Oct. 20, 2022 – Clarissa Ghazi will get lye relaxers, which include the chemical sodium hydroxide, utilized to her hair two to 3 occasions a 12 months.
A current examine that made headlines over a possible hyperlink between hair straighteners and uterine most cancers is just not going to make her cease.
“This examine is just not sufficient to trigger me to say I am going to keep away from this as a result of [the researchers] don’t show that utilizing relaxers causes most cancers,” Ghazi says.
Certainly, major care medical doctors are unlikely to deal with the elevated danger of uterine most cancers in girls who often use hair straighteners that the examine reported.
Amongst frequent customers of hair straighteners — which means those that used them greater than 4 occasions a 12 months — the researchers discovered that girls have been 2.55 occasions extra more likely to be identified with uterine most cancers than those that by no means used these merchandise.
Within the just lately revealed paper on this analysis, the authors say that they discovered an 80% increased adjusted danger of uterine most cancers amongst girls who had ever “straightened,” “relaxed,” or used “hair urgent merchandise” within the 12 months earlier than enrolling of their examine.
This discovering is “actual, however small,” says internist Douglas S. Paauw, MD, professor of medication on the College 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’ve lots of of issues we’re supposed to debate at our 20-minute clinic visits, this may not make the lower,” Paauw says.
Whereas 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 Faculty of Physicians, says whereas the examine is effectively completed, the variety of precise instances of uterine most cancers discovered have been small.
One of many causes he wouldn’t suggest 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 creator of the examine, stated individuals have been merely requested, “Previously 12 months, how often have you ever or another person straightened or relaxed your hair, or used hair urgent merchandise?”
The phrases “straightened,” “relaxed,” and “hair urgent merchandise” weren’t outlined, and “some girls could have interpreted the time period ‘urgent merchandise’ to imply non-chemical merchandise” comparable to flat irons, says White, who can also be head of the Nationwide Institute of Environmental Well being Sciences’ Atmosphere and Most cancers Epidemiology group, in an electronic mail.
Dermatologist Crystal Aguh, MD, affiliate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins Faculty of Medication, tweeted the next recommendation in gentle of the brand new findings: “The general danger of uterine most cancers is kind of low so it is essential to do not forget that. For now, if you wish to change your routine, there isn’t any draw back to lowering your frequency of hair straightening to each 12 weeks or extra, as that will reduce your danger.”
She additionally famous that “kinds like relaxer, silk urgent and keratin therapies ought to solely be completed by an expert, as it will lower the probability of hair injury and scalp irritation.”
“I additionally encourage girls to search for hair merchandise freed from parabens and phthalates (that are generically listed as “perfume”) on merchandise to reduce publicity to hormone disrupting chemical compounds.”
Not Able to Go Curly
Ghazi says she determined to cease utilizing keratin straighteners years in the past after she discovered they’re made with a number of added components. That features the chemical formaldehyde, a recognized carcinogen, based on the American Most cancers Society.
“Individuals have been enjoyable their hair for a really very long time, and I really feel extra snug utilizing [a relaxer] to straighten my hair than any of the others on the market,” Ghazi says.
Janaki Ram, who has had her hair chemically straightened a number of occasions, says the findings haven’t made her frightened that straightening will trigger her to get uterine most cancers particularly, however that they’re a reminder that the chemical compounds in these merchandise may hurt her in another method.
She says the brand new examine findings, her information of the injury straightening causes to hair, and the prolonged period of time receiving a keratin remedy takes will lead her to scale back the frequency with which she will get her straightened.
“Going ahead, I’ll have this completed yearly as a substitute of twice a 12 months,” she says.
White, the creator of the examine, says in an interview that the takeaway for customers is that girls who reported frequent use of hair straighteners/relaxers and urgent merchandise have been over twice as more likely to go on to develop uterine most cancers in comparison with girls who reported no use of those merchandise within the earlier 12 months.
“Nevertheless, uterine most cancers is comparatively uncommon, so these will increase in dangers are small,” she says. “Much less frequent use of those merchandise was not as strongly related to danger, suggesting that lowering use could also be an possibility to scale back dangerous publicity. Black girls have been probably the most frequent customers of those merchandise and subsequently these findings are extra related for Black girls.”
“We estimated that 1.64% of girls who by no means used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine most cancers by the age of 70; however for frequent customers, that danger goes as much as 4.05%,” White says in a assertion.
“One of many unique goals of the examine was to higher perceive the environmental and genetic causes of breast most cancers, however we’re additionally involved in finding out ovarian most cancers, uterine most cancers, and lots of different cancers and continual ailments,” White says in an interview.
