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You'll want to balance the look and the convenience against your concern about uterine and other kinds of cancer, which may also have to do with your unique risk factors. The fact that women with wild waves, crazy-cool corkscrews and natural kinky textures often want sleek, straight hair means big business for salons. It also keeps us spending major money on products that allow us to straighten our own hair over the bathroom sink. Torrey explained that the uterus comprises three layers of tissue, and different cancers impact each of them. However, “adenocarcinoma of the endometrium is the most common site and type of uterine cancer,” she said.
Can Hair Dye Increase Cancer Risk?
L’Oréal argued for reconsideration based on factual inaccuracies and the legal and logistical challenges of compelling discovery from a French company. If you're facing hair loss due to chemotherapy or other cancer treatment, get ideas for choosing and wearing wigs, hats, and scarves. Results of those studies have been mixed, with some associations found. In ancient Egypt, henna dye was used to highlight hair (or cover unwanted grays). Hair dye found its way onto the heads of people in ancient Greece, too. “The heat releases formaldehyde as a gas,” explained Michael T. Kleinman, a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of California, Irvine.
What do studies show?
As the hair relaxer class action continues to explode with new cases, a major early discovery battle appears to be developing between the plaintiffs and the defendants. Last week, all of the hair relaxer defendants jointly submitted a brief to the MDL Judge detailing various discovery disputes and issues that have arisen. The joint submission details various complaints that the defense has with the discovery requests propounded by the plaintiffs.
Types of hair dyes
What is driving these chemical hair straightener lawsuits is new scientific evidence that has recently emerged which suggests that long-term use of hair relaxer products may cause increased rates of uterine cancer. Millions of African American women in the U.S. use hair relaxer products regularly. New scientific research has found that the chemicals in hair relaxers can cause uterine cancer. Women who have used hair relaxer products for long periods and subsequently been diagnosed with uterine cancer are filing product liability lawsuits against the manufacturers and seeking compensation. The researchers did not collect information on brands or ingredients in the hair products the women used. However, in the paper they note that several chemicals that have been found in straighteners (such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde) could be contributing to the increased uterine cancer risk observed.
There is now a Master Complaint in the MDL that all parties suing these defendants can incorporate by reference in their lawsuits. L’Oréal also argued that producing discovery outside of Hague Convention procedures could violate the French blocking statute. However, L’Oréal has not provided specific details on how the court’s discovery order would undermine French interests. The MDL judge did grant L’Oréal USA an extension to coordinate with L’Oréal S.A. Every single day, you’re exposed to many things that are potential cancer risk factors. Concerning chemicals include aromatic amines, 3-amino-4-methoxyaniline, 2-nitro-4-aminoaniline and 3-nitro-4-hydroxyaniline.
Hair relaxers contain a phthalate chemical called Di-2- ethyl hexyl phthalate (“DEHP”). DEHP is a synthetic chemical that is not found naturally in the environment. DEHP is considered a probable human carcinogen and it is known to cause significant adverse-health effects including developmental abnormalities and reproductive dysfunction and infertility. A ruling from the JPML centralizing the hair relaxer cases into a new class action MDL is expected sometime this week. Plaintiffs’ lawyers in the hair relaxer MDL are asking the court to order an 11% holdback of compensation plaintiffs’ receive for their work in the case.
What to Know About the Health Risks of Chemical Hair Straighteners
This study was central to a recent Reuters investigation on the effects of hair relaxer products on Black women. These products may have some drawbacks, such as not being able to change hair color drastically or having the color fade sooner than is seen with permanent dyes (unless they contain some of the same ingredients as the permanent dyes). But they could be another option for those people concerned about hair dye safety. If cosmetics (including hair dyes) or their ingredients are found to be unsafe, the FDA can request that the company recall the product, although it can’t require a recall. The FDA can, however, take further steps if needed, such as getting a federal court order to stop sales, requesting that US marshals seize the product, or initiating criminal action.
Black Women Have Greater Risk of Cancer From Hair Relaxers
What to Know About the Connection Between Hair Relaxers and Uterine Cancer - Health Matters
What to Know About the Connection Between Hair Relaxers and Uterine Cancer.
