Chemical Hair Straighteners Associated with Risk of Uterine Cancer
posted by Jacqueline Leibman | October 24, 2022 | In NewsOn October 17, the National Institutes of Health released an article claiming that hair straightening chemicals are associated with a higher risk of uterine cancer. They also found that Black women may be more affected due to the higher use of such products.
In a study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 33,497 U.S. women ages 35-74 were originally studied in order to identify risk factors for “breast cancer and other health conditions.” After following the women for 11 years, they found 378 uterine cancer diagnoses.
From those 378 cases, women who reported using hair straightening products more than four times a year were twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who did not use similar products. 60% of those cases were self-identified Black women.
However, the NIEHS states that they “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.”
Che-Jung Chang, Ph.D., an author on the new study and a research fellow in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch said: “Because Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at earlier ages than other races and ethnicities, these findings may be even more relevant for them.”
However, the preliminary study has much room for further investigation. Originally, the researchers did not collect information on the ingredients or brands used by the women who developed uterine cancer. They believe chemicals such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde could be contributing to the increased risk.
Previously, the same team of researchers found that permanent hair dye and straighteners may also increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Photo courtesy of Devyn Caldwell
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.