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FDA is thinking about a ban on hair-straightening chemicals. Stylists say Black women have moved on
KENYA HUNTER
Thu, October 19, 2023

Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. “Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair,” says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. She added: “I think people just wanted to move away from that and live a healthier lifestyle.”

 (AP Photo/Kenya Hunter) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)More

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on certain hair-straightening chemicals that have been used by Black women for years and that research shows may increase the risk of uterine cancer.

But Black hair stylists say such products — specifically the ones being looked at by the FDA, which contain formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals — have fallen out of favor, especially among younger generations.

“Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair,” said Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist in Atlanta who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. She added, “I think people just wanted to move away from that and live a healthier lifestyle.”

The FDA is in the first steps of the process: The notice of a possible rule was recently added to its regulatory agenda. The agency aims to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking by April 2024, but items can stay on the agenda for years.

The possible rule would apply to both salon-grade and at-home products, FDA spokesperson Courtney Rhodes said.

Jasmine Garcia, who owns Jasmine Nicole Xclusives Hair Salon in Atlanta, estimated that less than 5% of her clients — who are Black women — want relaxers. She told The Associated Press that a client texted her after learning about the potential ban, saying: “Of all the things the FDA needs to look into, why relaxers right now?”

Earlier this year, U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio asked the FDA to investigate chemical hair straighteners, pointing to a study published in 2022 from the National Institutes of Health that linked straighteners to an increased risk of uterine cancer. Pressley said in an Oct. 6 statement that the FDA's possible action is “a win for public health — especially the health of Black women."

“Regardless of how we wear our hair, we should be allowed to show up in the world without putting our health at risk," she said.

The FDA posted a video Wednesday on social media, reminding people that no action has been taken yet and that the agency plans to work with and encourage the cosmetics industry to develop alternative straightening products.

In a study from Boston University published this month in the journal Environmental Research, researchers followed nearly 45,000 Black women for up to 22 years, the majority of them moderate or heavy users of relaxers. Among postmenopausal women, those who used relaxers most often had a greater than 50% increased risk of uterine cancer compared to those who never or seldom used them.

Black people have the highest rates of death from cancer, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risks for Black women could shift with better regulation of chemical hair straighteners, said Dr. Kimberly Bertrand, an author of the Boston University study.

She added that FDA action would be a step in the right direction, but that it shouldn't focus solely on formaldehyde.

“I think consideration of endocrine disrupters like phthalates and parabens would be important, and heavy metals, too," she said. "Getting rid of formaldehyde in these products certainly is a good thing, but ... I don’t know that it renders those products completely safe.”

Dr. Yolanda Lenzy, a dermatologist and licensed cosmetologist who co-authored the Boston University study, also said there's still some pressure for Black women to have straight hair, especially in conservative job fields like law.

Twenty-four states have some type of law banning discrimination over hairstyles, but Black people have still run into issues, like in Texas, where a high school student was suspended because of his locs.

“I just know so many Black women who’ve made the choices about how they show up in the world based on codes at work, on rules at work, that ... their hair has to be presentable," Lenzy said. “What does that really mean?”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

What Black women should know about hair relaxers and their health

Claretta Bellamy
Updated Thu, October 19, 2023 

Simone Noronha for NBC News


The damage chemical hair relaxers can have on Black women is coming under intense scrutiny.

Several landmark studies have been published in the last year highlighting the link between chemical hair relaxers — which break down proteins in hair to straighten it — and increased rates of uterine cancer. And last week, after pressure from Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Shontel Brown of Ohio, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on hair-smoothing and hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde, an ingredient known to cause cancer.

As more research continues to reveal potential dangers, hundreds of Black people have filed lawsuits against big-name beauty and cosmetic retailers like L’Oreal and Revlon, blaming their chemical hair straighteners as causes of uterine cancer, fibroid tumors and infertility.

The latest research on the effects of hair relaxers was published Oct. 10 by Boston University. According to the Black Women’s Health Study, or BWHS, postmenopausal Black women who have used chemical hair relaxers more than twice a year or for more than five years have an increased risk of developing uterine cancer.

In following 44,798 Black women for up to 22 years, researchers found a higher rate of uterine cancer among postmenopausal Black women who reported having used chemical hair relaxers for at least 10 years, regardless of frequency.

Better grasping Black health and the factors that contribute to racial disparities in cancer was the intent behind the 22-year study.

