Scientists
admit they are just beginning to understand how chemicals in products like hair
dyes can affect the human body. Many women today find themselves under societal
pressure to use hair dyes when their hair begins to go grey. While men can go
grey in their mid-50s and still be considered attractive, women with greying
hair don’t have that social approval. These men are often called silver foxes,
while women of the same age are alarmed at “skunk lines” affecting their
appearance. Most polls and studies show that 75% of women in the United States
and Canada regularly use hair dye. Many scientific studies show the chemicals in
hair dyes harm a woman’s body, while other studies show no harm at all. Since
we know so little, is it worth the risk?
Do hair dyes cause cancer?
“Several
national and international agencies study substances in the environment to
determine if they can cause cancer. The American Cancer Society looks to these
organizations to evaluate the risks based on evidence from laboratory, animal,
and human research studies. Some of these expert agencies have classified hair
dyes or their ingredients as to whether they can cause cancer.
“The
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health
Organization (WHO). Its major goal is to identify causes of cancer. IARC has
concluded that workplace exposure as a hairdresser or barber is ‘probably
carcinogenic to humans,’ based on the data regarding bladder cancer. (The
evidence for other types of cancer is considered mixed or inadequate.) But IARC
considers personal hair dye use to be ‘not classifiable as to its
carcinogenicity to humans,’ based on a lack of evidence from studies in people.
“The
National Toxicology Program (NTP) is formed from parts of several different US
government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The NTP has not classified exposure to hair dyes as to
its potential to cause cancer. However, it has classified some chemicals that
are or were used in hair dyes as ‘reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.’”
“Early
hair dye formulations contained chemicals, including aromatic amines that were
found to cause cancer in animals. In the mid- to late 1970s, however,
manufacturers changed the components in dye products to eliminate some of these
chemicals. It is not known whether some of the chemicals still used in hair
dyes can cause cancer. Given the widespread use of hair dye products, even a
small increase in risk may have a considerable public health impact….. Studies
of breast and bladder cancer have also produced conflicting results. Relatively
few studies have been published about the association of hair dye use with the
risk of other cancers.”
Permanent hair dye and straighteners
may increase breast cancer risk:
“Scientists
at the National Institutes of Health found that women who use permanent hair
dye and chemical hair straighteners have a higher risk of developing breast
cancer than women who don’t use these products. The study published online Dec.
4 in the International Journal of Cancer and suggests that breast cancer risk
increased with more frequent use of these chemical hair products.
“Using
data from 46,709 women in the Sister Study, researchers at the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, found that
women who regularly used permanent hair dye in the year prior to enrolling in
the study were 9% more likely than women who didn’t use hair dye to develop
breast cancer. Among African American women, using permanent dyes every five to
eight weeks or more was associated with a 60% increased risk of breast cancer
as compared with an 8% increased risk for white women. The research team found
little to no increase in breast cancer risk for semi-permanent or temporary dye
use.”
Health cosmetic side effects:
“Researchers
examined data on side effects reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) from 2004 to 2016 for products like makeup, sunscreen, tattoos, hair
color, perfume, shaving creams and baby care items. Overall, there were a total
of 5,144 adverse events, with an average of 396 a year, researchers report in
JAMA Internal Medicine.
“Side
effect reports climbed 78 percent to 706 in 2015, followed by a 300 percent
surge to 1,591 adverse events last year, largely driven by complaints about
hair care products and WEN products in particular, the study found...... The
three most commonly reported products were hair care, skin care and tattoos.
Products that most often involved reports of serious health problems were baby
items, which accounted for about half of these cases, followed by personal
cleanliness supplies, hair care and hair color.
“Hair
products, including shampoos, conditioners and styling aids, accounted for 35
percent of all adverse event reports, followed by skin care products, which
made up 22 percent of the complaints...... There is little direct protection,
but consumers should read labels, understand what they are buying and focus on
companies with established reputations for quality.”
Are you allergic to hair dye?
“Allergic
reactions to hair dye rarely appear the first time you color your hair.
