UNITED STATES – Every woman has heard it — beauty is pain, and we spend a lot of time and money maintaining that societal ideal of beauty with products like makeup, fake tans, and relaxers. Data shows that 54% of women use haircare products every day, while 33% use them multiple times a week. But new studies have discovered a link between popular hair products and cancers.
Scientists have discovered that hair straightening products, like hair relaxers and pressing products commonly used by Black women, have a connection to an increased risk of uterine cancers.
The study followed 33,497 women from the United States for about 11 years. Aged 35-74, the group was part of the “Sister Study”, led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to identify risk factors for breast cancer and other health conditions. During the 11-year study, 378 uterine cancer cases were diagnosed.
Researchers defined someone who used relaxers often as using them four or more times a year. Those women were found to be more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who did not.
The study shows that by age 70 the rate of uterine cancer among women who did not use these products was 1.6%, and 4% for women who did use them.
The study also found that the association between hair straightening products and uterine cancer cases was most pronounced for Black women, who made up only 7.4% of the study participants, but 59.9% of those who reported ever using relaxers.
Uterine cancer is a growing issue throughout the United States, and data shows it is particularly affecting Black women. According to the U.S. National Institute of Health, uterine Cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, with 65,950 estimated new cases in 2022.
In a previous study, researchers found that permanent hair dye and straighteners may increase breast and ovarian cancer risk.
Relaxers and Cancer: Women React
Some people were concerned with the study’s findings.
“Horrible and I believe it!!! They [have] been trying to kill us off,” posted one woman.
“We already know how bad parabens and bisphenol A are. It’s just taken this long to watch people die from it,” said another.
While others don’t seem to be overly bothered.
“The product turns our hair from curly to permanently straight, of course there are consequences… ima still relax my hair though,” said one Instagram user.
And some people are pointing out that science is only just catching up with what some women already believed to be true.
“Many of us were aware of this a long time ago, nice to see the media finally addressing it…” said one woman.
“Stopped using relaxers 7 years now. Other items to look into is braiding hair and the chemicals in them that absorb[s] into [the] hair and scalp,” shared another.
Do these findings surprise you? And if you do use relaxers, would this make you think twice? Let us know in the comments below!
