Could scalp be allergic to hair-care products?

Q. Is it possible for people to have an allergy to hair-care products? My scalp is breaking out. I do get some facial blemishes but these are very minor. I get my hair highlighted but only every three months. Could the cause be the highlights? I have tried different products and not using products, but the breakouts continue. Could all of this be hormonal? I'm 36 and not on the pill. I have lots of curly, fine hair and have to have a conditioner or there will be no getting the knots out. I try to never put conditioner on my scalp, only the ends of my hair.

You're asking all the right questions and using the process of elimination to determine what's causing the scalp breakouts.

The experimentation you've done so far is exactly what I would've suggested, too, so you're already ahead of me.

It is possible for someone to be allergic to any ingredient in hair-care products, yes.

However, figuring out which ingredient that is, is not easy, due to the sheer number of products we put on our hair, from shampoo to hair spray.

Given that your facial blemishes are minor and your main concern is scalp breakouts, I doubt hormones are to blame, but that is something you should discuss with your physician.

Allergies to hair dyes and bleaches are far more common, but I wouldn't think using them once every three months would cause an ongoing problem.

If you want to see if the hair dye is to blame, go without for six months or so and see what happens.

There is one other possibility: You may have a very sensitive scalp, and just the simple acts of brushing and styling with high heat may be causing the problem.

Other than letting your hair go natural for a period of time, there is no way to know if this is the cause.