes growing from the area that is an emergency. Otherwise, it’s likely just dermatitis or a chemical burn not healing quickly. I can’t know which is the best possibility, because I’m not in your body. The fever concerned me a little, but it sounds like it was mild.

The topical cream is an antibiotic I think, so that’s good.

Why not page the doctor and just check with him about your continuing symptoms? No one here can really give you good advice since your problem needs some immediate attention. It’s not like you are pondering possibilities for a chronic ailment, or have some minor thing that doesn’t bother you much.

@Alice35 Thank you for providing a few more details. I’m so sorry your first attempt at bleaching/coloring turned into such a disaster. Unfortunately, there are plenty of licensed beauticians who are incompetent, just as there inept auto mechanics, caterers, lawyers, etc., etc.

Sounds less like an allergy, and more like a chemical burn to me, though I’m no doctor. Also, I’m not sure that waver would really hold up in a case of employee ineptitude or negligence, but I suppose that’d be a matter for a lawyer to figure out (should you wish to take it that far).

I too am sorry you’ve gone through this. It sounds like a truly horrible experience.

I have a couple of questions, where are you in the world? And also, is it common for hairdressers, beauticians to ask people to sign waivers before bleaching/colouring hair etc.? I’ve never had anyone here ask me to sign a waiver and I’ve never heard of anyone else being asked to do this. That they’re asking for this, makes me wonder if this salon has had problems before.

@JLeslie Thank you, I’ll pay attention if this situation turns into an emergency. I’m reluctant about contacting the original doctor because he was from a random walk-in urgent care clinic that I went into the day of the incident.. So I’m not sure if he’s really specialized in the area or anything. Plus, they most probably will charge me again, so I don’t want to go back unless I know I need to :(

@Love_my_doggie It’s ok, I can’t really blame anyone. Just hoping the conditions will get better soon

@Earthbound_Misfit I’m in New York, where everything is omg so expensive. Actually, at the beginning they didn’t ask for me to sign one. But then they realized that I washed my hair before coming (which one shouldn’t do, but being my first time I didn’t know), so the hair stylist was like I’ll need you to sign this waiver just in case. So… I don’t know how major of a role me washing my hair played in the whole allergic reaction, but that’s why they made me sign one.

@Alice35: I get my hair colored every five weeks. I always wash it first, just as habit taking a shower before I leave the house. Washing your hair first should not make any difference as far as damage to your scalp. I have never had scalp damage as you describe. My colorist uses a product from Italy, I’m trying to remember what the name is, and it has low ammonia so it’s gentle and doesn’t really smell. I don’t think “bleach” is something that’s in hair color but I could be wrong. I think the main ingredients are ammonia and peroxide. My scalp doesn’t itch when the process is over.

I’ve never had to sign a waiver, but if I were you, I’d not return to that place.

Did it happen to be a beauty school? I’m only asking because it sounds amateurish.

@Alice35 You cant lose anything by calling the urgent care you went to and asking if the healing seems normal. The worst they will say is you have to come back in, and you can choose to or not. If you call you can tell them the doctor gave you no information on what to expect, so maybe they will feel a little responsible for you being unsure, and help you over the phone.

@jca Hmm, I’m guessing that bleaching is different than the hair coloring since it’s much more harmful, and my hair’s really dark so the stylist needed to get my hair light. She said something about the washing causing the pores to open so it hurts more. Also, no, its a professional salon with relatively good rating on yelp—I did a lot of research before deciding where to go :(

@JLeslie Good idea, I’ll try reaching back if I can’t manage to find a dermatologist :D

The washing just rids the scalp of oils and dirt, which protect the skin a little. People every day get their hair dyed or bleached having just washed their hair.

Let us know what the doctor says.

You may need a referral from your primary care physician or from the doc you saw at the urgent care to get into a dermatologist. That’s how it works here.

