ABSTRACT

Aims:

The study aimed to assess the general population's knowledge, attitude, and practice towards HD usage and its adverse effects in the northern emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted for three months in the general population of Ras Al Khaimah. Information was collected by providing a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire related to hair dyes. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression to correlate HD use to various sociodemographic variables. Results with a p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results:

In total, 333 of the 405 distributed questionnaires completed the study with a response rate of 82.20%. The majority (52.85%) of the participants were using natural hair dyes, and most (30.59%) admitted that the motivation to use the HD was to get rid of grey hair. Of the total, nearly 75% of the study sample agreed that they had never performed an allergic test before using the HD, and almost 70% believed that providing advice regarding the HD would be beneficial. Genders (P<0.0001), age (in years) (p=0.032), and occupation (p=0.042) were associated with the frequency of HD use, which is statistically significant.

Conclusion:

In the present study, HD is common among students, employees and in middle-aged groups. Approaches such as educational awareness programs with special attention on the safe and effective use of HDs may help to select appropriate HDs and avoid preventable adverse effects.