Marcy’s Concerned: I’ve been dying my hair at home for years, and have never done an allergy patch test. I’m starting to wonder now if one of these days it’ll catch up to me. Unfortunately, I’m usually pretty impatient with my hair dye and don’t budget in time for a 48-hour-long test before wanting to color my hair. How common are such allergies, anyway?

Also, the instructions say not to cover the test patch on your arm for 48 hours. What if I need to wear a long-sleeved shirt or sweater? Will that alter the allergy test results somehow?

Ok, last question, I promise… I’ve noticed a new warning that those with tattoos may be more suceptible to experiencing an allergy from using hair dye. Is that true for a tattoo anywhere on the body, even though you’re only using the hair dye on your head?