@Alice35: Where I go, the hair washing lady has dark hair and she said in order to lighten it, she had to have it highlighted (lots of highlights). One advantage of highlights is that they don’t touch the roots the way single process does. Try highlighting next time. It means more money and more time in the chair but it might be good for you, and might work effectively to get your hair lightened.

@JLeslie Oh, thank you. I guess now I know it wasn’t my fault at all

@chyna Would the doctor be able to refer me to a dermatologist that accepts my health insurance plan? I’ve been calling around dermatologists that according to my plan website accepts my plan, but when I call they say it’s not accepted :/

@jca I might just stay away from doing anything to my hair from now on xd

I don’t need a referral. It completely depends on your insurance plan. Fewer and fewer plans require a referral, but it still exists with some plans. Even if you don’t need a referral a GP calling a derm to squeeze you in might help you get in faster if you have trouble getting an appointment.

Is your scalp any better today?

@JLeslie Same old, my nurse mom think its an infection and wants me to do a blood test which is worrying me a little. Thank you for asking!

Yes, I don’t want you to wait too long if it’s not healing. It’s your head, not a pinky finger. Not that both can’t be a serious problem, but the location, plus your description, worries me. It might be normal for a chemical burn, I have no idea.

Well? How are you doing? Did you see a doctor? Is it healing?

@JLeslie Hi! :D Just as an update, I went to see a dermatologist yesterday. He says that this doesn’t look like contact dermatitis (allergy) since allergies are supposed to itch while it doesn’t for me.. So he thinks its more like irritation dermatitis(?) / a chemical burn. He also says that he never saw anything like this and he’s worried that there might be scarring and hair loss in the area :(

So, now I’m taking Bactrim (antibiotic pill thing), and applying Mupirocin to my scalp and Silvadene for ear.. And I’ll go back to the dermatologist on Monday.

And one small thing, I suddenly got a weird lump on the end of my neck on Wednesday which freaked me out thinking that I got lymph cancer or something. However, dermatologist says its just swelling because of my scalp, and it’ll go away when my scalp heals (hopefully!).

I’m glad you went to the dermatologist. Did you take photos. Take photos!

Thanks for the update.

Glad you saw a dermatologist. The allergy diagnosis was bogus.

@JLeslie Yes I did! Thanks for reminding me

@cazzie Yeah, you were right about the chemical burn. Now I’m thinking I should go back and hold them accountable for this.

I would if I were you.

They should at minimum pay for your medical care including medicines. But, it might be overwhelming to fight with them. The choice is yours of course. You can try and see where it goes. I would assume hair salons have insurance.

Hi again! I’m sorry for not updating for so long. These few days have been really overwhelming for me and a lot has happened. Is it even OK for me to keep posting updates here since my original question has already been answered and followed through? I’m just really thankful to everyone who has helped me make the right decisions in this space, and I really feel much more comforted and at peace when talking to you all.

Anyways, before I mumble on to what happened these days, if there is anything that I want anyone reading this to remember, it is that caution and careful thinking should always be taken when doing procedures that are harmful to the body. I went to one of the best salons in my area expecting some level of pain from the bleach, and I never would have imagined things to escalate to what it is today. I guess there just never is a guarantee, so make wise decisions.

So, on Monday this week, I went back to my dermatologist for a follow up. He got very concerned and said that after a week of antibiotic pills, my scalp has not gotten any better—if even worse. He then suggested me to go to an ER to get IV antibiotics which is the strongest form of antibiotics. So, I went to the ER later that day and got the antibiotics, which took me 7 hours total—5 hours of me being in the bed with the IV feeling dizzy, hot, weak, and itchy from the stuff they’re giving me and no nurse or doctor by my side (I literally had to yell “Hello” or wave at random people for at least 10 minutes before someone will come into the room and leave immediately after saying that those feelings are “normal”). At the end, the doctor then told me to follow up with a burn center.

