Permanent Hair Dyes and Chemical Straighteners May Be Linked to Breast Cancer, Study Says

https://news.yahoo.com/permanent-hair-dyes-chemical-straighteners-090048101.html

Jamie Ducharme
,Time•December 4, 2019

Two common beauty products—permanent hair dyes and chemical straighteners—may be associated with an elevated risk for breast cancer, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer.

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Overall, using permanent dye was associated with a 9% higher risk of developing breast cancer, compared to non-use. But black women who used permanent dye had a 45% higher risk of breast cancer, compared to non-users, and those who used these products every eight weeks or more often had a 60% higher risk.

Black women were also far more likely to report using chemical straighteners—74% had, compared to 3% of white women—which were associated with an 18% higher risk of breast cancer in the study population as a whole.

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the study is a reminder that beauty and self-care products in the U.S. are not well-regulated. The vast majority of cosmetic products and ingredients do not need Food and Drug Administration approval or safety testing before they go to market, and the agency does not have the authority to recall tainted products. (One exception is color additives, which the FDA does regulate. In 2018, it ordered companies to reformulate products that contained lead acetate for this purpose, citing potential health risks.)

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