Most colour services need a patch test, usually at least forty-eight hours before the appointment, sometimes longer. It is not a formality and a studio that insists on it is doing its job. Book it early enough that a reaction leaves you time to change plan, and expect to repeat it if you have not been for a while or the product has changed.
Worth asking before any chemical service:
- Which products will be used, by name, so you can check them against anything you react to
- Whether a patch test is required and how far in advance
- Whether the formula contains anything you have reacted to before — PPD in dark colour, acrylates in nail products, latex in adhesives
- What happens if you react on the day, and what the studio's terms are if you have to cancel because of it
Put your sensitivities in your Beauty Passport and share it with the studio when you book. It is the difference between remembering to mention it at the door and it already being on the record — and if you have reacted to something once, that record travels with you to the next professional.
A reaction during an appointment is a medical matter, not a booking one. Stop the service, rinse if the professional advises it, and get medical attention for anything beyond mild irritation. Tell the studio afterwards what happened so it goes on your record with them.