The next day, I didn’t know what I should do next, so I walked-in to my college’s health center doctor. The doctor also got very concerned and sent me immediately to the burn center (which is connected to another emergency room??) to get checked. After much waiting in the ER a doctor from the burn specialist team or something came down and looked at my scalp for a few minutes. Her diagnosis is that my scalp is fine and slowly healing, and does not “look” infected at all. I showed her the wound/swab culture from my dermatologist that indicates that I have a MRSA infection (or something like that). Her explanation is that there is bacteria in human skin in the first place, so if they did a swab on any random person’s scalp the results will be the same (which sounds just like b.s. for me). The doctor then says that I don’t even need to continue taking any antibiotic pill or ointment, and all I need to do is to wash my hair often. I asked her what the symptoms of an infection is, and she replied with fever or chills—however, earlier when I told her that I got a fever for one day on the first week, she asked for the symptoms (and I replied with headache, dizzy, feeling hot and weak) then quickly disregarded it by saying “that’s not a fever.” :/ After she left a few other doctors—that I don’t think is from the burn department—came and took a look at my scalp, and all agreed that I just need to wash my hair frequently and make sure to wash off the crusty bits. I stated that if I remove the crusts more fluid will come out, and the doctor said “just like a pimple” I need to keep letting the fluid flow out so that eventually it will stop (which sounds suspicious to me too). That marks the end of the long ER visit.

Today, a day after the ER, I went back to my school doctor and she, too, was very suspicious of the diagnosis yesterday. She called back to the ER and managed to schedule another appointment for tomorrow for them to take another closer look at my scalp just to make sure that I am OK. In the call, she described my scalp saying “I could just pick off parts of her scalp with my fingers.. Fluid oozes out if applied pressure. Texture feels spongy and mobile.” I was slightly confused with this description, but just a while ago I asked my friend to take a picture of my scalp for documentation, and I got genuinely terrified with what I saw. Such an odd sensation to be scared of what your body has become… Basically, there is this area on my right scalp (the doctor said it was 3×5 cm or something) that looks like my scalp has literally split open—like a cut. You can see the yellow, normal areas of the scalp (with hair) split up, and then there is this bloody, gooey area beneath that is exposed. I am simply terrified… I don’t even know where or how I should be applying the ointment. It’s so terrifying.

Oh my goodness. You poor girl. Thank you for the update. As long as you keep on topic you can post updates. And we all do want to hear how you’re going. I hope this starts to heal and get better for you very soon. I hope this isn’t costing you a fortune. Personally, I’d be taking legal advice. It’s truly shocking that you’re going through this.

Wow. I know how stressful it is when doctors don’t agree. They are supposed to know what’s going on, right?

Did you wash your hair? You need to keep the area clean I would think. I’m not a doctor though, I’m just guessing it would make sense, guesses are wrong sometimes. Burns are special cases. The scalp is fairly dirty and oily. You mentioned the one doctor told you to wash your hair, are other doctors telling you not to?

Did the IV help at all? IV for skin infection usually helps the healing very fast, assuming you still took oral antibiotics afterwards it should start to improve within 48 hours, but since you are burned and not just infected (possibly) it might be hard to tell what’s going on.

Burn center sounds like a good call, but it also sounds like you disagree with their diagnosis. The other specialty that could look at it is Infectious disease.

I’m never prescribed Bactrim for skin infections, because I’m allergic to it, so I don’t know a lot about that drug. I googled and it looks like it is supposed to be very good for the problem (I’m not a doctor). Did they switch you to another antibiotic after the IV by any chance? Try you on a new one?

Did you say you’re in NYC? I don’t remember. My sister used to work on a burn unit, but I don’t remember if it was there or a different state she lived in. I can ask her if she has a recommendation, but she won’t be able to give you medical advice like a diagnosis. I’m pretty sure she would say have it looked at by another doctor if it isn’t healing.

I wonder if the hospital you were at was a teaching hospital?

@Alice35: It’s not clear why you went to the other doctor the next morning after going to the one ER. Was it because you didn’t trust what the ER told you?

