Revealing the Behavioral Effects of Hair Dye Exposure in Rats by Sociability, Anxiety and Recognition Assessments

Background: Most people use hair dye to change their hair color. The aim of this study was to investigate how hair dye affects rat behavioral tests. Methods: This study examines the effects of hair dye exposure on the Three-Chambered Sociability, open field, elevated plus maze and novel object recognition tests. Group 1 (n=8) was dyed twice, Group 2 (n=8) was dyed four times, Group 3 (n=8) was dyed eight times and Group 4 (n=8) was water-treated and dried eight times. Result: The control group (Group 4) sniffed certain objects more in the first occupied cage. The groups exposed to less dye explored for longer periods (p<0.05 higher in Groups 1 and 2 than in the control group). In the open field test, Group 2 showed more scratching, hunger and urination. The control group showed more cage interaction than the other groups (p<0.05). In the elevated plus maze test, no difference in time was found between the groups. In conclusion, hair dye chemicals may affect rat behavior, but neurotoxicity and oxidative stress tests are required to confirm this.