Written by: Vanessa Niu
Edited by: Kaitlin Lemke
Edited by: Kaitlin Lemke
In the past few years, consumers have become increasingly aware of how the products they use on a day-to-day basis affect their health and well-being. As a result, much awareness has been spread about the beauty industry’s validity; there has been recent escalation in federal lawsuits against major hair product companies, as their products allegedly contain carcinogens (substances that dramatically increase the risk of cancer in living tissues). For consumers, the presence of carcinogens in hair products means increased chances of developing uterine cancer, as well as other health complications. Therefore, it is crucial to hold these corporations accountable so that women across the globe can use these products without safety concerns.
Uterine cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women, destroying the female reproductive system. It affects and harms postmenopausal women the most, as the average age of women diagnosed with uterine cancer is approximately sixty years old. Research also shows an increase in uterine cancer diagnoses in women living in the United States, especially for women of African descent.
The most common form of uterine cancer is endometrial cancer, which occurs in the endometrium or inner uterus lining. In addition to endometrial cancer, there is a less common type of uterine cancer, known as uterine sarcoma, which may be more aggressive and difficult to treat (NCI 2022). The two main subtypes of endometrial cancers include endometrioid and non-endometrioid; they both occur in the uterus’ inner lining. The more common type of uterine cancer — endometrioid tumors — can have a more favorable prognosis if diagnosed in its early stages compared to non-endometrioid tumors.
One can decrease the chances of developing uterine cancer by increasing protective measures and avoiding risk factors. Protective measures include hormonal contraceptives, weight loss, breast-feeding, pregnancy, and physical activity (NCI 2022). Risk factors include obesity, diabetes, genetic factors (such as Lynch syndrome), endometrial hyperplasia (in which the uterus lining abnormally thickens), increased estrogen levels (often due to hormone therapy), and increased tamoxifen levels (which diminishes estrogen’s natural effect on other tissues).
In October 2022, the National Institutes of Health Hair and the National Cancer Institute published the study, “Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer” -- researchers found an association between using specific hair products and higher chances of uterine cancer development. A week later, a uterine cancer survivor filed a lawsuit against five prominent hair product companies, including L’Oréal; she alleged that she developed uterine cancer as a result of frequently using their hair straighteners. The 2022 study is considered the “first epidemiologic evidence” (Chang et al. 2022) that identifies a connection between hair straightening products and uterine cancer. The specific chemicals in these hair products that are associated with certain cancers have not been thoroughly investigated yet, and further research is needed to determine clear links.
In this study, researchers analyzed participants in the Sister Study, which consisted of investigations on breast cancer risks and additional health complications for more than 30,000 female participants. This is not the first research endeavor that identifies a link between possible carcinogenic chemicals in hair products and the development of cancers. For instance, a 2021 study investigated how the “use of hair products, specifically perms and straighteners, during adolescence may be associated with a higher risk of premenopausal breast cancer” because “hair products can contain hormonally active and carcinogenic compounds” (White et al. 2021). These studies have classified chemicals found in hair products such as hair straighteners and relaxers as endocrine disruptors or carcinogens. For example, the keratin hair treatment is a type of hair straightening treatment that significantly heightens exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Researchers discuss that these EDCs “could contribute to uterine cancer risk because of their ability to alter hormonal actions” (Chang et al. 2022). Hormone-sensitive cancers include breast and ovarian cancer; endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures are heightened by frequent hair product usage. Additionally, chemical hair straighteners and hair dyes may include similar EDCs such as formaldehyde that can harm unaware consumers who use these products. In a study testing four professional hair straightening products, researchers found that “professional hair smoothing treatments—even those labeled “formaldehyde-free”—have the potential to produce formaldehyde concentrations that meet or exceed current occupational exposure limits” (Pierce 2011). The recent 2022 study investigated and discovered that “hair product constituents, including formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in some straighteners, and oxidized para-phenylenediamine and 4-aminobiphenyl in hair dyes, have… played a potential role in carcinogenesis, supporting an association between hair product use and cancer development” (Chang et al. 2022).
