Can your hair Relaxer be bad for your Health ?

    There is a popular vogue for African women to straightened their naturally curly with chemicals called relaxers. Recent studies indicate that this fashion trend may have harmful effects on their health.

In this article I will examine how these chemicals applied to the hair and scalp by women mainly of African and Asian decent, to straighten their hair,  may ultimatelv damage their health, with frequent use.

Hair relaxers may be making young black women develop uterine fibroids. So if you were considering ditching relaxers to go natural, you might have a concrete reason now.

A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reports that there may be a link between hair relaxers to uterine fibroids, as well as early puberty in young girls.

Scientists followed more than 23,580 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the two- to three-times higher rate of fibroids among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers.

What’s in a relaxer anyway?

The main ingredient of “lye” relaxers is sodium hydroxide, caustic soda, also used in detergents.  

Non-lye relaxers contain calcium hydroxide, also used in making Plaster of Paris, and guanidine carbonate. 

"Thio” relaxers contain thioglycolic acid.

Non-lye relaxers are advertised to cause fewer scalp lesions and burns than lye relaxers, but there is little evidence to support this claim.

Burns of the scalp quite often occur in young women in the process of 'making' their hair. 

These toxic synthetic chemicals in contained in their relaxers enter the body through the burnt scalp and find their way into the blood.

Early Menarche

Research shows that early menstruation may result from hair products black girls are using. This is according to a separate study published in the Annals of Epidemiology last summer.

Three hundred African American, African Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women in New York City were studied. 

The women’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but African Americans, who were more likely to use straightening and relaxers hair oils, also reached menarche earlier than other ethnic groups.

Women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids.

Relaxer products often also contain hormonally active compounds such as phthalates , which are used in making plastics,  which may mimick the effect of oestrogens.

These are not required to be listed separately as ingredients and are often reported under the term “fragrances” or “perfume”!!!

Cosmetic products are not subject to premarket approval by the Food and Drug Administration, USA, and a complete list of ingredients is not mandatory, making it unclear what types of chemicals they contain.  

100% of popular fragrances tested in a 2002 study were found to contain these harmful chemicals.

Now, Phthalates from cosmetic products can be absorbed by the skin or inhaled, and they have been shown to have estrogenic effects in cell models and experimental animals.

Although the role of phthalates in humans is less clear, cross-sectional data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that self-reported history of uterine leiomyomata was positively associated with urinary levels of monobutyl phthalate and inversely associated with urinary levels of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate.

The research also demonstrated that though these chemical are estrogen disruptors, using relaxers in itself is not enough to cause fibroids. 

What happens instead is that relaxer use which leads to scalp lesions and burns presents an avenue for exposure to other products containing high levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals which can eventually lead to Uterine fibroid.

Here’s my simple advice

1.  Ensure that while applying your relaxers, you do not get your scalp burnt.

2. Please avoid using these products on young girls and boys! 

 

3.  Use natural organic or herbal rich hair beauty products

4. If you can't stand the heat, go natural with your virgin hair!

Better safe than sorry. Try out these simple health tips for all round wellness.

Thanks for being here and goodluck on your journey to optimal health and wellness. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece. 

I invite you to check out more of my over a hundred health and beauty articles that may interest. Please use the search button at the top of the page. See you in the next one. Ciao. God-isLove.

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