[Hairdresser eczema and nickel allergy].

Contact allergy to nickel could be found in 44.7% of 247 Austrian hairdressers with hand eczema. Two-thirds had become sensitive to nickel during their apprenticeship. The hairdressers' occupational exposure to nickel, chromium and cobalt was screened and different materials were analysed by a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Hairdressers' nails (means = 54.22 ppm) contained ten times more nickel than those of controls (means = 6.5 ppm), but the differences were not statistically significant. Pooled customers' hair gave values of 3 ppm nickel; metals could not be released by shampoos, permanent wave liquids or oxidizing agents. The nickel, chromium and cobalt contents of 8 shampoos were beyond the detection limit of 1 microgram/100 ml. In 2 of 6 hair colours, in 2 bleaching agents and 8 of the 9 permanent liquids analysed (means 0.063 mg/100 ml), nickel could be found in detectable amounts. No metal traces could be detected in Viennese tap water samples which had been collected from a commonly used boiler. First samples of cold tap water collected in Leoben contained only 2 micrograms/100 ml, first hot water samples (60 degrees C) up to 4 micrograms nickel/100 ml; after 5 min of flushing, hot water samples contained 3 micrograms nickel/100 ml. From a nickel rod 13 micrograms/nickel/cm2/h was leached into 15 degrees C cold water and 0.28 microgram/nickel/cm2/h was leached into 70 degrees C hot water. It is recommended that hairdressers be supplied with only nickel-free instruments and that the contents of nickel and chelating agents be analysed in hair cosmetics.