Instead, they show up the second, third or fourth time around, says Dr. Zoe
Diana Draelos, a clinical and research dermatologist and consulting professor
of dermatology at Duke University. ‘You have to develop antibodies to the dye,’
she says. ‘And that doesn't happen until after the first exposure.’
“Hair-dye
allergies can happen to men or women at any age. ‘It used to be we saw it a lot
more in older women, because they were the ones who dyed their hair to cover
gray, as opposed to younger women who are now doing a lot more dyeing just for
style and fashion purposes,’ says Draelos, who practices at Dermatology
Consulting Services in High Point, North Carolina. ‘Your immune system is
better when you're younger, so it's possible younger individuals might get a
more dramatic reaction.’
Are hair dyes regulated?
“In
the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the safety
of cosmetics, including hair dyes, but there are limits on what the FDA can do.
The FDA does not approve each ingredient used in hair dyes before it goes on
the market, and in general the responsibility for the safety of products and
ingredients falls to the manufacturers.
“The
FDA can take action if any cosmetics are found to be harmful or in violation of
the law (such as being mislabeled). This includes any new ingredients to be
used in hair dyes ….. 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.”
Alarmist
groups are far from being honest in reporting their “scientific” findings.
Carcinogens are harmful only at elevated doses:
“Many times, activists will call for bans or hype risks about products that
contain trace amounts of chemicals that are ‘classified carcinogens.’
Government and scientific bodies around the world have developed such
classification systems to indicate that at some exposure level and under
some circumstance a chemical might increase cancer
risk. Such listings do not mean that the chemicals cause cancer to humans
exposed to trace amounts found in consumer products. In some cases, these
assessments list chemicals as ‘carcinogens’ because they are associated with
cancer among workers exposed to very high amounts over decades. These studies
are of limited relevance to workers today who employ safety measures, and even
less relevant to consumer exposures. A large number of chemicals end up on
cancer lists simply because they cause tumors in rodents exposed to massive
amounts, which also has little relevance to human exposures.”
"Organic" and
"Natural" Hair Color Doesn't Actually Exist:
“The
last few years have seen a bigger-than-ever push for natural and organic beauty
products. Many consumers are under the impression that components found in
‘organic’ or ‘natural’ hair products make them inherently safer. Unfortunately
it's not that simple, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. In
fact, not only is organic hair dye not necessarily safer than synthetic hair
dye, organic hair dye simply doesn't exist.
“‘Other
than henna, any commercially available hair dye — store-bought for home use or
found in salons — uses chemical actives for them to work,’ says Birnur Aral,
Ph.D., Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Health, Beauty and
Environmental Sciences Lab. ‘By and large, these chemicals are synthesized
substances.’
“‘Even
when the packaging claims to be all-natural, organic or chemical-free — which
is literally impossible because everything, including organic things, are made
of chemicals — that could basically be an outright lie. This is because the FDA
can't do anything about the use of these terms regarding cosmetics. The FDA
regulates cosmetics via the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Fair
Packaging and Labeling Act, neither of which define the term
"organic.’"
Designing the next generation of hair
dyes:
“North Carolina State University researchers have created the largest
publicly available chemical database of hair dye substances as a resource for
developing a new generation of hair color products that are safer for
consumers, stylists and the environment.
“The online Hair Dye Substance Database contains detailed information
about the structure and properties of 313 substances in current and past
commercial hair dyes. Using computer-based classification -- what's known as
cheminformatics -- researchers grouped the dyes into clusters with similar
structures and properties. The results revealed some surprises and promising new
avenues for research.”
Further Reading
True
Roots: One woman quits coloring her
gray hair and investigates the human and environmental costs of this
contentious female beauty standard https://longreads.com/2019/06/04/true-roots/
The
Dose Makes The Poison: 19 Examples
Alarmists Want Hushed http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2017/03/the-dose-makes-poison-19-examples.html
Poison
Dose? Mercury, Breast Milk & Infant Formula http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2017/07/poison-dose-mercury-breast-milk-infant.html
Photo: https://www.considerable.com/fashion/hairstyles/celebrities-with-gray-hair/
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
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