“The idea here is that a renewed emphasis or attention to the potential dangers of these products, I hope, will spur policies, and that will sort of help reduce exposure in this population or even help us identify potentially safer alternatives to straighten hair,” said the lead author of the study, Kimberly Bertrand, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Revealing the potential risks of hair relaxers, she said, can help spread awareness and encourage making safer choices.

To Rep. Pressley, oversight into these ingredients touches upon generational issue that Black women have long grappled with.

“For generations, systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment have forced Black women to navigate the extreme politicization of hair,” she said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday. “We’ve seen this play out in schools and in the workplace, where Black folks have been criminalized, punished, or overlooked in personnel decisions just for how our hair grows out of our head. As a result, Black women have turned to straightened or relaxed hair as an attempt to advance socially and economically. But regardless of how we wear our hair, we should be able to show up in the world without putting our health at risk, and manufacturers should be prevented from making a profit at the expense of our health."

NBC News spoke to Bertrand and other researchers to answer some questions Black people may have about chemical hair straighteners and the potential risks to their health
What has the research said about chemical hair relaxers and women’s health so far?

Several studies have found that chemical hair straighteners have harmful effects on the body. Last year, the National Institutes of Health published a major study linking chemical hair straighteners to a higher risk of uterine cancer. The study analyzed data from 33,497 U.S. women ages 35 to 74 who were followed for nearly 11 years. During that period, 378 cases of uterine cancer were diagnosed.

According to this month’s BWHS, women who reported using hair relaxers more than twice a year or who used them for more than five years had a greater than 50% risk of developing uterine cancer compared to those who rarely or never used relaxers, additional data from the study shows.

In 2021, the BWHS found that Black women who used hair products containing lye, an ingredient typically found in salon relaxers, at least seven times a year for more than 15 years had a 30% increased risk of developing breast cancer. Among the 50,543 women who participated in the 25-year study, 2,311 participants had developed breast cancer, including 1,843 who developed invasive breast cancers, meaning the cancers spread into surrounding breast tissue. While Black women have a 4% lower incidence rate of breast cancer than white women, Black women have a 40% higher breast cancer death rate, according to the American Cancer Society.

Other studies have shown that hair relaxers can cause fibroids and an early onset of puberty in girls, Bertrand said. Early puberty can increase the risk for metabolic syndromes such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Why are hair relaxers so harmful?

Chemical hair relaxers contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can disrupt the functions of the endocrine system (which includes the thyroid, ovaries, pancreas and adrenal glands) and affect hormone levels. These chemicals include phthalates and parabens, which can be found in relaxers. People can be exposed to them by absorption through the skin or inhaling them in the air.

Black women are often exposed to endocrine disruptors by using relaxers, which are applied on the scalp, said Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale University School of Public Health.

“If you have ever gotten a relaxer, you know it usually sits on for a little bit, and most people sort of alert their hair stylist that it needs to be washed out once it starts tingling or burning — and at that point, you are running the risk of burns,” said Abrams, one of the authors of a study this year linking chemical hair straighteners to issues with fertility.

“And if you’re running the risk of burns or any sort of injury with that type of chemical," she added, "then you’re definitely increasing your risk for absorption. If you do that over time for many, many years, then it can, of course, become continuously problematic.”

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can also be found in some beauty products like lotions, body washes and perfumes, she added.
Are all chemical hair relaxers dangerous, or are there safer alternatives?

Parabens, phthalates and other chemicals that are often found in chemical hair straighteners pose a greater risk than other products because of scalp exposure, Bertrand said. Even other chemical hair straighteners marketed as safer to use, including no-lye relaxers, still pose potential risks.

“In our study, women who reported using non-lye relaxers were pretty much just as likely to report scalp burns as those who use lye relaxer,” she said.

Hair-straightening products are “very poorly regulated” by the federal government, Bertrand said, and many mask harmful chemicals under names such as “fragrance and preservatives, so women don’t really know what they’re being exposed to.”

U.S. law does not require the Food and Drug Administration to approve cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, before they go on the market, according to the FDA website. However, the FDA announced last week that it would propose a ban on hair-straightening and hair-smoothing products containing formaldehyde. The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stricter regulations of ingredients in cosmetic products and using alternative methods like heat straightening may help reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, Bertrand said.

In a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, Pressley applauded the FDA, saying the public health of Black women “is at stake.”
Am I still at risk if I stopped using chemical hair straighteners years ago?

Researchers are not entirely sure.

“We can’t definitively say that occasional use is entirely safe,” said Abrams, an author of the 2023 study about hair relaxers and infertility. “Our data essentially suggests that less frequent use is associated with lower risks when compared to regular prolonged use.”