To inspect the effect of hair product use and endocrine-disrupting carcinogenic chemicals on endometrial cancer, researchers from this study asked women from the Sister Study to report various hair products they used in the past year. Over approximately an eleven-year period of check-up, “378 uterine cancer cases were identified” (Chang et al. 2022). Researchers found that women whose use of hair products amounted to “more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products” (Chang et al. 2022). Frequent use of hair straighteners contributed to greater exposure to chemicals that may be associated with health conditions such as cancer. This may occur because hair straighteners often contain chemicals such as “parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde” (Chang et al. 2022) that would be applied directly to the scalp, thus resulting in a possible link to causing uterine cancer. There was no apparent association between other hair products, such as hair dress, perms, or highlights, and specifically urine cancer.
Uterine cancer has the potential to affect all women; it targets the female reproductive system and can be deadly. Therefore, it is essential that women are aware of the detrimental health risks that come along with hair products that they may utilize on a daily basis. Staying educated and protecting oneself through cancer prevention techniques can potentially save one’s life.
References
Chang C., PhD, O’Brien K, PhD, Keil A, PhD, Gaston S, PhD, Jackson C, PhD, Sandler D, PhD, White A, PhD. 2022. Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. djac165.; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac165.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2022. Advances in Endometrial Cancer Research. National Institutes of Health; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/research
National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2022. Endometrial Cancer Prevention (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Institutes of Health; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/patient/endometrial-prevention-pdq
Pierce J. S., Abelmann A., J. Spicer L., Adams R. E., Glynn M. E., Neier K., Finley B. L., Gaffney S. H. 2011. Characterization of Formaldehyde Exposure Resulting from the Use of Four Professional Hair Straightening Products, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 8:11, 686-699, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2011.626259; [cited 2022 Dec 3]. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15459624.2011.626259
White AJ, Gregoire AM, Taylor KW, Eberle C, Gaston S, O'Brien KM, Jackson CL, Sandler DP. 2021. Adolescent use of hair dyes, straighteners and perms in relation to breast cancer risk. Int J Cancer. 2021 May 1;148(9):2255-2263. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33413. Epub 2020 Dec 14. PMID: 33252833; PMCID: PMC7969396; [cited 2022 Dec 5]. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7969396/
Uterine cancer is the sixth most common cancer in women, destroying the female reproductive system. It affects and harms postmenopausal women the most, as the average age of women diagnosed with uterine cancer is approximately sixty years old. Research also shows an increase in uterine cancer diagnoses in women living in the United States, especially for women of African descent.
The most common form of uterine cancer is endometrial cancer, which occurs in the endometrium or inner uterus lining. In addition to endometrial cancer, there is a less common type of uterine cancer, known as uterine sarcoma, which may be more aggressive and difficult to treat (NCI 2022). The two main subtypes of endometrial cancers include endometrioid and non-endometrioid; they both occur in the uterus’ inner lining. The more common type of uterine cancer — endometrioid tumors — can have a more favorable prognosis if diagnosed in its early stages compared to non-endometrioid tumors.
One can decrease the chances of developing uterine cancer by increasing protective measures and avoiding risk factors. Protective measures include hormonal contraceptives, weight loss, breast-feeding, pregnancy, and physical activity (NCI 2022). Risk factors include obesity, diabetes, genetic factors (such as Lynch syndrome), endometrial hyperplasia (in which the uterus lining abnormally thickens), increased estrogen levels (often due to hormone therapy), and increased tamoxifen levels (which diminishes estrogen’s natural effect on other tissues).
In October 2022, the National Institutes of Health Hair and the National Cancer Institute published the study, “Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer” -- researchers found an association between using specific hair products and higher chances of uterine cancer development. A week later, a uterine cancer survivor filed a lawsuit against five prominent hair product companies, including L’Oréal; she alleged that she developed uterine cancer as a result of frequently using their hair straighteners. The 2022 study is considered the “first epidemiologic evidence” (Chang et al. 2022) that identifies a connection between hair straightening products and uterine cancer. The specific chemicals in these hair products that are associated with certain cancers have not been thoroughly investigated yet, and further research is needed to determine clear links.
