You may not consider cancer risk when style your hair, but according to recent research, users of chemicals for straightening hair may be more susceptible to uterine cancer.
The National Institutes of Health published a report on Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute . According to a statement from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences , it discovered that “women who used chemical hair straightening products were at increased risk for uterine cancer compared to those who did not disclose using these products” (NIEHS). In comparison to participants who did not use chemical hair straightening products, those who reported “regular usage” of the products—defined as more than four times in the previous year—were twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.
According to Nicole Deziel, Ph.D., M.H.S. , an associate professor of epidemiology and specialist in cancer prevention and control at the Yale Cancer Center, that rate is alarming. The use of several hair care products and other personal care items may be contributing to rising cancer rates and other unfavorable health effects, according to a growing body of studies, says Deziel.
The NIEHS stated in its announcement that research has shown chemical hair straighteners can raise women’s chance of getting malignancies linked to hormones. For instance, the same research team that conducted the most recent study also discovered that permanent hair dye and chemical straighteners may raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, according to a 2019 study .
33,497 women between the ages of 35 and 74 were enrolled in The latest study which examined health problems including breast cancer risk factors. Participants completed questionnaires at the beginning of the study and self-reported using products such chemical straighteners, hair dyes, relaxers, pressing products, body waves, and permanents. 378 new cases of uterine cancer were identified over the course of the study’s roughly 11-year duration.
According to the release, Alexandra White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS environment and cancer epidemiology group and lead author on the new study, “we estimated that 1.64 percent of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70; but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05 percent.”
Dr. White said that uterine cancer is relatively uncommon. According to the National Cancer Institute , it accounts for only 3% of all new cancer cases. It is the most frequent cancer of the female reproductive system, although not being the most prevalent type of cancer overall. According to the NIEHS, citing a study from 2019 , uterine cancer cases have also increased after 2000, particularly in Black women.
Nearly 60% of research participants who admitted to using chemical straighteners the year before were Black women. Although there was no difference in the incidence of uterine cancer by race according to the results, the NIEHS observed that Black women may be more likely to use straighteners due to a higher prevalence of use.
According to a press release from Che-Jung Chang, Ph.D., one of the study’s authors and a research fellow in the NIEHS epidemiology branch, “These findings may be even more relevant for them because Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at younger ages than other races and ethnicities.”
It’s vital to remember that study participants self-reported their product use and cancer cases. Despite the possibility of mistake in self-reporting, Deziel maintains that it is still important to consider the study’s conclusions. The surveys were conducted before women had cancer, so having cancer couldn’t have influenced how they replied, according to Deziel. “People may not record their product use totally honestly, but this means that having cancer couldn’t have influenced how they answered.” Therefore, even if there are mistakes, it is unlikely that they will affect the outcome.
The study’s female participants’ precise brand or ingredient information was not tracked by the researchers. They do, however, point out that certain chemicals, such as bisphenol A (also known as BPA), parabens, formaldehyde, and metals, are present in chemical straighteners and may contribute to the greater uterine cancer risk discovered.
Should you therefore stop using chemical hair straighteners in light of this new research?
If people are worried about these products, reducing the frequency of use of straighteners would certainly reduce exposures to the chemicals in the products and could potentially lower cancer risk, says Deziel. “The study found the highest risk for women who used straighteners frequently—four times or more per year.”
The results of the study, however, point to more serious problems, says Deziel. For instance, some consumer goods contain substances that are already carcinogenic. Additionally, straight hair is preferred by Eurocentric standards of beauty, which may encourage persons who don’t conform to those standards to utilize potentially dangerous products to create a different haircut.
According to Deziel, it shouldn’t be up to individuals to decide whether to risk endangering their health in order to satisfy society expectations of beauty or whether to spend more money on toxic-free alternatives (if any exist).
