That moment when you spray your edges with oil sheen to avoid burning. Or when you avoid scratching your head the day before your hair appointment. Remember when that perm had to set by any means necessary, regardless if we were picking scalp scabs the day after. A good hair straightening had your hair laid but at what cost?
What are these hair straighteners?
Hair straighteners or relaxers are used to straighten curly textures by chemical means. Some of you might say, couldn’t hot tools do the job? Yes, however hot tools offer a temporary straightening effect on curly hair. In addition, the straightened hair would not be resistant to external factors such as rain and humidity. Relaxers offers our curly hair users permanent alterations to their curly textures regardless if hair gets wet or if they live in wet humid environments.
But, why are we worried about uterine cancer?
The National Institutes of Health recently stated that women who have used chemical hair straightening products were at increased risk to uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products. This reflects the findings from recent studies (Sister Study) of women who’ve reported frequent use of hair straightening chemical (4 or more times per year) being twice as likely to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products.
Studies also shows that the rate of aggressive uterine cancer is on the rise in the US, particular amongst the non-Hispanic Black population.
Hm, makes you wonder now, what are they putting in these hair straighteners?
According to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), Hair straighteners consists of chemicals such as but not limited to: formaldehyde, cyclosiloxanes, paraben, sodium hydroxide, diethanolamine, phthalates etc. Some of these chemicals are known to be highly toxic such as formaldehyde. DTSC evaluated several chemicals in these products and found that some of these compounds are associated with human health hazards such as respiratory effect, endocrine disruption and reproductive toxicity.
CNN has recently reported that cosmetic companies such as L’Oréal are being sued over claims that their chemical hair straightening products put women at an increased risk for uterine cancer.
Take home points
POMP Insiders, this goes to show how important it is to research these ingredients before using them. The internet has a pool of information readily available for your reference.
On a personal note, being a Black women with coarse curly hair texture myself, I too sat in that chair with my scalp on fire just to make sure my curly new growth was processed. Society played an integral role with confusing beauty standards, and to touch base on silly comments in the work place environment would require a whole separate blog post.
I want to leave you all saying, regardless of hair texture, your hair is beautiful as is. It is not worth developing lacerations on your scalp or exposing yourself to toxic chemicals. Any alterations you’d want to make, there’s always a wig or some hair extensions for that. *wink*
References:
Che-Jung Chang, Katie M. O’Brien, Alexander P. Keil, Symielle A. Gaston, Chandra L. Jackson, Dale P. Sandler, Alexandra J. White. Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac165 (2022)
Hair straightening chemicals associated with higher uterine cancer risk (2022) National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/hair-straightening-chemicals-associated-higher-uterine-cancer-risk