In Abrams’ study — which included women of different races ages 21 to 45 — Black women accounted for the greatest population of people who had started using relaxers at age 10 or younger. More than 50% of the Black participants in the study also had used hair relaxers before they reached age 10.

Bertrand’s study found that postmenopausal Black women had a greater risk of developing uterine cancer if they used hair relaxers more than twice a year or consistently for more than five years.

Other factors put Black women at risk for developing uterine cancer, including age, obesity and family and reproductive history, Bertrand added.
What can I do if I suspect my health has been put at risk by using chemical hair straighteners?

There are no proven screening mechanisms to detect uterine cancer in the general population, as there are with other diseases like breast cancer, Bertrand said.

Women should visit their doctors if they have any symptoms of pain in the pelvic area or abnormal vaginal bleeding. Those with family histories of uterine cancer can also speak to their doctors about genetic testing to identify potential higher risks for certain cancers.

In terms of monitoring reproductive health, Abrams said, women can monitor their hormone levels — either by visiting endocrinologists or mailing in their biospecimens to labs — and speak with gynecologists about their concerns and ask about taking fertility assessments. In working on an upcoming study on Black women and infertility, she said, many of her participants have described challenges in getting treatment or being heard by their health providers.

“One of our participants said, ‘I felt like the goal among providers has always been to figure out how to keep Black women from getting pregnant, not to help them figure out how to get pregnant,’” Abrams said. “So she felt like, when she expressed these concerns about her fertility to her provider, she wasn’t taken seriously.”

Many Black women have consulted with attorneys to sue Revlon, Just for Me and other cosmetics companies, alleging their hair straighteners cause cancer, fibroids and other health problems. Strength of Nature, LLC, which owns Just for Me, declined to comment.

Larry Taylor Jr., an attorney at The Cochran Firm in Dallas, said thousands of women from their 20s to their 50s have filed suits alleging they developed ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancers from using hair relaxers.

Revlon declined to comment. Robert Britton, an attorney for the company, said earlier this year that Revlon “disputes any link between cancer and its hair relaxer products.”

Thousands of Black women have also claimed that hair relaxers from L’Oreal were harmful to their health, including a group of Black women who sued L’Oreal and other companies last year. One woman, Bernadette Gordon, who used hair relaxers from 1983 to 2015, experienced uterine and breast cancer resulting in a double mastectomy and a hysterectomy, she previously told NBC News.

In July, L’Oreal asked a federal court to dismiss the dozens of consolidated lawsuits against the company, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims were “vague” and based on “unsupported conclusions.” The company did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

Many Black women straighten their hair to keep their jobs or advance to higher positions, which puts them at risk, Taylor said.

“This is not a hoax,” he said. “This is something that is actually harmful and could potentially cost them their lives.”

Still, there are many unknowns researchers are trying to uncover, including whether the products on the shelves today are going to lead to cases of uterine cancer in the future, Bertrand said. It is also not entirely clear why Black women are at an increased risk of developing and dying from uterine cancer.

“We continue to explore those factors — everything from environment to racism to genetics,” she said.

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com


The FDA Has Proposed a Ban on Hair-Straightening Products Containing Formaldehyde

Kara Nesvig

Originally Appeared on Allure
Wed, October 18, 2023 



Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just proposed a ban on hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde after years of discussion about the safety of the chemical.

The proposal would essentially ban the use of formaldehyde (FA) and other chemicals that release formaldehyde, such as methylene glycol, in hair-smoothing and straightening products such as relaxers and keratin treatments. According to the FDA's proposal, “Use of hair-smoothing products containing FA and FA-releasing chemicals is linked to short-term adverse health effects, such as sensitization reactions and breathing problems, and long-term adverse health effects, including an increased risk of certain cancers.”

Relaxers and smoothing or straightening products are primarily used by Black women, putting them at higher risk for potential health issues. In October 2022, a study by the National Institutes of Health found that “women who used chemical hair-straightening products were at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products.”

For many experts, these findings do not come as a huge surprise. "Hair products, such as dye and chemical straighteners, contain a number of different chemicals that may act as carcinogens or endocrine disruptors [molecules that mimic or mess with hormonal function], and thus may be important for cancer risk," Dr. Alexandra White, an epidemiologist at the US National Institute of Environmental Health Safety, told Allure in 2022. "Straighteners, in particular, have been found to include chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, cyclosiloxanes [a type of silicone, used as a solvent, which have also been classified as endocrine disruptors], and metals [like nickel and cobalt, which can at certain levels and in some compounds likely become carcinogenic] and may release formaldehyde when heated."

