Q I'm in my 30s running a hair salon in Dong-gu, Incheon. Handling perm and dye chemicals has left my fingers and the backs of my hands cracked and oozing. I even wear gloves, so why does this keep happening?
A Salon work repeatedly exposes the hands to perm solutions, dyes, and cleansers, so occupational contact dermatitis is very common. Even with gloves, sweat builds up inside and irritants seep in, breaking down the hand's barrier and causing cracking and oozing.
Detailed Answer
Hairdressers have their hands exposed all day to perm solutions, dyes, bleach, and frequent water use, so occupational contact dermatitis centered on the fingers and backs of the hands occurs as commonly as an occupational disease. Latex or rubber gloves themselves, or the sweat and friction trapped inside them, can become another irritant; and when irritants seep through gaps in a damaged barrier, cracking, oozing, and scaling recur.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At Dongjedang, we view such occupational hand dermatitis as a breakdown where external irritation and internal damp-heat overlap. While reducing the substances that touch the skin and protecting the barrier, we approach it in a direction that lowers the damp-heat accumulated in the spleen-stomach, building hands that collapse less under the same irritation. The harder it is for someone to take time off work, the more important it is to also strengthen the skin's resilience to endure.
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