L'Oreal Hair Dye Puts Mother of Two In Coma

Government officials are being called to ban a deadly colour chemical after a woman was left fighting for her life in intensive care following a severe allergic reaction to a hair dye.

Mother of two, Julie McCabe fell in to coma after using L'Oreal Preference on October 30 and is now on a life support machine at Airedale General Hospital in West Yorkshire.

The 38-year-old estate agent is thought to have had an allergic reaction to a chemical in the hair dye called p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) which left her unable to breathe and eventually caused her heart to stop on the way to the hospital.

Her distraught father, Keith Miller who blames the chemical for the reaction said: "She finished dyeing her hair and said, 'I don't feel well; I can't breathe,' to her husband. He rushed her to hospital and her heart stopped beating on the way to hospital.

"What happened was a consequence of the dye that went on her head," he said.

As she remained on life support last night, doctors warned her devastated family that she will most certainly be permanently brain-damaged.

Miller said: "She is in a coma. We've spoken to the doctors, and they have more or less said to us the condition she is in now is most likely how she will stay. They are not giving us much hope; it's hard to take in."

PPD is commonly used chemical in permanent hair dye. Despite being banned in several countries across Europe, it is now allowed for use in hair dye.

The number of causes of people suffering allergic reactions after colouring their hair in the last five years has now sparked huge concern from campaigners who are now calling on the government to ban the use of PPD in hair dye.

Just weeks ago Tabatha McCourt, 17, collapsed and died following a violent fit that struck her 20 minutes after she coloured her hair. Her exact cause of death is currently under investigation.

Even though no direct link has been confirmed, the hospital has asked for the dye and the gloves she used in a bid to identify the reasons why McCabe, who had dyed her hair regularly for several years and used the dark-colored L'Oreal Preferences product before suffered the reaction.

L'Oreal released a statement saying: "L'Oreal was extremely concerned to hear about this serious situation. We are unable to comment further, however we will do everything we can to assist this lady's family and medical team with information they might need to establish what happened."