Formaldehyde has long been a hot topic in the beauty world. When Brazilian Blowout smoothing treatments became popular in the late 2000s, they were flagged for their use of formaldehyde and the state of California required hazard warnings be printed on packaging. According to a New York Times report from 2020, the FDA wanted to ban the Brazilian Blowout and its fellow smoothing treatments due to the presence of formaldehyde or methylene glycol, considering them “unsafe,” and began working on a proposed ban in 2016, though nothing came of it at the time.

The FDA does not require cosmetics outside of those that include color additives to be approved before they hit the market. The majority of nail polish brands have removed formaldehyde from their formulas, and many straightening treatments claim to be “formaldehyde-free,” but the FDA's proposed ban would ensure that this potentially harmful ingredient is removed once and for all.

More beauty news and ingredient info:

The EU's Ban on Glitter Has Officially Gone Into Effect


California Banned 26 More Beauty Ingredients Under the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act


How Worried Should You Be About Your Beauty Products After Watching Not So Pretty?



FDA proposes ban on hair-straightening, smoothing products over cancer-causing chemicals
Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY
Thu, October 19, 2023 

A proposed ruling filed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could mean bans on some chemical hair-smoothing and straightening products that have been linked to cancer.

The FDA has proposed a rule banning formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from being used in hair-smoothing and straightening products sold in the U.S.

The use of such chemicals has been linked to long-term health concerns, including an increased risk of cancer, according to the FDA. They can also cause short-term health risks, including sensitization reactions and breathing problems, the agency says.

Before an FDA proposal can become an official rule, the agency takes comments from the public and then may "decide to end the rulemaking process, to issue a new proposed rule, or to issue a final rule," the agency's site says.

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How have hair-smoothing and straightening products been linked to cancer?

A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Cancer linked hair dye and chemical straightener use to a risk of breast cancer in women in the U.S.

The link was further solidified in 2022, when the National Institutes of Healthpublished a study that found women who used hair-straightening chemicals were associated with a higher uterine cancer risk, and that Black women may be more affected because of higher use.

There has also been congressional pressure to look into the link between chemical straighteners and cancer. In March 2023, Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf asking the agency to investigate the matter.

"We urge the FDA to investigate the potential health threat posed by chemical hair straightening products," the letter reads. "Consumers need to be reassured that the cosmetic products they use do not threaten their health. It is critical that the agency act quickly to address these legitimate concerns."

In a news release after the FDA's proposed new rule, Pressley called it "a win for public health − especially the health of Black women who are disproportionately put at risk by these products as a result of systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment.”

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: FDA proposes ban on hair- straightening products linked to cancer




The FDA Is Proposing a Formaldehyde Ban for Chemical Hair Straighteners

Sophia Vilensky
Thu, October 19, 2023 

Women getting keratin treatment.


As research on the harmful effects of formaldehyde abounds, the FDA is taking serious strides to ban products like hair relaxers and keratin treatments that contain or release the chemical. “[Formaldehyde is] carcinogenic,” shares cosmetic chemist Ginger King, noting that—because straightening treatments most often take place in salons—it can be hard to catch products that contain the ingredient. Cosmetic chemist Alexandra Arriaga warns to also look out for formalin or methylene glycol on your at-home label, as they are other, less suspecting, names for formaldehyde.

The proposed ban, targeted for April 2024, would change the landscape of chemical hair straightening and smoothing by making many go-to products and services unavailable, in the at-home and professional categories. However, according to Benjamin Knight Fuchs R. Ph. Beauty Chemist and creator of Truth Treatment Systems, the ban won't eliminate straightening technology. "There are non-formaldehyde-containing product options, and hair care professionals and consumers can still correct curls without having to interface with potentially dangerous chemicals," he exclusively tells us. "Some of these alternatives utilize Argan Oil, plant extracts, and tannin oil, while others use glyoxylic acid (or its derivatives) to straighten hair, or a procedure called “Japanese Straightening” (aka thermal reconditioning) uses an amino-acid-based solution to achieve the same effect."

Doubts about the safety of formaldehyde in chemical straighteners made headlines in December 2022, after one study showed that women who regularly use formaldehyde-containing products more than double their risk of endometrial cancer, aka cancer of the uterus. It’s important to note that straightening and softening treatments are most commonly marketed to and utilized by Black women. Although uterine cancer rates have been climbing across the board in recent years, they’ve increased most for women of color: Asian and Hispanic women included.

