AN ABERAERON mum-of-four has told how she was left hospitalised on a drip after suffering a severe reaction to hair dye which left her scalp covered in blisters and her eyes swollen shut.

Leonie Dee, 27, tried dyeing her hair in two different colours using Schwarzkopf Live in 'Cosmic Blue' and 'Ultra Violet', which cost her £4.79 each.

Leonie carried out a patch test with both colours before applying them to her hair to ensure she would not react to them.

But when she came to dye the top half of her hair with the dark blue dye, the reaction left her hospitalised for over 36 hours.

Leonie, who works as a cleaner for her local GP surgery said: 'It was really scary - at one point they were worried that the swelling might move to the front of my throat.

'I even asked them at the hospital whether it shaving all my hair off would help. I was ready to do that if it would have made a difference.”

Ina Facebook post she described how her head became covered in blisters.

“I rang 111 to get an appointment with the out-of-hours GP to hopefully get a prescription to help,” she related.

“After coming home and taking my tablets I noticed my face swelling at a rapid rate so I went to A & E.

“The nurse took one look at me and led me straight to a bed on the emergency ward.”

“I have had a delayed anaphylaxis shock.”

She is now warning others to be wary of using hair products.

“I have been told that the patch test can be pointless for people with allergies as the quantity of hair dye used is far less then what’s put on the head,” said Leonie.

“Darker colours have higher levels of the active ingredient which causes allergic reactions.

“Do not use them even if you only have sensitive skin as you never know what could happen.”

“This is only true for permanent hair dye. After not dying my hair for seven years I decided I wanted a change.

“Well, I certainly got a change - just not the one i was expecting.”