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In terms of monitoring reproductive health, Abrams said, women can monitor their hormone levels — either by visiting endocrinologists or mailing in their biospecimens to labs — and speak with gynecologists about their concerns and ask about taking fertility assessments. In working on an upcoming study on Black women and infertility, she said, many of her participants have described challenges in getting treatment or being heard by their health providers. Black women are often exposed to endocrine disruptors by using relaxers, which are applied on the scalp, said Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale University School of Public Health. For now, it’s important to have the facts so you can make an informed decision not only about these products, but also other factors. She estimates that thousands of women could end up suing over the products, which are typically marketed to women of color.
Dryness
However, in the paper they note that several chemicals that have been found in straighteners (such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde) could be contributing to the increased uterine cancer risk observed. Chemical exposure from hair product use, especially straighteners, could be more concerning than other personal care products due to increased absorption through the scalp which may be exacerbated by burns and lesions caused by straighteners. In 2021, the BWHS found that Black women who used hair products containing lye, an ingredient typically found in salon relaxers, at least seven times a year for more than 15 years had a 30% increased risk of developing breast cancer. Among the 50,543 women who participated in the 25-year study, 2,311 participants had developed breast cancer, including 1,843 who developed invasive breast cancers, meaning the cancers spread into surrounding breast tissue. While Black women have a 4% lower incidence rate of breast cancer than white women, Black women have a 40% higher breast cancer death rate, according to the American Cancer Society.
Are all chemical hair relaxers dangerous, or are there safer alternatives?
Approximately 60% of the participants who reported using straighteners in the previous year were self-identified Black women, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Although, the study did not find that the relationship between straightener use and uterine cancer incidence was different by race, the adverse health effects may be greater for Black women due to higher prevalence of use. Another study published in 2022 shows the first epidemiologic evidence of an association between hair straightening product use and uterine cancer.
Do hairdressers and barbers have an increased risk of cancer?
In the early 2010s, Baum says, he found a nontoxic mixture that can temporarily break down hair’s sulfur bonds—and can then re-form them with amino acids and keratin when straightened with a flat iron. Now one large study has shown women who used permanent hair dye were 9% more likely to develop breast cancer. Some hair dye and hair straightening treatments like relaxers contain chemicals called endocrine disrupters that can interfere with your hormones.
Do people who have their hair dyed have increased risks of cancer?
Several landmark studies have been published in the last year highlighting the link between chemical hair relaxers — which break down proteins in hair to straighten it — and increased rates of uterine cancer. And last week, after pressure from Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on hair-smoothing and hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde, an ingredient known to cause cancer. Rugieyatu Bhonopha, 39, of Vallejo, California, and Jenny Mitchell, 32, a Missouri resident whose plans to have children were dashed when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer at 28 and underwent a hysterectomy, both have filed lawsuits. They, like the other women, said they used chemical hair straighteners because they felt societal pressure — including from employers — to wear their hair straight and to try to meet white beauty standards. This has changed over time as more women embrace their natural hair textures and wear natural hairstyles. After an average of nearly 11 years of follow-up, women who had reported using hair straightening products were almost twice as likely to have developed uterine cancer than those who did not, after adjusting for other factors that might affect risk.
Hair-straightening chemicals and cancer lawsuit investigation - Top Class Actions
Hair-straightening chemicals and cancer lawsuit investigation.
Posted: Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Baum, however, notes that because this approach also includes a strong reducing agent that acts aggressively, it still has the potential to cause chemical burns. In October, the FDA proposed a ban on hair relaxers and straightening products that contain the chemical formaldehyde, citing both short-term adverse health effects, such as breathing problems, and long-term effects, including an increased risk of hormone-related cancers. Several studies have found that chemical hair straighteners have harmful effects on the body. Last year, the National Institutes of Health published a major study linking chemical hair straighteners to a higher risk of uterine cancer. The study analyzed data from 33,497 U.S. women ages 35 to 74 who were followed for nearly 11 years.
We talked to Abenaa Brewster, M.D., M.H.S., professor in MD Anderson’s department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, for advice if you’re thinking about dying or straightening your hair. According to the FDA, salon professionals and customers risk inhaling these harmful fumes if a salon is not properly ventilated. According to Dr. Christopher Bunick, PhD, a Yale Medicine dermatologist, an FDA ban on these products would be a major achievement in keeping consumers safe from carcinogens used in over-the-counter products.
What can I do if I suspect my health has been put at risk by using chemical hair straighteners?
