By Yasmeen Talaat
Growing up, I used to watch my mom apply hair relaxers every few months. After I reached the age of 8 I too had hair relaxers applied to my hair every few months. My mom would always say that it would make my hair easier to manage and "look prettier." She wasn’t aware that she was teaching me to hate my own hair because after relaxing her hair for over a decade this was all she knew.
Many members of the Black community feel as though they need to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards to be validated. Relaxers are one of the many ways that Black women fulfill this need and gain the validation they desire5. For other Black women, using relaxers was the norm. It is what they saw among their community and it became a regular part of their beauty maintenance.5 For Dalia Sidahmed this was exactly the case.
Even Black women that don’t desire to use relaxers may also experience pressures surrounding their hair identity.4 As a natural hair advocate, I encourage Black women to embrace their hair in its most natural state, but a large part of the natural hair community is focused on creating the "perfect curl." To achieve this hair strands are slathered in leave-in-conditioners, oils and gels to set the hair to a very specific look.
Hair relaxers and overuse of hair products have resulted in Black women negatively exposing themselves to harmful chemicals in their ingredients. A study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology assesses how Black hair products exhibit hormonal activity.1 It was found that products like hair relaxers, leave-in conditioners, and oils display estrogenic, androgenic, progestogenic, and glucocorticoid activity. These products may result in interference with hormonal regulation that can further cause endocrine diseases among Black users.1
Some of the most common chemicals in these hair products are parabens, phthalates, and fragrances.2 These chemicals are not always clearly listed on the packaging for Black hair products.3 They can have endocrine-disrupting properties that promote specific diseases which are increased in Black women due to their prolonged exposure. Black women are the most likely to suffer from endocrine illnesses and complications such as breast7 and uterine6 cancer as well as dysfunctions of pregnancy and labor.8
These complications and illnesses have been linked to EDCs in hair products, thus making Black women more susceptible to developing these issues. A study in Drug and Chemical Toxicology found that phthalates are involved in the development and proliferation of breast cancer cells.10 The increased development of breast cancer in Black women was also linked to hair relaxers in a study in the International Journal of Cancer11 further suggesting that hair relaxers contain EDCs like phthalates. Another study linked hair relaxers to the incidence of uterine cancer.9
Beauty standards placed on the Black community have subjected them to disproportionate health effects because of EDC exposure to chemicals like those in hair relaxers.
The concept of whiteness is important to the definition of beauty in Asian communities. It is through beauty standards stemming from the European colonialism in Asia and status identification that whiteness is pursued.12 Historically in Asia, whiteness of skin dictated one’s social, romantic and economic prospects.13 Lighter skin is associated with prestige and success as many celebrities and public figures have whiter skin.13
Skin lightening is a very popular practice in Asian communities to obtain the perception of luxury that accompanies white skin. Much like hair products, these products contain hormonally active chemicals like phthalates and depigmenting agents like hydroquinone.14 Many forms of skin lighteners contain hydroquinone, a form of inorganic mercury, which can lead to mercury poisoning.14 Kojic acid, resorcinol, and arbutin are common forms of skin lighteners that have been linked to negative effects of the thyroid, hormone control and estrogen receptors.16 Phthalates display estrogenic activity that can be linked to early menarche, complications in pregnancy and cancers of the breast, ovaries and uterus.10
Among communities of color, Asian women have been found to have the highest incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) which can lead to type 2 diabetes and further pregnancy complications.15 An article in the American Journal of Perinatology describes EDCs like parabens and triclosan, two preservatives commonly used in cosmetic products, as risk factors for GDM because of their effect on hormonal pathways regulating insulin and glucose.17
An article in the International Journal of Women's Health draws a connection between endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics and the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in young women in East Asia. This study found that young women who made a conscious decision to avoid EDCs were less likely to have symptoms of premenstrual syndrome than women who did not care to avoid EDCs.18
The use of skin lighteners containing EDCs can cause an increased risk of GDM and PMS in Asian women who consistently use them. It is through the history of beauty standards that skin lightener has become common and acceptable.