That in mind, uterine cancer is very rare. “The overall risk of uterine cancer is quite low so it's important to remember that," Crystal Aguh, MD, hair expert and associate professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine previously said in a tweet. "For now, if you want to change your routine, there's no downside to decreasing your frequency of hair straightening to every 12 weeks or more, as that may lessen your risk.”

Meanwhile, other research has shown a connection between hair straighteners and breast and ovarian cancer. As the CDC explains, "exposure to formaldehyde can irritate the skin, throat, lungs, and eyes" while "repeated exposure to formaldehyde can possibly lead to cancer."

The potential ban is a long time coming. In 2016, the FDA began drafting rules for the update, but eventually paused the initiative. “The FDA has known for decades now that these products are dangerous,’’ Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at advocacy organization Environmental Working Group, told The New York Times earlier this week. “There is no reason for them not to have acted sooner.”


FDA looks to ban hair straighteners with formaldehyde. Here's what to know.

Sara Moniuszko
Updated Thu, October 19, 2023 

Willie B. Thomas / Getty Images


The Food and Drug Administration is looking to ban chemical hair smoothing and straightening products that contain formaldehyde due to potential health impacts.

"Use of hair smoothing products containing (formaldehyde) and (formaldehyde)-releasing chemicals is linked to short-term adverse health effects, such as sensitization reactions and breathing problems, and long-term adverse health effects, including an increased risk of certain cancers," the FDA notes.

In a video posted Wednesday on social media, the FDA's top cosmetics official Namandjé Bumpus makes clear the action has not yet happened.

"When we do propose this rule, it will be specifically focused on removing potentially cancer-causing fromaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from these products, so we can protect the health of all us consumers using them," she says. "If finalized, this proposed rule will help to address this disparity by really setting a standard for safety in promoting safer alternatives."

Earlier this month, Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Shontel Brown applauded the FDA's step toward regulating these products, which are marketed to and commonly used by Black consumers, after they previously called for the proposal to ban them.

"The FDA's proposal to ban these harmful chemicals in hair straighteners and relaxers is a win for public health — especially the health of Black women who are disproportionately put at risk by these products as a result of systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment," Pressley said in a statement. "Regardless of how we wear our hair, we should be allowed to show up in the world without putting our health at risk."

What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde is a "colorless, flammable gas that has a distinct, pungent smell," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Small amounts of formaldehyde are naturally produced by plants, animals, and humans," the CDC adds, which means everyone is exposed to small amounts of it in the air. But people may also come in contact with it in foods and other products like cosmetics where it is often used as a preservative.

Exposure can cause eye, nose and throat irritation as well as neurological effects.

How can chemical hair straighteners with formaldehyde affect your health?

Research has shown regular use of chemical hair straighteners or relaxers containing certain ingredients can lead to health problems.

Earlier this month, for example, researchers at Boston University found those who used these products frequently or over the long term were significantly more likely to develop uterine cancer compared to those who never or only rarely used them.

"In addition, there are major racial disparities in uterine cancer. Compared to non-Hispanic white women, Black women have higher rates of aggressive subtypes of uterine cancer and are nearly twice as likely to die from their disease," author Kimberly Bertrand, associate professor of medicine at Boston University, said in a news release at the time.

Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women in the United States, Dr. Elizabeth Nichols, a radiation oncologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, told CBS News Baltimore earlier this year.

"When we actually look at the rates of uterine cancer in Black women compared to White women, Black patients are often diagnosed at a later stage of uterine cancer compared to White patients," she said. "And when we look at patients and compare them stage by stage, what we find is Black patients have decreased survival rates or lower cure rates compared to their White counterparts."

And though it's taken until this year for the FDA to propose a ban on products containing formaldehyde specifically, the cancer link with this substance has been long known.

In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services determined formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen based on sufficient human and animal inhalation studies.

When will the ban become official?

Before a ban is put into place, the FDA receives and reviews public comments on the proposed ruling.

"Based on the comments, we might decide to end the rulemaking process, to issue a new proposed rule, or to issue a final rule," the agency states.

For the plans around formaldehyde, the next update is scheduled for April, but this could change or be delayed, so exact timing is unknown.

How and when products will be updated to exclude any prohibited ingredients or taken off shelves if companies don't comply is also unknown, but timelines may become clearer in the FDA's official proposal.