Her team recently added more evidence to the link between hair relaxers and cancer risk in Black women. For example, a large US cohort study that included mostly White women reported an increased risk of breast cancer overall, and of hormone receptor–negative breast cancers, with increasing exposure to hair dye (12). Another prospective study of US women who used dark or permanent hair dyes found that risks of breast cancer were higher in those who reported any use of hair dye than in those who reported no use (17). When the authors analyzed the data by racial group, they found that among non-Hispanic White women, hair dye users were 1.07 times as likely to develop breast cancer as non users, and among Black women users were 1.45 times as likely to develop breast cancer as nonusers (17).
Hair Straighteners and Relaxers May Be Harmful to Health. Here’s How to Make Them Better
The unequal burden of exposure across populations plausibly contributes to cancer inequities as the groups with the greatest exposure also experience poorer cancer outcomes (8). For example, Black women use more hair and menstrual and/or intimate products, and Latina and Hispanic women use more makeup and cosmetics compared with other race and ethnicity groups (9,10), thereby increasing their exposures to hormonally active chemicals. Terrell is one of four Black women, three of whom spoke to NBC News exclusively, who have filed federal lawsuits against L’Oréal and other companies, alleging that chemicals in the companies’ hair products caused them to develop uterine cancer or other severe health effects. Lye relaxers’ active ingredient is sodium hydroxide, whereas no-lye straighteners rely on sodium hydroxide’s byproducts to do the work.
Although some individual studies have shown associations between hair dye use and the risk of leukemia, a meta-analysis of 20 studies showed a small association that was not statistically significant (19). In addition, a large cohort study found no association between ever use of hair dye and the risk of leukemia but very slightly increased risks of basal cell carcinoma (particularly in women with naturally light hair) and ovarian cancer (12). A number of studies have investigated the relationship between personal use of hair dyes and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), with conflicting results. A large 2020 prospective cohort study reported no association between personal use of hair dye and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (12). Some of the chemicals in hair dye products have been reported to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) (1, 2).
Black women say hair relaxers gave them cancer: Report - WION
Black women say hair relaxers gave them cancer: Report.
Posted: Mon, 06 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Still, there are many unknowns researchers are trying to uncover, including whether the products on the shelves today are going to lead to cases of uterine cancer in the future, Bertrand said. It is also not entirely clear why Black women are at an increased risk of developing and dying from uterine cancer. The Food and Drug Administration plans to propose banning the use of formaldehyde in hair straighteners, which have been linked to increased cancer risk. At least 57 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across the country over the products, which use chemicals to permanently straighten textured hair, court records show.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is also representing Mitchell and Gordon, said the lawsuits are about bringing awareness and getting these products off of store shelves. Terrell, 55, of Guin, Alabama, said she began relaxing her hair at age 8 and stopped in her late 30s or early 40s. She has uterine carcinosarcoma and underwent six rounds of chemotherapy and was in remission for a little over two years before the cancer returned in July on her liver and abdomen, according to an interview and her lawsuit. According to the lawsuits, three of the women have had a hysterectomy — one of them at age 28.
There have been at least two key studies, one recently published by Boston University and another published last year by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that showed a concerning connection between a higher frequency of use of hair straighteners and an increased risk of uterine cancer. The latter found that women who had endometrial cancer had higher concentrations of parabens in their endometrial tissue and phthalates in their urine samples. Parabens, phthalates and other chemicals that are often found in chemical hair straighteners pose a greater risk than other products because of scalp exposure, Bertrand said. Even other chemical hair straighteners marketed as safer to use, including no-lye relaxers, still pose potential risks.
Demand for products like Baum’s hair-straightening formula is likely to grow in the next two years as proposed and adopted regulations take effect. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule that, if adopted, would specifically ban formaldehyde—and chemicals that release it—from hair-straightening cosmetics starting in April 2024. And on October 8 of this year, California’s governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill updating the state’s Health and Safety Code to ban cosmetic products that contain ingredients including formaldehyde, methylene glycol and a range of parabens and phthalates. The law takes effect on January 1, 2025; additional chemicals will also be banned in 2027. Concerns have been raised about possible links between some hair products and these cancers because some of the chemicals used in hair products might be absorbed through the scalp and have estrogen-like properties in the body. Some hair products might also contain other chemicals that have been linked to cancer, such as formaldehyde.
Some people believe that "beauty is pain," but that doesn't have to be true, and definitely shouldn't apply to any burning sensation you feel from relaxer chemicals. "Scalp irritation is a glaring sign that a relaxer may be damaging to your hair and scalp," Shorter says. Your scalp can be sensitive to a certain formulation; if so, leaving it on for even the minimum time period has the potential to give you chemical burns. “There is more scientific evidence connecting the use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals with cancer, in particular uterine cancer as well as breast cancer,” Bunick said. The cancer-causing effects of hair straightening and relaxing products disproportionately affect Black women. Marc Baum, a chemist at the nonprofit Oak Crest Institute of Science in California, equates the molecular action of relaxers to breaking the rungs of a ladder.
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