MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — Beauty can be painful and even cancerous in some cases. Hair relaxers are most commonly used to chemically straighten or smooth African American women’s hair. Food and Drug Administration seeks to ban hair straightening products that use formaldehyde. That’s because they say the chemical has been linked to short-term health effects, such as difficulty breathing, and long-term health effects, such as an increased risk of certain cancers.
“When I think about formaldehyde, I go back to seventh grade, like dissecting a frog. Is that the same chemical we’re talking about?” to MCHD Public Health Officer Dr. Kevin Michaels heard.
“Yes, that’s right. We were just talking about frog dissection or pig dissection, which is typically used by undertakers during the embalming process,” says Dr. Michaels.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas used in a variety of things. Examples include fertilizer and resin production. It is also used in certain hair straightening products that women in the African American community are familiar with. Relaxer.
“It used to be that you couldn’t call yourself a professional if you didn’t have a certain straight look,” says hairstylist Pamela Heshon of PH Naturals By Pam Heshon.
Pamela Henshon specializes in natural hair at her salon.
“Everyone I knew had someone they could relax with,” Henshon says.
Relaxers used to be more common, she says, but now she only has about two clients who still receive the service.
“You know that scalp cancer and hair loss from scalp burns are irreversible,” Henshon says.
If you leave your relaxer on for too long, the mixture of chemicals can cause a reaction and cause burns to your skin.
“Monitor your clients and make sure they’re turned on for the right amount of time for them, whether it’s because they miss a call or go to lunch and come back,” Henshon said. Masu. It won’t burn your scalp.”
However, it is only a short-term effect.
Data from a long-term study by researchers Boston University Black Women’s Health Study A study dating from 1997 to 2019 showed that postmenopausal black women who used chemical curling irons, such as relaxers, had a significantly higher risk of developing uterine cancer. Women who used chemical relaxants for more than five years or more than once a year had a 50% increased risk of uterine cancer.
“The FDA said, ‘There are studies that show continued exposure to formaldehyde results in an increase in cancer,'” says Dr. Kevin Michaels.
Cancers such as breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer are the most common. Henshon says times are changing and black women no longer need to style their hair to be accepted.
“They’re wearing their own natural hair, they’re wearing braids, they’re wearing locks, which we couldn’t accept before. So we’re seeing people embrace natural beauty. “Now people look at me differently. You don’t have to straighten your hair to have beautiful hair.”
The FDA could ban formaldehyde from hair products by April 2024.
