Chemicals In Hair Dyes And Straighteners Linked To Breast Cancer Risk

Many women like to dye their hair or straighten it to look better, so this information is important.

A study published in the International Journal of Cancer details that many hair products contain endocrine-disrupting and carcinogenic compounds relevant to breast cancer.

She explains that products used predominantly by black women may contain more hormonally active compounds.

The study involved women between the ages of 35 and 74 who enrolled between 2003 and 2009 and had a sister with breast cancer, although they did not.

Participants completed a registration questionnaire detailing what hair products they had used over the past 12 months.

The study suggests that the risk of breast cancer increases with frequent use of the aforementioned chemical hair products.

Peru21 highlighted that data from 46,709 women were used, and researchers found that those who used hair dyes permanently in the year before enrolling in the study were nine percent more likely to suffer from breast cancer than women who did not use dyes.

She explains that in the case of black women, the use of permanent dyes and straighteners every five to eight weeks or more was associated with a 60% higher risk of suffering from the aforementioned cancer.

The above would be because black women tend to use this type of product more frequently.

The study clarifies that researchers found little or no increase in cancer risk from the use of semi-permanent or temporary dyes.

“Researchers have been studying the possible link between hair dye and cancer for a long time, but the results have been inconsistent,” said study author Alexandra White.

“In our study, we see an increased risk of breast cancer associated with hair dye use, and the effect is stronger in African-American women, particularly those who are frequent users,” she added.

Although this study evaluated the risk in women, researchers warn that it is not clear which specific ingredients these beauty products contain that could be causing the breast cancer problem.