James-Todd, T., Connolly, L., Preston, E. V., Quinn, M. R., Plotan, M., Xie, Y., Gandi, B., & Mahalingaiah, S. (2021). Hormonal activity in commonly used Black hair care products: Evaluating hormone disruption as a plausible contribution to health disparities. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 31(3), 476–486. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00335-3
Reichel, C., May 15, T. J. R., & 2018. (2018, May 15). Hormone-disrupting chemicals found in hair products for black women. The Journalist’s Resource. https://journalistsresource.org/environment/endocrine-disruptors-black-women-hair-research/
Nicolopoulou-Stamati, P., Hens, L., & Sasco, A. J. (2015). Cosmetics as endocrine disruptors: Are they a health risk? Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, 16(4), 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-016-9329-4
Thompson, C. (2009). Black Women, Beauty, and Hair as a Matter of Being. Women’s Studies, 38(8), 831–856. https://doi.org/10.1080/00497870903238463
Ellis-Hervey, N., Doss, A., DeShae Davis, Nicks, R., & Araiza, P. (2016). African American Personal Presentation: Psychology of Hair and Self-Perception. Journal of Black Studies, 47(8), 869–882.
Clarke, M. A., Devesa, S. S., Hammer, A., & Wentzensen, N. (2022). Racial and Ethnic Differences in Hysterectomy-Corrected Uterine Corpus Cancer Mortality by Stage and Histologic Subtype. JAMA Oncology, 8(6), 895–903. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.0009
Yedjou, C. G., Sims, J. N., Miele, L., Noubissi, F., Lowe, L., Fonseca, D. D., Alo, R. A., Payton, M., & Tchounwou, P. B. (2019). Health and Racial Disparity in Breast Cancer. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1152, 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20301-6_3
Louis, Judette M. MD, MPH; Menard, M. Kathryn MD, MPH; Gee, Rebekah E. MD, MPH. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality. Obstetrics & Gynecology 125(3):p 690-694, March 2015. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000000704
Chang, C.-J., O’Brien, K. M., Keil, A. P., Gaston, S. A., Jackson, C. L., Sandler, D. P., & White, A. J. (2022). Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 114(12), 1636–1645. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac165
Mughees, M., Chugh, H., & Wajid, S. (2022). Mechanism of phthalate esters in the progression and development of breast cancer. Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 45(3), 1021–1025. https://doi.org/10.1080/01480545.2020.1802480
Eberle, C. E., Sandler, D. P., Taylor, K. W., & White, A. J. (2020). Hair dye and chemical straightener use and breast cancer risk in a large US population of black and white women. International Journal of Cancer, 147(2), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32738
Hunter, M. (2007). The Persistent Problem of Colorism: Skin Tone, Status, and Inequality. Sociology Compass, 1(1), 237–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00006.x
Eric P.H. Li, Hyun Jeong Min, Russell W. Belk, and Junko Kimura, Shalini Bahl (2008)"Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 35, eds. Angela Y. Lee and Dilip Soman, Duluth, MN :Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 444-449.
Dadzie, O., & Petit, A. (2009). Skin bleaching: Highlighting the misuse of cutaneous depigmenting agents. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 23(7), 741–750. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2009.03150.x
Wang, V. A., Chu, M. T., Chie, L., Gaston, S. A., Jackson, C. L., Newendorp, N., Uretsky, E., Dodson, R. E., Adamkiewicz, G., & James-Todd, T. (2021). Acculturation and endocrine disrupting chemical-associated personal care product use among US-based foreign-born Chinese women of reproductive age. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 31(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-00279-0
Ripamonti, E., Allifranchini, E., Todeschi, S., & Bocchietto, E. (2018). Endocrine Disruption by Mixtures in Topical Consumer Products. Cosmetics, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics5040061
Ehrlich, S., Lambers, D., Baccarelli, A., Khoury, J., Macaluso, M., & Ho, S.-M. (2016). Endocrine Disruptors: A Potential Risk Factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Perinatology, 1313–1318. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0036-1586500
Park, J., Lee, J. J., Park, S., Lee, H., Nam, S., Lee, S., & Lee, H. (2022). Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Premenstrual Syndrome in Female College Students in East Asia: A Multi-Country Study. International Journal of Women’s Health, 14, 167–177. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S349172