In this study, researchers analyzed participants in the Sister Study, which consisted of investigations on breast cancer risks and additional health complications for more than 30,000 female participants. This is not the first research endeavor that identifies a link between possible carcinogenic chemicals in hair products and the development of cancers. For instance, a 2021 study investigated how the “use of hair products, specifically perms and straighteners, during adolescence may be associated with a higher risk of premenopausal breast cancer” because “hair products can contain hormonally active and carcinogenic compounds” (White et al. 2021). These studies have classified chemicals found in hair products such as hair straighteners and relaxers as endocrine disruptors or carcinogens. For example, the keratin hair treatment is a type of hair straightening treatment that significantly heightens exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Researchers discuss that these EDCs “could contribute to uterine cancer risk because of their ability to alter hormonal actions” (Chang et al. 2022). Hormone-sensitive cancers include breast and ovarian cancer; endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures are heightened by frequent hair product usage. Additionally, chemical hair straighteners and hair dyes may include similar EDCs such as formaldehyde that can harm unaware consumers who use these products. In a study testing four professional hair straightening products, researchers found that “professional hair smoothing treatments—even those labeled “formaldehyde-free”—have the potential to produce formaldehyde concentrations that meet or exceed current occupational exposure limits” (Pierce 2011). The recent 2022 study investigated and discovered that “hair product constituents, including formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in some straighteners, and oxidized para-phenylenediamine and 4-aminobiphenyl in hair dyes, have… played a potential role in carcinogenesis, supporting an association between hair product use and cancer development” (Chang et al. 2022).
To inspect the effect of hair product use and endocrine-disrupting carcinogenic chemicals on endometrial cancer, researchers from this study asked women from the Sister Study to report various hair products they used in the past year. Over approximately an eleven-year period of check-up, “378 uterine cancer cases were identified” (Chang et al. 2022). Researchers found that women whose use of hair products amounted to “more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products” (Chang et al. 2022). Frequent use of hair straighteners contributed to greater exposure to chemicals that may be associated with health conditions such as cancer. This may occur because hair straighteners often contain chemicals such as “parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde” (Chang et al. 2022) that would be applied directly to the scalp, thus resulting in a possible link to causing uterine cancer. There was no apparent association between other hair products, such as hair dress, perms, or highlights, and specifically urine cancer.
Uterine cancer has the potential to affect all women; it targets the female reproductive system and can be deadly. Therefore, it is essential that women are aware of the detrimental health risks that come along with hair products that they may utilize on a daily basis. Staying educated and protecting oneself through cancer prevention techniques can potentially save one’s life.
References
Chang C., PhD, O’Brien K, PhD, Keil A, PhD, Gaston S, PhD, Jackson C, PhD, Sandler D, PhD, White A, PhD. 2022. Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. djac165.; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac165.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2022. Advances in Endometrial Cancer Research. National Institutes of Health; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/research
National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2022. Endometrial Cancer Prevention (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Institutes of Health; [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.cancer.gov/types/uterine/patient/endometrial-prevention-pdq
Pierce J. S., Abelmann A., J. Spicer L., Adams R. E., Glynn M. E., Neier K., Finley B. L., Gaffney S. H. 2011. Characterization of Formaldehyde Exposure Resulting from the Use of Four Professional Hair Straightening Products, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 8:11, 686-699, DOI: 10.1080/15459624.2011.626259; [cited 2022 Dec 3]. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15459624.2011.626259
White AJ, Gregoire AM, Taylor KW, Eberle C, Gaston S, O'Brien KM, Jackson CL, Sandler DP. 2021. Adolescent use of hair dyes, straighteners and perms in relation to breast cancer risk. Int J Cancer. 2021 May 1;148(9):2255-2263. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33413. Epub 2020 Dec 14. PMID: 33252833; PMCID: PMC7969396; [cited 2022 Dec 5]. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7969396/
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