I have no advice but want you to know that updates are very welcome here. I feel very bad for you that this has gone on so long. But I admire that you are being so pro active in getting this taken care of.

@Alice35 My goodness you have had a long siege of this ongoing reaction/infection! I am very happy you feel comfortable to update us all here. I care a lot and so do others. I wish you speedy return to health.

I’m glad I could keep posting updates! This whole situation just keeps going and complications never end. It’s so stressful trying to keep up with life and dealing with this too, gladly my teachers are understanding of the condition :(

@JLeslie Yes, I have been washing my hair with baby shampoo, though it was tough to completely clean the area since I can’t see it myself, and it’s rough to just blindly scrub at the wounded area trying to make it clean. I can’t tell if the IV helped or not because, as I’ll mention later on, apparently the wound’s not infected at all. Also, no, the ER doctor prescribed me the same Bactrim antibiotics after the IV, though I’ve stopped on that since I don’t need to take it. Lastly, yes, I am in NYC, and the hospital with the burn unit that I went to was a pretty high rep. hospital with “THE” burn unit.

@jca Yes, I didn’t trust the ER that much. I just wanted to hear from more people to make sure that I’m OK and on the right path.

——————————
Update as of Feb. 29

On Thursday, I went to the regular burn unit appointment for another check. The nurse had to shave off surrounding areas and briefly scrub off all the gunk. This time, a bunch more doctors came and took a look. After some discussion they decided to hospitalize me since I needed proper cleaning and taking care of the wound. They also said that my scalp doesn’t seem infected at all (so I took the painful IV antibiotics for no reason I guess). Therefore, from Thursday until today I have been staying in the hospital. They have been making me shower everyday, and twice a day they apply dressing (Silvadene) directly to the scalp wound. The plan was for me to have a debridement surgery on Tuesday where they clean up all the dead tissues, and then temporarily use cadaver skin. After a few days if my scalp isn’t healing up they’ll do a autograft where they’ll take my own skin to patch up the wound. However, since the autograft area won’t grow hair, they then involved the plastic surgeons whose original proposal was to use a balloon under a healthy area of my scalp to eventually expand my scalp, and after a few months they’ll be able to have extra healthy scalp w/ hair that could be used to cover up the bald wound. This whole process would’ve took a year, including time for healing and such.

On Sunday, my parents were asking around doctors from my home country, and the doctors there proposed a more medicinal approach, which my parents preferred since that’s safer. So, there was a day or so where I was really torn on whether or not I should go back to my home country to do the surgery and all. However, my parents asked again what the doctors would do if the wound was actually really deep, and the doctors from my home country then said that the original plan by the doctors here is the best if the wound’s deep, and they suggested that I should just do the surgeries in NYC. So, my parents bought tickets on Monday and they’ll be arriving tomorrow.

Just as things seem to be going according to plan—as I’ll be having the debridement surgery on Tuesday and my parents will be here for me, the doctors here suddenly decided to change the plan again. This morning, the plastic surgeons came again and decided on a different method from the original balloon one. What they would do instead is cut apart the healthy scalp beside the wound and stretch the healthy scalp long enough so it could also cover up the bald wounded area. This sounds much quicker than the balloon method so I was OK with it.

Then, as the plastic surgeons left, the burn surgeons came and took a look, and a burn surgeon stayed and was still telling me of the same plan (debridement on Tuesday, autograft later, etc.). However, the plastic surgeon coincidentally came back in, and they had a brief conversation. The burn surgeon then tells me that I won’t need any of the original planned surgeries, and I could be discharged tomorrow. All I have to do is keep applying Silvadene everyday, and come back next or next next week to the plastic surgeon so they could perform the one surgery that allows my scalp to have no bald spots.

