The damage chemical hair relaxers do to black women has come under intense scrutiny.
Last year, several groundbreaking studies were published highlighting a link between chemical hair relaxers (drugs that break down hair proteins and straighten them) and increased rates of uterine cancer. And last week, Under pressure from Democratic lawmakers. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio proposed that the Food and Drug Administration ban hair smoothing and hair straightening products that contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
Hundreds of Black people have accused chemical curling irons of causing uterine cancer, uterine fibroids and infertility, as further research continues to reveal potential dangers. A lawsuit is being filed against the retailer.
The latest research on the effects of hair relaxers was published on October 10th by Boston University. According to the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS), postmenopausal black women who use chemical hair relaxers more than once a year or for more than five years have an increased risk of developing uterine cancer.
Researchers followed 44,798 Black women for up to 22 years and found that the incidence of uterine cancer in postmenopausal Black women who reported using chemical hair relaxers for at least 10 years, regardless of frequency. found that the rate was high.
The goal of this 22-year study was to better understand the health status of Black people and the factors that contribute to racial disparities in cancer.
“The idea here is that re-emphasizing and cautioning about the potential dangers of these products will encourage policy, which will help reduce exposure for this population and even help straighten hair. We hope that this will help identify safer alternatives for patients with cancer,” said study lead author Kimberly Bertrand, associate professor at Boston University’s Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. She said exposing the potential risks of hair relaxers could help spread awareness and encourage safer choices.
To Congressman Pressley, scrutiny of these ingredients touches on generational issues that Black women have been grappling with for years.
“For generations, systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment have forced Black women to deal with the extreme politicization of hair,” she told NBC News on Wednesday. said in a statement. “We see this happening in schools and workplaces, where black people are criminalized, punished, and ignored in personnel decisions simply because they have hair on their heads. As a result, black women started straightening and relaxing their hair in order to advance socially and economically. But no matter what kind of hair we have, we should be able to go out into the world without putting our health at risk, and manufacturers should be stopped from profiting at the expense of our health.”
NBC News spoke with Bertrand and other researchers to answer some questions Black people may have about chemical curling irons and the potential health risks.
What does research show so far about chemical hair relaxers and women’s health?
Several studies have found that chemical curling irons have harmful effects on the body. Last year, the National Institutes of Health announced: major research Association between chemical curling irons and increased risk of uterine cancer. The study analyzed data from 33,497 U.S. women aged 35 to 74 who were followed for about 11 years. During this period, 378 cases of uterine cancer were diagnosed.
According to this month’s BWHS, women who reported using hair relaxers more than once a year, or for more than five years, were more likely to develop uterine cancer compared to women who rarely or never used hair relaxers. The risk of doing so was over 50%. Research shows.
In 2021, BWHS found that black women who used hair products containing lye, an ingredient commonly found in salon relaxers, seven or more times a year for 15 years had a 30% increased risk of developing breast cancer. discovered. Of the 50,543 women who participated, 25 years of research2,311 participants developed breast cancer; invasive breast cancerThis means the cancer has spread to surrounding breast tissue. According to the study, while black women have a 4% lower incidence of breast cancer than white women, black women have a 40% higher rate of death from breast cancer. American Cancer Society.
Other studies have shown that hair relaxers can cause uterine fibroids and early onset of puberty in girls, Bertrand said. early adolescence It can increase the risk of metabolic syndromes such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Why are hair relaxers so harmful?
Chemical hair relaxers contain endocrine disrupting chemicals. confuse The function of the endocrine system (including the thyroid, ovaries, pancreas, and adrenal glands) changes, which affects hormone levels. These chemicals include phthalates and parabens found in relaxers. People can be exposed to them through absorption through the skin or inhalation through the air.
Jasmine Abrams, a researcher at the Yale School of Public Health, said black women are often exposed to endocrine disruptors through the use of relaxants applied to the scalp.
“If you’ve ever gotten a relaxer, you know that it usually lingers for a little while. Most people will warn their hairdresser that they need to wash it off if it starts to sting or sting. And at that point, you’re at risk of getting burned,” said Abrams, one of the authors. This year’s research Linking chemical curling irons to fertility issues.
“And if there’s a risk of burns or some sort of injury with that type of chemical, the risk of absorption is definitely increased,” she added. If you do that for years, of course you can run into ongoing problems. ”
Endocrine disrupting chemicals are also found in some beauty products Lotion, body wash, perfume etc.she added.
