Hair Dyes & Straighteners Linked To Higher Cancer Risk, Esp. For Black Women; New Study

[appalachiablue]

'Hair Dyes And Straighteners Linked To Higher Cancer Risk, Especially For Black Women,' NPR, Dec. 4, 2019.

New research raises concern about the safety of permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners, especially among African American women. The study was published Wednesday in the International Journal of Cancer. Previous research in animals has found links between certain chemicals in hair dye and straighteners and cancer. But findings from other human studies on the association between hair dyes and straighteners and cancer have been inconsistent.

This large, prospective study provides firmer evidence of a link. Researchers analyzed data from an ongoing study called the Sister Study, looking at medical records and lifestyle surveys from 46,709 women between the ages of 35 and 74. Women answered questions about their use of hair dyes and straighteners. While earlier studies on hair dye and cancer risk included mostly white women, the new study includes 9% African American women.

Researchers found that women who used permanent hair dye or chemical straighteners were at higher risk of developing breast cancer.

"The association was notably higher among black women," says epidemiologist Alexandra White, study author and an investigator with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, who studies environmental risk factors for breast cancer. After eight years of follow-up, White found permanent hair dye use was associated with about a 7% higher risk of developing breast cancer among white women, "whereas in black women that risk was about 45 percent." That risk was even higher among black women who dyed their hair frequently, every one or two months.

Hair products contain more than 5,000 chemicals, according to researchers, including those with mutagenic and endocrine-disrupting properties such as aromatic amines, which can raise cancer risk, according to White...

More, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/04/784838430/hair-dye-and-straightener-use-linked-to-higher-cancer-risk-especially-for-black-



- Hair dyes and straighteners contain chemicals that are being studied for their health effects.

[applegrove]

1. I died my hair for 20 years till i was 43 or so. I went prematurely grey

and my hair was so dark that people used to point out i had a grey hair when i didn't dye it. I read somewhere hairdresses who worked with dark permanent dyes often got cancer. So after such a long time i went grey. Love it.

Funny story: i once died my hair with a black blue colour. It was so not me. There was an emergency 1-800 clarol telephone number for emergencies. They asked me a few questions and told me which colour dye to use to get back to normal very dark brown. It worked like a charm.

[appalachiablue]

2. Good for you, More women are going natural, this has to be

a big reason. More than 5,000 chemicals hair products!

There was a recent article I saw but didn't save on whether stress can cause sudden greying of hair; research showed that there are chemical changes, hormones ? that may be linked to those changes.

[applegrove]

3. My grandparents both went prematurely grey and that was before WW2 happened.

So it was not stress. When i was in university i had a stressfree life either time spent alone or with close friends. I went grey with a few hairs in those first years but my hair was naturally so dark, dark brown that the grey hair stuck out. I did not really have partial grey roots untill my late 30s. Now i am mostly grey but some brown. Some sprinkled all over and some patches of brown. Went through helilsh stress after 30 and the change was still gradual. So not stress related in my case. It is still changing. Last year i had brown low-lights at the back, now they are not so much.

[CountAllVotes]

4. My late mother died her hair for years

I'd say maybe 40+ years.

She did it to cover the grey and it looked not great anyway as she did it herself rather than go to a beauty salon.

Towards the end, her hair was thin and sparse and yes, she died of cancer, point of origin unknown.

Not surprised with all of those chemicals for so many years of use!

Recommend!

[lunasun]

5. I have read for many years lymphoma too With dark color hair dye the biggest risk

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/02/040217072523.htm

Source:
Yale University
Summary:
Yale researchers have found that lifetime users of hair coloring products have an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a cancer that attacks the lymphatic system, part of the body's immune system.

[appalachiablue]

6. Concurs with what I just looked at as well. Many of the reports

I saw emphasized links between tar-based coloring & cancer cases prior to 1980 when most of those toxins were eliminated.

But from this new report and others, hair coloring products are still loaded w chemicals.