By Yusuf Adua
For many Nigerian women, relaxing their hair is either a step up or a necessity. But a recent study reveals that some types of hair relaxers could be a gateway to uterine cancer.
In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has even recommended a ban on hair-smoothing and hair-straightening products that contain formaldehyde, a chemical known to cause cancer.
ASHENEWS understands that hundreds of black women recently sued major cosmetics companies in the country, including L’Oreal and Revlon, claiming that the chemical hair straighteners they used caused their uterine cancer, fibroid tumours, and infertility.
Also on October 10, Boston University released the results of the most recent study on the impact of hair relaxers. In the BWHS, it was shown that black women who used chemical hair relaxers more than twice a year or for more than five years had higher chances of having uterine cancer.
Among 44,798 black women who were followed for up to 22 years, those who said they had used chemical hair relaxers for at least 10 years had a greater risk of developing uterine cancer.
Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, Kimberly Bertrand, told NBC News that “the idea here is that a renewed emphasis or attention to the potential dangers of these products, I hope, will spur policies, and that will sort of help reduce exposure in this population or even help us identify potentially safer alternatives to straightening hair.”
She said in her submission, that when more people talk about the dangers of hair relaxers, more people will be aware of the issue and make safer decisions.
Why are Nigerian women relaxing their hair?
While putting this piece together, ASHENEWS spoke to dozens of women who relax their hair.
Kemisola Adedokun told ASHENEWS that she relaxes her hair to make it softer when she wants to plait because she experiences consistent pain anytime she wants to plait her hair.
“It is not easy for me to make my hair. The pain is always too excruciating, I must admit. I am very scared with this new information you are giving me”, she says.
Abroad, most black women who relax their hair do it to forestall systemic racism and anti-black hair sentiment.
“We’ve seen this play out in the criminalization, punishment, and marginalisation of the black people in the workplace and educational institutions just because of the texture of their hair. This has led many black women to want to change their appearance by having their hair straightened or relaxed,” the professor told NBC News.
Meanwhile, her research showed that women who relax their hair have a 50% higher chance of contracting cancer than women who never or seldom use relaxers.
How come hair relaxers pose such a threat?
Endocrine-disrupting compounds are present in chemical hair relaxers, and these chemicals have the potential to alter hormone levels and disrupt the endocrine system (which includes the thyroid, ovaries, pancreas, and adrenal glands).
Relaxers contain a number of these compounds, including phthalates and parabens. They can enter the body by dermal absorption or respiratory inhalation.
Do all chemical hair relaxers pose health risks, or do safer options exist?
According to Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, since the chemicals in hair straighteners are applied directly to the scalp, they represent a larger risk than those in other products. Even supposedly safe chemical hair straighteners, such as no-lye relaxers, can cause serious health problems.
