Evaluation of the toxicity and carcinogenicity of hair dyes in Swiss mice.

The chronic toxicologic and carcinogenic potential of two oxidative and twelve non-oxidative hair dyes has been evaluated. The dyes were skin painted up to 3 times weekly on groups of 60 male and 60 female Eppley Swiss mice. Treatments were carried out for 20 months followed by terminal sacrifice. Nine months after treatments were initiated an intermediate sacrifice of ten mice per sex per group was carried out. Body weights and survival differed little between appropriate male and female treatment and control groups. Differences between treated and control groups in absolute and relative liver and kidney weights and in hematological and urinary values were not considered to be indicative of toxicologic effects. Microscopic examinations of the skin revealed occasional hyperplasia, necrosis, ulceration and other lesions not significantly increased by dye treatment. Chronic inflammation of the skin was observed in the control and treated mice and was significantly increased by one non-oxidative dye. The predominant tumors diagnosed were liver hemangioma, lung adenoma and malignant lymphoma. There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of malignant lymphoma in female mice in 3 treated groups when compared to control group 2, but the differences were not significant when these groups were compared to control group 1. In addition the values in these 3 groups were within the range of control values for this tumor in female mice in the Eppley colony. No other tumors occurred at significantly increased frequencies in treated mice. We conclude that toxicological and carcinogenic effects were not clearly induced by the hair dye formulations.