“Lucifer” star Tricia Helfer said her metal clip-in hair extensions gave her lead poisoning, causing her to suffer from a number of ailments.
The famous actress revealed she had the extensions put in for a role, and had no idea they could be so harmful. “I put them in for a potential indie film that ended up not happening. I was like, okay, well they’re in now and hair extensions are not cheap so I just kept them in,” she told People in an interview Friday. She noticed her health began to decline two months later. (RELATED: Famous Actress And Her Children Hospitalized After Being Sickened By Mold)
“I would lay in bed and just press on my head because my scalp was hurting. I couldn’t really floss my teeth because my gums were hurting,” she said.
Tricia Helfer Reveals Heavy Metal Poisoning Due to Hair Extensions, Recalls ‘Feeling a Little Lost’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/31vss8zPyV
— People (@people) September 15, 2023
The model and actress said her condition began to worsen, and she grew increasingly concerned.
“Then after three months, I was filming on Swat and [the hairstylist] started going, ‘You have alopecia happening? You’ve got six or eight bald spots on the top of the crown of your head,” she said.
Helfer said her metal clips had turned green in color, and compared it to “cheap costume jewelry that turns your ears green,” according to People.
She had them immediately removed.
“When I was filming, I was having trouble remembering my lines. I felt foggy, just general malaise. I was sometimes kind of nauseous. I’d walk up a flight of stairs and start huffing and puffing. I just felt like I couldn’t remember things,” she said.
Do you remember my friend Ralph? We’re teaming up again for a very important mission.
Come back tomorrow to watch his full-length film and learn how you can join the movement to #SaveRalph and others like him from cruel cosmetic testing.#HumaneCosmetics pic.twitter.com/9iu8vpxEu0— Tricia Helfer (@trutriciahelfer) September 12, 2023
“The results came back that I had heavy metal poisoning, and the lead was off the charts,” she said.
Helfer underwent chelation therapy, which involved an IV to remove the metals from the body, and turned to cortisone shots for the bald spots on her head.
“I probably did about 15 chelation treatments over the next year, and that gradually started making me feel better,” the actress said.