Do you know if black hair products are safe?

New research from Oxford University suggests some ingredients could be linked to breast cancer

TAKE CARE: Surveys show that many aren’t aware if their hair treatments damage their health

A RECENT study published in Oxford University’s Carcinogenesis Journal found that ingredients in several hair products commonly used by black/African-American women, including lye relaxers, could be hazardous and have links to health issues as serious as breast cancer.

Although black women consume 80 per cent of the beauty and hair industry, many are unaware of the ingredients their hair products contain and whether they are actually safe.

Over the past few years, with the resurgence of the natural hair movement, the relaxer sales have declined significantly as black women turn to suitable alternatives. There has long been suspicion around hair relaxers being harmful for health.

Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair investigated this back in 2009. So this recent Oxford University study further validates these concerns.

The study noted that black hair products could include oestrogen or oestrogen-disrupting compounds that could affect health. Oestrogen is a group of hormones responsible for promoting the development and maintenance of female charac-teristics of the body.

The study suggested that some of the ingredients included in black hair products could contain chemicals that affect these hormones, leading to health issues long-term.

A survey by natural hair brand, Laid Locs, found that over 71 per cent of black women consumers did not know if the ingredients they use in their hair products were safe. It also found that 60 per cent of people do not check their hair product ingredients before buying.

There could be mixed reasoning behind this. Understandably, some people may put in a lot of trust in the brands and retailers to sell safe ingredients. But, evidently, this is not always the case. It all boils down to a lack of education.

What are lye-based relaxers?

Lye relaxers are chemical-based relaxers that are formu-lated with sodium hydroxide as the main ingredient. They also have a high pH and can therefore cause the scalp to burn, leaving scabs or the hair to stick to the scalp when left on for too long.

Relaxers or perms are not ap-proved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK equivalent of FDA.

Legally, products are not required to be approved by the FDA to be sold in stores. This, therefore, highlights that there is more responsibility on the consumer to investigate more into the ingredients used in hair products.

Beyond the application of the relaxer to the scalp, the strong fumes of relaxers can be inhaled and therefore enter your system this way, too. Initially, these health risks may not be so visible, but as years go by they can increasingly rise to the surface.

Sodium hydroxide is the main culprit, but also no-lye relaxers can also be damaging. The other type of relaxers are no-lye relaxers.

These tend to use calcium hydroxide as active ingredients instead of sodium hydroxide. No-lye relaxers also tend to have a lower pH than lye relaxers.

However, no-lye relaxers are also still unapproved by the FDA. Furthermore, due to the calcium properties they have, they can sometimes dry the hair out. And although it may not be as harsh as a lye relaxer, it still has the potential to burn the scalp.

Chemical-free alternative to lye relaxers

So, with all these potentials to damage your scalp, hair and your health, it may be worth looking into alternatives to relaxers.

The motive behind people getting relaxers is usually to straighten out the natural kinks and curls in their hair. Thankfully, as the years have progressed, there have become more suitable alternatives to relaxers, that will allow you to receive the same results of straight hair.

Silk presses have increasingly become a popular treatment and great alternative to relaxers. It is the closest safest chemical-free alternative to relaxers, as it involves using your own natural hair to achieve the desired results.

It involves using heat from hair straighteners, so it’s recommended to use a heat protectant before using this method.

Another way to get chemical-free straight hair is through wigs. From lace wigs to the more newly released headband wigs which is a combination of your natural hair with wigs, there are several alternatives to achieving a straight, sleek, relaxed look.

Natural hair products

The Oxford study also investigat-ed leave-in conditioners and oils that may have oestrogen-disrupting compounds. This again raises the point that we should be more conscious of what ingredients we are using on our hair. And not just from relaxers.

Thankfully, there are a range of black-owned, natural hair products that have developed over the years that focus on natural and safe ingredients.

Afrocenchix, for example, is one of these brands. They have a range of natural shampoos, conditioners and moisturisers for black hair textures. When it comes to hair gels, there has also been suspicion around harsh chemicals used in gels.

For example, IPA alcohol is often used as an ingredi-ent in hair gel, causing hair to dry quickly. Laid Locs is an up-and-coming natural hair gel aiming to combat this issue in this sector of the industry.

Their flaxseed hair gel is made of 100 per cent naturally derived ingredients, including the preservatives.

Overall, what we can learn from this recently released study is that we should all do our due diligence when buying hair products. Just because it’s on the shelf in your local hair shop doesn’t mean it is completely safe.

Black British Voices

Comments Form

1 Comment

  1. | Nadina Morrison

    Thank you for your the article.

    As a UK black owned retailer we are heycheekybeauty.com, we don’t always get in right but our rule of thumb is would we put in our own afro textured hair? If the answer is then “No” then we don’t stock it.

    Therefore are team stay clear of lye based relaxer’s and opt for wigs and extensions when we want to change our up are look and length.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up