Disperse Blue 7
What Is It?
Disperse Blue 7 is a fine black powder. In cosmetics and personal care products, Disperse Blue 7 is used in the formulation of semi-permanent hair dyes, colors and tints.
Why Is It Used?
Disperse Blue 7 helps to impart a color to hair. The exact color obtained will depend on the other ingredients that are used in the preparation and the starting color of the hair.
Scientific Facts
Disperse Blue 7 is a synthetic pigment sometimes referred to in general terms as an anthraquinone color. Disperse Blue 7 is used in semi-permanent hair coloring systems that are usually applied in a shampoo base and contain thickeners, alkalizers, and foam stabilizers.
Safety Information
The safety of Disperse Blue 7 has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient ReviewThe Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) was established in 1976 as an independent safety review program for cosmetic ingredients. The CIR Expert Panel consists of independent experts in dermatology, toxicology, pharmacolgy and veterinary medicine. The CIR includes participation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Consumer Federation of America. (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that the data were insufficient to determine the safety of Disperse Blue 7 as a hair dye ingredient.
CIR Safety Review:
No data were available that addressed the acute, short-term, or chronic toxicity of Disperse Blue 7. A lymph node assay, used to predict the sensitization potential of Disperse Blue 7, was negative. While most bacterial assays for genotoxicity were negative in the absence of metabolic activation, consistently positive results were found with metabolic activation. Studies using L5178Y lymphoma cells appeared to confirm this mutagenic activity. Other assays for chromosome damage, however, were negative and other tests found no evidence of dominant lethal mutations. Cases reports describe patients patch tested with Disperse Blue 7 to determine the source of apparent adverse reactions to textiles. In most patients, patch tests were negative, but there are examples in which the patch test for Disperse Blue 7 was positive. In general, anthraquinone dyes are considered frequent causes of clothing dermatitis. The CIR Expert Panel determined that there were insufficient data to assess the safety of Disperse Blue 7 as used in hair dye products. Data requested included, impurities, concentration of use and clarification of genotoxicity data.
More information about the safety of hair dyes.
Disperse Blue 7 is not permitted for use in hair dye products in the European Union (see Annex II). Link to the EU Cosmetics Directive: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/sectors/cosmetics/documents/directive/inde…
More Scientific Information
Hair dyeing formulations belong to three categories – temporary, semi-permanent and permanent coloring of hair. Semi-permanent coloring preparations generally provide color through several shampooings. These materials are often low molecular weight pre-formed dyes which can penetrate the hair shaft to some extent.
Resources
The FDA’s factsheet on Hair Dye Products http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformati…
Search the FDA Code of Federal Regulations http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm
EU Cosmetic Ingredients Inventory http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/