Are all chemical hair relaxers dangerous or are there safer alternatives?
Parabens, phthalates and other chemicals commonly found in chemical curling irons pose a greater risk than other products because they are exposed to the scalp, Bertrand said. Even with other chemical curling irons marketed as safer to use, such as relaxers that don’t contain alkaline agents, potential risks still exist.
“In our study, women who reported using non-lye relaxers were about as likely to report scalp burns as women using lye relaxers,” she said. Ta.
Bertrand said hair straightening products are “very poorly regulated” by the federal government, and many hide harmful chemicals under names like “fragrances and preservatives,” which puts women at risk. say they don’t really understand what they’re being exposed to.
According to the FDA, U.S. law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before being placed on the market. Website. However, the FDA announced last week that it is proposing the following: Ban on hair straightening and hair smoothing products containing formaldehyde. The FDA did not respond to requests for comment.
Bertrand said stricter regulations on ingredients in cosmetics and the use of alternative methods such as heat correction could reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.
Pressley praised the FDA in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, saying the public health of Black women is “at stake.”
Even if you stopped using chemical curling irons years ago, are there still risks?
Researchers aren’t entirely sure.
“We can’t say with certainty that occasional use is completely safe,” said Abrams, author of a 2023 study on hair relaxers and infertility. “Our data essentially shows that infrequent use is associated with lower risk when compared to typical long-term use.”
In Abrams’ study of women of various races between the ages of 21 and 45, black women were the most likely to start using relaxers under the age of 10. More than 50% of the black participants in this study had also used a hair relaxer before reaching the age of 10.
Bertrand’s research found that postmenopausal black women who used hair relaxers more than once a year or continuously for more than five years had a higher risk of developing uterine cancer.
Bertrand added that there are other factors that put Black women at risk for developing uterine cancer, including age, obesity, and family and reproductive history.
What should I do if I suspect that my health is at risk from using a chemical curling iron?
Bertrand said that like other diseases such as breast cancer, there is no proven screening mechanism to detect uterine cancer in the general population.
Women should see a doctor if they have symptoms of pain in the pelvic area or abnormal vaginal bleeding. If you have a family history of uterine cancer, you can also talk to your doctor about: genetic testing Identify potential high risks for certain cancers.
Regarding reproductive health monitoring, Abrams said women should monitor their hormone levels by visiting an endocrinologist or mailing a biospecimen to a lab, talk to a gynecologist about their concerns, and undergo a fertility evaluation. He said you can ask about it. As she works on her upcoming research on Black women and infertility, she says many of her participants have difficulty accessing treatment and being heard by health care providers. Ta.
“One participant said, ‘I felt like the goal of health care providers was always to find ways to prevent Black women from getting pregnant, not to help Black women understand how to get pregnant,'” Abrams said. “So when she brought her concerns about her fertility to health care providers, she felt like she wasn’t taken seriously.”
Dozens of black women are turning to lawyers to sue cosmetics companies like Revlon and Just for Me, alleging that curling irons cause cancer, uterine fibroids and other health problems. Strength of Nature, LLC, which owns Just for Me, declined to comment.
Larry Taylor Jr., an attorney with the Cochran firm in Dallas, said thousands of women from their 20s to 50s have been diagnosed with ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancer by using hair relaxers. He said he is filing a lawsuit alleging that he developed the disease.
LeBron declined to comment. Robert Britton, the company’s attorney, said: said earlier this year Revlon says it “disputes the link between cancer and its hair relaxer products.”
Thousands of black women have also said L’Oréal’s hair relaxers are harmful to their health, including a group of black women who sued L’Oréal and other companies last year. Bernadette Gordon, a woman who used hair relaxers from 1983 to 2015, previously told NBC News that she had cancer of the uterus and breast cancer, and had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy. Ta.
In July, L’Oreal asked the federal court The lawsuit sought to dismiss dozens of consolidated lawsuits against the company, saying the plaintiffs’ claims were “vague” and based on “unsupported conclusions.” The company did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
Taylor said many black women straighten their hair to keep jobs or advance to higher positions, but that puts them at risk.
“This is not a hoax,” he said. “This is actually harmful and can cost them their lives.”
Still, Bertrand said there are many unknowns that researchers are still trying to uncover, including whether the products currently on shelves will lead to future cases of uterine cancer. It’s also not entirely clear why black women are at higher risk. Onset of uterine cancer and death from it.
“We continue to look at all factors, from environment to racism to genetics,” she said.
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