On one hand, this is good as I guess my scalp is healthy and all I need is make sure it doesn’t look weird cosmetically. On the other hand, this is so simple it worries me. I thought the wound was pretty deep, hence why they wanted to do the debridement surgery where they clean out all the dead tissue and allow new ones to grow. Yet, now, all they are going to do is cover the wound up with healthy scalp. I just feel like that’s covering up the problem, and not solving it. The wound still hurts too—randomly when it’s not touched, and definitely hurts when touched. I fear that after they cover things up I’ll still keep getting this painful pinch on my scalp from time to time.

That’s the update for now. The situation has definitely not ended yet… I’ll have another meeting with the doctors tomorrow after my parents arrive regarding the plans and all :(
____________

I was talking to the nurses and social workers and such, and apparently this situation of mine isn’t uncommon. Quite a relief for me, while quite unfortunate that this happens a lot to others too.

Also, I managed to get a copy of the waiver that I signed. Is it out of topic if I post the contents here? I kind of want to get the consensus of what you guys think my chance of winning in court is with me signing that waiver (though I’ll definitely consult a lawyer later on).

Again, thank you guys for remaining interest in my case. It’s really long-winding I know, so thank you all for being here.

@Alice35 Thank you once again for updating us. It is very much appreciated here.
I’m at a loss as to what to say to you though. I cannot believe what you are going through after just getting your hair done in a salon. I honestly just want to hug you and take you to a lawyer. There are no rules against you showing us your waiver if you want to do that.
I wish only the best for you and I’m so glad you found Fluther and hope you continue to share with us and let us continue to help you and hopefully ease your mind when we can.

Thanks for the update. Hopefully, you are finally on the mend. You might want to post your legal question separately and just put the link here to the new Q. You can put the link for this Q on the details of the new Q. Thing is, for legal it will be important to talk to a lawyer, just like here you had to be seen by doctors. Plus, laws vary by state, so you really need someone knowledgable with NY law. But, you certainly can ask any question you want, but as usual it’s just us jellies, and we aren’t experts.

I believe the waiver won’t matter if they were truly negligent in some way. For instance, when I’m at the racetrack (my husband races) we all sign waivers) and I had an accident off-track, but on the track grounds. Insurance still covered me. The driver’s insurance covered me. But, I’m not a lawyer.

After a loooong time, I think this’ll be my last update. I got the scalp flap rotation surgery from the plastic surgeon and thankfully it was very successful. Now, my scalp is fully covered with hair-growing skin (the huge bald area burnt is gone) and is slowly healing. I’m definitely lucky for not having to go through the skin graft process!

I’ve also managed to find lawyers that are working on the case now, so hopefully everything goes well here. They don’t seem too concerned with the waiver that I signed, so I guess that’s good.

—————-

All in all, I think an important reminder from this is to go to a reliable source (aka big hospital) at the very beginning. Looking back at the pictures, I feel like my scalp was simply red at the beginning, then slowly it cracked, and lastly became the palm-sized flesh spot at the end. I might have not needed the surgery if I treated it right from the beginning, who knows. I had to shave off all my hair eventually because of the surgery and the blood that clumped the hair, which is a huge bummer :/

And finally, thank you all one last time for being here when I was so lost! I can’t imagine what I would’ve had to go through if I didn’t come here for advice and simply waited around the house for my scalp to magically heal. This has definitely been a serious condition and thank you for making me realize that! :D

Alice35, Thank you for the update. Chemicals used to change the colour and structure of hair are very very dangerous. In my circles, we tend to use ‘hairdresser’ as a derogatory term for people who fail miserably at understanding chemistry. If it were up to us, certain procedures in the salon chair would need a particular license that not all hairdressers would qualify for.

I’m really glad you are recovering and taking steps to hold the negligent parties responsible.

Also, I think we all know that ER doctors have a very poor record in initial diagnosis, so none of us should feel bad for knocking on more doors immediately if the ER doctor does not help.

Thanks for the update! Thank goodness it’s finally getting better.

Let us know if the lawsuit works out. Not that you have to tell us how much money, I just mean I’m curious to know if the salon settles or tries to fight you or what? I’m also curious if they have insurance for this sort of thing? I assume they do.