THE NUMBER of people who suffer allergic reactions to hair dye has been "grossly underestimated" by the cosmetics industry, a coroner said at the conclusion to an inquest into the death of a mother-of-two.

Tributes have been paid to Julie McCabe, 38, of Cowling, near Keighley, who died following a massive allergic reaction to hair dye.

Yesterday, a three-day inquest reached a conclusion of accidental death.

Mrs McCabe's husband Russell is now considering legal action against international cosmetics giant L'Oreal, who made the colouring kit she used.

She went into a coma in October 2011 after suffering an allergic reaction to a chemical known as PPD and died a year later.

Concluding the Skipton inquest, North Yorkshire Coroner Geoff Fell urged L'Oreal and the cosmetics industry to encourage customers to report bad reactions.

Mr Fell said the industry was aware of the allergy issue, but there was a "massive disconnect" between the figures quoted by cosmetics firms and those found in academic research.

He concluded the number of people allergic to hair colourant was "grossly underestimated". The coroner said: "Nobody has any idea how many customers are adversely affected by hair dye."

Mr Fell decided that Mrs McCabe, a Bradford estate agent, was aware of her allergy to the hair dye and between 2005 and 2011 she visited the doctors up to 20 times to report rashes, itches and other problems.

The inquest heard she had a black henna tattoo in Dubai in 2007 and her regular reactions to her hair dye increased after this.

Coroner Geoff Fell heard expert evidence which said the tattoos contained large amounts of paraphenylenediamine (PPD) - the chemical in the hair dye which is thought to have caused her reaction - and that the tattoos increased susceptibility.

Mr Fell said he would be writing to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to ask it to look into increasing public awareness of this danger.

Mrs McCabe's mother Brenda Miller and sisters Natalie and Louise gave their reaction to the conclusion:

"It was very thorough and the coroner had done a lot of research and we were pleased with it being accidental death," said Natalie Miller.

"One thing was it made Julie look a bit reckless to continue going to the doctor's with skin complaints and to keep on dyeing her hair and also for them to keep giving her prescriptions.

"But a lot of people have that sort of medication all the time without dying their hair.

"Julie was a strong spirit and took great pride in everything about her life, her appearance, her home, everything," said legal secretary Miss Miller.

She urged anyone using hair dye to study the instructions and also for manufacturers to increase the strength of product warnings to include "risk of fatality" on cosmetics containing PPD.

After the inquest, Mr McCabe said: "Julie was a wonderful wife and fantastic mother to our two children. We miss her every single day and her loss has torn our family apart.

"We will never recover from this loss."

Carol Hopwood, of the law firm Slater and Gordon, which has been instructed by the family to investigate a potential civil action against L’Oreal, said: "Mrs McCabe could never have expected that a routine part of her beauty regime would have such devastating consequences."

L'Oreal did not wish to comment on the potential legal action, but a company spokesman said: "Our thoughts are with Julie McCabe's family. We welcome the coroner's recommendations and will work to improve gathering of information.

"We fully support his decision to send a report to BIS highlighting his, and the industry's, concerns about black henna tattoos.

"Sadly, this tragic accident highlights how important it is to follow safety instructions.

"We strongly recommend consumers read and follow safety and usage instructions clearly printed on our packs and notices.

"As stated on our pack, it is extremely important to do an allergy alert test at least 48 hours before use, each time the hair is coloured.!