Drugwatch helps consumers to scope out information that they need in order to make well-informed decisions pertaining to their health care and share their experiences with medical devices. Like MiOra, Drugwatch also advocates for health and wellness. Our Health Ambassadors had the opportunity to read in on one of featured articles, Chemical Hair Straighteners and Cancer, by Kevin Lombardi, MD MPH.
Drugwatch’s recent article discusses the side effects of chemical hair straighteners. Using the product increases the risk of hormone-related cancers such as breast and uterine cancers. The effects have been serious to the extent of people taking legal actions and filing cases in multiple lawsuits against the manufacturers of hair products. Chemical hair straightening products contain substances such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde. Essentially, these products alter the shape of the hair strands “protein structure, dissolving the disulfide bonds”. The chemical composition of the product results in the long-term damage to skin and hair if consumers use them frequently or improperly.
Two recent studies have shown that there is a connection between using chemical hair straighteners and a high risk of cancer, specifically uterine and breast cancer. The people most affected are women, and more specifically, Black women, due to this population using these products the most according to a study between 2003 and 2009 including 34,000 women. A 2022 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study found that uterine cancer is twice as high in women who used chemical straighteners. Additionally, the risk of uterine cancer for those women who straighten their hair more than four times a year is much higher.
This article provided a great deal of insight into the dangers of chemical hair straighteners. You can find more information on www.drugwatch.com
Authors, MiOra Health Ambassadors: Pedro Anguiano, Yesenia Sanchez, Jasmine Sweeney, Coral G. Trujilio, Andrea Mata, Ricardo Ortiz Baca, Jimena Salazar, Janneth Alonso, Abigail Morales
