Hair Straighteners’ Risk Too Small to Stop, Docs and Women Say

Oct. 20, 2022 – Clarissa Ghazi will get lye relaxers, which comprise the chemical sodium hydroxide, utilized to her hair two to a few occasions a yr.

A current examine that made headlines over a possible hyperlink between hair straighteners and uterine most cancers will not be going to make her cease. 

“This study is not enough to cause me to say I’ll stay away from this because [the researchers] don’t prove that using relaxers causes cancer,” Ghazi says.

Indeed, major care medical doctors are unlikely to handle the elevated threat of uterine most cancers in girls who incessantly use hair straighteners that the examine reported. 

Among frequent customers of hair straighteners — which means those that used them greater than 4 occasions a yr — the researchers discovered that ladies had been 2.55 occasions extra prone to be recognized with uterine most cancers than those that by no means used these merchandise.

In the lately revealed paper on this analysis, the authors say that they discovered an 80% larger adjusted threat of uterine most cancers amongst girls who had ever “straightened,” “relaxed,” or used “hair pressing products” within the 12 months earlier than enrolling of their examine.

This discovering is “real, but small,” says internist Douglas S. Paauw, MD, professor of medication on the University of Washington in Seattle. 

Paauwis amongst a number of major care medical doctors interviewed for this story who expressed little concern in regards to the implications of this analysis for his or her sufferers. 

“Since we have hundreds of things we are supposed to discuss at our 20-minute clinic visits, this would not make the cut,” Paauw says. 

While it’s good to have the ability to reply questions a affected person may ask about this new analysis, the examine doesn’t show something, he says.

Internist Alan Nelson, MD, an internist-endocrinologist and former particular advisor to the CEO of the American College of Physicians, says whereas the examine is effectively achieved, the variety of precise instances of uterine most cancers discovered had been small.

One of the explanations he wouldn’t advocate discussing the examine with sufferers is that the manufacturers of hair merchandise used to straighten hair within the examine weren’t recognized. 

Alexandra White, PhD, lead writer of the examine, stated contributors had been merely requested, “In the past 12 months, how frequently have you or someone else straightened or relaxed your hair, or used hair pressing products?” 

The phrases “straightened,” “relaxed,” and “hair pressing products” weren’t outlined, and “some women may have interpreted the term ‘pressing products’ to mean non-chemical products” reminiscent of flat irons, says White, who can also be head of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group, in an e-mail.

Dermatologist Crystal Aguh, MD, affiliate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, tweeted the next recommendation in mild of the brand new findings: “The overall risk of uterine cancer is quite low so it’s important to remember that. For now, if you want to change your routine, there’s no downside to decreasing your frequency of hair straightening to every 12 weeks or more, as that may lessen your risk.”

She additionally famous that “styles like relaxer, silk pressing and keratin treatments should only be done by a professional, as this will decrease the likelihood of hair damage and scalp irritation.”

“I also encourage women to look for hair products free of parabens and phthalates (which are generically listed as “fragrance”) on products to minimize exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals.”

Not Ready to Go Curly

Ghazi says she determined to cease utilizing keratin straighteners years in the past after she realized they’re made with a number of added components. That consists of the chemical formaldehyde, a recognized carcinogen, in keeping with the American Cancer Society.

“People have been relaxing their hair for a very long time, and I feel more comfortable using [a relaxer] to straighten my hair than any of the others out there,” Ghazi says.

Janaki Ram, who has had her hair chemically straightened a number of occasions, says the findings haven’t made her anxious that straightening will trigger her to get uterine most cancers particularly, however that they’re a reminder that the chemical substances in these merchandise may hurt her in another approach.

She says the brand new examine findings, her information of the harm straightening causes to hair, and the prolonged period of time receiving a keratin remedy takes will lead her to cut back the frequency with which she will get her straightened.

“Going forward, I will have this done once a year instead of twice a year,” she says.  

White, the writer of the examine, says in an interview that the takeaway for customers is that ladies who reported frequent use of hair straighteners/relaxers and urgent merchandise had been over twice as prone to go on to develop uterine most cancers in comparison with girls who reported no use of those merchandise within the earlier yr. 

“However, uterine cancer is relatively rare, so these increases in risks are small,” she says. “Less frequent use of these products was not as strongly associated with risk, suggesting that decreasing use may be an option to reduce harmful exposure. Black women were the most frequent users of these products and therefore these findings are more relevant for Black women.”

“We estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70; but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%,” White says in an announcement.

 “One of the original aims of the study was to better understand the environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer, but we are also interested in studying ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and many other cancers and chronic diseases,” White says in an interview.