A woman experienced a severe allergic reaction following an eyebrow tint, leaving her appearance drastically altered. Describing the aftermath, she said she resembled an ‘alien’ due to the extensive swelling of her face.

Thirty-two-year-old Kelsey Cleave had visited a beauty salon in Vancouver, Canada, for an eyebrow tint ahead of her December trip to Mexico. The procedure, which involves applying dye to enhance the definition of eyebrows, initially left her pleased with the results.

Upon leaving the salon on December 10, Cleave noted her satisfaction with the transformation, experiencing no immediate issues.

However, the following morning brought an unwelcome surprise. Cleave awoke to find significant swelling around her eyebrows and the bridge of her nose.

As the hours passed, the swelling intensified, nearly closing her eyes and severely limiting her peripheral vision. Despite the dramatic changes to her appearance, Cleave reported that the reaction was not painful.

Describing her altered appearance, Cleave likened herself to a being from another planet, comparing her look to that of ET or a ‘cartoon cricket with exaggerated eyes.’ The swelling persisted for nearly two weeks, finally subsiding after 13 days.

Cleave said that she suffered from an allergic reaction to the dye used in her eyebrow tinting treatment, as her immune system identified the dye as foreign and attacked it, causing the intense swelling.

Although the dye is applied to the eyebrow hair, some is also applied to the skin and can be absorbed, potentially triggering a reaction.

Kelsey Cleave, 32, pictured above, suffered from an allergic reaction after getting her eyebrows tinted

Cleave said she had suffered from reactions to some dyes before, but thought that eyebrow tinting would be safe

Cleave said: ‘At first, I loved them and I was so happy. 

‘The only symptom I had was swelling. The next day I noticed the swelling start to happen. There was no tingle or burning. The swelling started around my eyebrows and I noticed most on my nose bridge.’

She added: ‘I thought it was just going to be a little reaction and I wasn’t worried at all. On Monday, I woke up and the swelling was going down towards my eyes. 

‘Even though it looked so awful, it was a waiting game and I knew I just had to wait it out. 

‘The swelling started by congregating in the place where the dye was.

‘It swelled up for quite a bit of time, but it wasn’t painful. I stayed mostly in the house as I didn’t want to be seen like this. 

‘I was able to see the whole time but I only had a tiny slit I could see out of. At the point when my eyes were the worst, I could only see forward and I had no peripheral vision. 

‘It [my face] was definitely alien-esque. I found it hard to look at myself and I did mention to my partner that I know it’s going to go away, but my vanity had taken a hit.’

Many hair dyes contain PPD, or paraphenylenediamine, which studies suggest about six percent of Americans are allergic to, though it is not known how many people suffer an adverse reaction to eyebrow tinting in general.

PPD is a chemical compound widely used in hair dyes to make the color long-lasting.

Cleave is shown above during her allergic reaction. She said that, with the swelling, she found it much harder to see

Cleave is shown above when her swelling was starting to subside. She said she used antihistamines to help her reaction

Cleave admitted that she had suffered an allergic reaction to box hair dye 15 years ago and had also reacted to western henna, a dye used for temporary body art. She said, however, that she thought eyebrow tinting dye would be safe because she had not reacted to salon hair dye. 

Cleave said: ‘I didn’t even think about it. The last time I had a reaction was to box hair dye and any time I’ve been in a salon, it’s been okay because I’ve probably used sensitive dyes. 

‘I think I naively thought that because it was going on my face for a shorter amount of time, it wouldn’t be a bother.’

It was not clear what exactly caused the allergic reaction for Cleave — whether it was PPD or another ingredient in the dye.

But hair dyes are generally full of a range of chemicals to achieve a long-lasting change in hair color that can trigger an allergic reaction. Other chemicals that can cause the reactions include persulfates, which are used to lighten hair.

Cleave, who works as an assistant costume designer, said she barely left the house for 13 days while she waited for the swelling to subside.

She did not say whether she went to a doctor, but revealed she treated herself using antihistamine medications, which can help to reduce allergic reactions by calming the immune system. Common antihistamines include Benadryl, active ingredient diphenhydramine, and Zyrtec, active ingredient cetirizine.

Doctors recommend treating allergic reactions using antihistamine creams rubbed into the swollen area, applying ice to the area to reduce inflammation and blood flow and staying hydrated.

Cleave pictured during her allergic reaction. She suffered swelling on her eyebrows and around her eyes

Cleave is pictured above before her allergic reaction

Cleave said her face only returned to normal on December 23, which was just in time for her trip to Mexico. 

She revealed her ordeal in a post on TikTok, and says she is now warning others to get a test before they get their eyebrows tinted to ensure they are not allergic to the dye.

She said this could be done using a patch test, where a small amount of the dye being used in a treatment is applied to the skin in a small discrete area to see if a reaction occurs.

Clinics may offer this test before eyebrow tinting. Online, some clinics say that the test should be carried out up to 48 hours before the tinting. But Cleave did not, however, do this prior to her treatment.

Now fully recovered, Cleave said she has not been put off getting her eyebrows tinted, which cost her $20, again, but would always do a patch test beforehand. 

Cleave said: ‘I would definitely say to people, even if you don’t have a previous allergy, get a patch test no matter what. 

‘I would always get a patch test now. People have given me some recommendations about dyes they think would be safe for me and I’m definitely interested in getting a patch test for these to see if I could use them.

‘For now, I’m going to let my eyebrows heal and err on the side of caution. I think it’s good to give your skin a nice long break.’