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Research Reveals Hair Dye and Straighteners May Increase Breast Cancer Risk

Published on 2020-02-24. Edited By : SpecialChem

TAGS:  Hair Care    

Hair-dyesThe scientists at the National Institutes of Health have found out that women who use permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not use these products.

Link Between Hair Dye and Cancer


The study was published online in the International Journal of Cancer and suggested that breast cancer risk increased with more frequent use of these chemical hair products.

"Researchers have been studying the possible link between hair dye and cancer for a long time, but results have been inconsistent," said corresponding author Alexandra White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, have used the data from 46,709 women in the Sister Study and found out that women who regularly used permanent hair dye in the year prior to enrolling in the study were 9 percent more likely than women who did not use hair dye to develop breast cancer.

Among African American women, using permanent dyes every five to eight weeks or more was associated with a 60 percent increased risk of breast cancer as compared with an 8 percent increased risk for white women.

The research team found little to no increase in breast cancer risk for semi-permanent or temporary dye use.

In our study, we see a higher breast cancer risk associated with hair dye use, and the effect is stronger in African American women, particularly those who are frequent users,” said White.

Association Between Hair Straighteners and Cancer


An intriguing finding was the association between the use of chemical hair straighteners and breast cancer. Dr. White and colleagues found that women who used hair straighteners at least every five to eight weeks were about 30 percent more likely to develop breast cancer.

While the association between straightener use and breast cancer was similar in African American and white women, straightener use was much more common among African American women.

Co-author Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch, cautioned that although there is some prior evidence to support the association with chemical straighteners, these results need to be replicated in other studies.

When asked if women should stop dyeing or straightening their hair, Sandler said, "We are exposed to many things that could potentially contribute to breast cancer, and it is unlikely that any single factor explains a woman’s risk. While it is too early to make a firm recommendation, avoiding these chemicals might be one more thing women can do to reduce their risk of breast cancer."


Source: National Institutes of Health
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