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On Monday, scientists at the Journal of the National Cancer Institute released new details between using certain hair straightening products, such as chemical relaxers and pressing products, and an increased risk of cancer in women.
Ongoing research previously suggested that hair straightening chemicals are associated with an increased risk of certain hormone-related cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers, and now, a new study links use of hair straightening products with an increased risk of uterine cancer. Black women may be more affected due to higher use of the products, the researchers noted.
The study estimates that among women who did not use hair-straightening chemical products in the past 12 months, 1.6% developed uterine cancer by age 70, but about 4% of the women who frequently use such hair-straightening products developed uterine cancer by age 70.
That finding “also communicates that uterine cancer is rare indeed. However, the doubling of risk does lead to some concern,” said Chandra Jackson, an author of the study and researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
“In this study, women with frequent use in the past year had an over two-fold higher risk of uterine cancer,” Jackson said. Frequent use was defined as more than four times in the previous year.
The new study includes data on nearly 34,000 women in the United States, ages 35 to 74, who completed questionnaires about their use of certain hair products, including perms, dyes, relaxers and straighteners. The researchers, from the National Institutes of Health, also tracked the incidence of cancer diagnoses within the study group.
The researchers also discovered a strong association between hair straightening products and uterine cancer cases but the use of other hair products – such as dyes and perms or body waves – was not associated with uterine cancer.
The study data also showed that the association between hair straightening products and uterine cancer cases was most pronounced for Black women, who made up only 7.4% of the study participants, but 59.9% of those who reported ever using straighteners.
“The bottom line is that the exposure burden appears higher among Black women,” Jackson said.
“Based off of the body of the literature in this area, we know that hair products marketed directly to Black children and women have been shown to contain multiple chemicals associated with disrupting hormones, and these products marketed to Black women have also been shown to have harsher chemical formulations,” she said. “On top of that, we know that Black women tend to use multiple products simultaneously, which could contribute to Black women on average having higher concentrations of these hormone-disrupting chemicals in their system.”
With toxic dangers and carcinogenic links to Black hair products, many women are now seeking and creating alternative styles for their hair. Such is the case of Ciara Imani May, who founded Rebundle. With er company, she is able to produce eco-friendly, biodegradable, and non-toxic braiding hair from banana fibers.
When May began researching the issues with braids, she was surprised to find that most braids are made with synthetic (plastic-derived) materials — primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is known as one of the most environmentally harmful plastics. Much like other hair products catered to African American women, various scientific studies have found that PVC contains endocrine disruptors and carcinogens.
“I couldn’t figure out why these materials were even allowed to be used in this application, especially given the wide breadth of use of hair extensions in the Black community,” May says. “No one seemed to be paying attention to what could be happening beneath the surface.”
“I started the company back in 2019, after my own experience with hair extensions — having really negative scalp irritation and breaking out and wanting to know more about why this was happening to me — why it was common with hair extensions — and didn’t find anything on the market that was readily available,” Ciara Imani May told Green Matters.
Black hair is big business
Over the past decade, Americans have spent more than $500 billion on beauty products. Last year alone, the US beauty industry was worth $60 billion, and with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent, it’s expected to reach $73 billion by 2025.
In 2021, Black Americans spent $6.6 billion on beauty which is 11.1 percent of the total US beauty market.
To understand more about Black representation in the beauty industry, check out McKinsley Quarterly here.