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 18:17:46 GMT [source]
Dr. Vargas says the next reasonable step would be to conduct a study looking at tissue from (1) individuals who were exposed to hair straighteners and got uterine cancer and (2) people who developed uterine cancer but weren’t exposed to hair straighteners. “That may be a way to start unraveling more detailed associations and get to causation,” he says. Dr. Vargas is quick to clarify that this data doesn’t mean that hair straighteners cause uterine cancer. This group of chemicals, often used as preservatives in cosmetics products, has a high endocrine-disruption capacity.
Results might have greater impact for Black women
More than twice is a huge finding that has jump-started the hair relaxer litigation. All women in the Sister Study were already at high risk for breast cancer since they had a sister who had breast cancer. This family history put them at increased risk but that does not influence the findings of this analysis since all the women in the study had this same family history, but only some of them used hair dye and straighteners.
Some formulations contain the carcinogen formaldehyde as an active ingredient. Several studies have found associations between the use of hair straighteners or relaxers and the subsequent development of breast cancer. Some studies have found that individuals who apply permanent hair dye themselves at home have a higher breast cancer risk than those who have it applied by a professional (17, 18). It has been estimated that between 50% and 80% of women in the United States, Japan, and the European Union have used hair dyes (6). Given the widespread use of hair dye products, if these products had even a small effect on cancer risk that could translate into a considerable public health impact. In the current study, about 60% of the women who reported using straighteners in the previous year self-identified as being Black.
They have to wait just long enough for the right amount of protein bonds to break — you want your hair to be straight, not limp. The proposal specifies that formaldehyde would be banned, as well as other chemicals that release formaldehyde, such as methylene glycol. Formaldehyde is a strong-smelling but colorless gas that is also found in building materials, glues and permanent-press fabrics. It is also present in cigarette smoke and gas stove emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That depends on how badly you want straighter hair, and how much you care about your straight hair being long-lasting and fuss-free.
The American Cancer Society looks to these organizations to evaluate the risks based on the available evidence. In most cases neither type of study provides enough evidence on its own, so researchers usually look at both human and lab-based studies when trying to figure out if something might cause cancer. According to Dr. Vargas, research on the causes, treatment and prevention of uterine cancers is especially important because these conditions are so common. As an oncologist, most of the people Dr. Vargas sees have already been diagnosed.
Recently, a large cohort study found that women who had used any straightening products in the previous 12 months had 1.8 times the risk of developing uterine cancer as those who had never used such a product (24). A number of studies have investigated the relationship between personal use of hair dyes and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), with conflicting results. A large 2020 prospective cohort study reported no association between personal use of hair dye and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (12). Epidemiologic studies that follow groups of people over time (cohort studies) or that study people with and without specific cancers (case–control studies) have examined possible associations between personal use of hair dyes and risks of several cancers. Based on a review of existing evidence, the IARC Working Group considers personal use of hair dyes overall as “not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans” (6). In 2010, a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that some of the chemicals professional hairdressers are exposed to are “probably carcinogenic to humans” (6).
There are now almost 8,000 pending cases in the hair relaxer class action MDL. This litigation has averaged around 500 new cases per week since the end of August. Only 17 new cases were added to the hair relaxer class action MDL over the last month.
The skin of the scalp can absorb this and have it enter the bloodstream. If you or a loved one developed cancer after using chemical hair straighteners, you may be entitled to compensation. The statute of limitations on tort claims like hair relaxer lawsuits might be anywhere from 2-6 years, depending on what state you live in. (Check the Statute of Limitations in all 50 States) Each state has a different time frame. If you are considering a hair relaxer lawsuit, the really important question is not how long the limitation period is, but when the statute of limitations period in your begins to run.
Findings from the 2022 NIH study provided the first epidemiological evidence of the link between the use of chemical hair straightening treatments and uterine cancer. Women who applied chemical straighteners more than four times a year had more than double the risk of uterine cancer. Researchers have linked endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including parabens, metals, bisphenol A and formaldehyde contained in many hair straightening products, to the risk of developing cancer. Another theory is that chemicals contained in hair products such as metals, phthalates, and parabens can affect estrogen levels and create hormonal imbalances. Studies have linked elevated estrogen levels to an increased risk for breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer.
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