Recent studies have revealed a connection between cancer and hair relaxers used by Black women to straighten their hair, forcing the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration to consider a ban on such products.
According to The New York Times, The Sister Study, led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in 2022, and several other studies, have found that formaldehyde in the hair relaxers is carcinogenic to humans.
Formaldehyde is usually used as a preservative in cosmetics, soaps, lotions, sunscreens and cleaning products. Exposure to it at a higher level can cause nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia, as per American Cancer Society.
The news outlet noted that Dr. Tamarra James-Todd, an associate professor of environmental reproductive epidemiology, has conducted around 70 scientific investigations over the past 20 years to study about long-lasting effects of hair relaxers on health.
The studies disclosed that frequent use of hair relaxers, containing endocrine-disrupting substances, could cause early onset of menstruation and many of the reproductive-health issues, leading to ovarian and uterine cancer.
“We know that there is value in focusing in on the health of women of color,” James-Todd said. “It was always the sidelined topic.”
A 2020 study, co-authored by James-Todd, showed that approximately 89 percent of Black women in the U.S. have used the hair relaxers atleast once.
She continued, “There’s a real passion to do this work. And I do think it’s brought on by the coming together of policies, holding companies accountable through legal actions, holding the government accountable.”
In the U.S., FDA had proposed a ban on hair relaxers containing formaldehyde in October 2023 but is yet to implement it, where many similar products are banned in other countries.
“I’m not saying that more research isn’t needed, but there’s study after study,” James-Todd said. “At some point you have evidence enough to start making recommendations that people reduce their use of these products or don’t use them at all.”
The New York Times further reported that the stricter policies of European Union has put restrictions on more than 1,300 ingredients used in cosmetics, whereas the FDA prohibits only nine ingredients, adding that manufacturers are trusted with safety in the U.S. rather than the government.
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