EASY WAY #3
Know About Safe Hair Products
Use Safe (low estrogen) Hair Products
- Women, whose mothers used strong estrogen (placenta-based) hair processing/conditioning body products when they were in utero, along with children and teens who use these products, appear to have higher risks of developing breast cancer in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
- The majority of younger women who develop invasive breast cancer have estrogen-negative types of breast cancer, considered to be more advanced and faster growing than estrogen-positive tumors. (called triple negative or HER2+)
- There is very little research data available on the links between toxic hair conditioners and any type of breast cancer. Existing reports and articles on this subject are found below. Please make your own common-sense decisions before rubbing any products into your hair, scalp and skin.
Are Your Hair Products Safe?
To see if your hair care products or other body care/cosmetics contain high amounts of animal or chemical estrogens and/or other toxic substances that can increase your breast cancer risk, visit the cosmetic safety database and enter in the name of any product to see how it's rated for cancer risk.
Hair Products for African American/Ethnic Women
- More than 80% of African- American women currently process or straighten and condition their hair with products that often contain animal placenta, which contains estradiol, a strong type of estrogen.
- African-American women and others, including Ashkenazi Jewish women who often also have ethnic or tight curly hair, have higher incidences of aggressive breast cancer than other ethnic groups. Studies show that some hair processing/conditioning products that contain animal placenta typically used by black and other women to condition processed hair, could be increasing their risk of developing triple negative breast cancer.
Safe Hair Products Resources
Articles
Summer 2009, Sistersong.net — The Health Repercussions of Chemical Hair Products for Black Women
Research
Personal care products that contain estrogens or xenoestrogens may increase breast cancer risk — Medical Hypotheses, Volume 68, Issue 4, Pages 756-766
Female reproductive disorders: the roles of endocrine-disrupting compounds and developmental timing — D. Andrew Crain, Ph.D.a , Sarah J. Janssen, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., et al Fertility & Sterility , Volume 90, Issue 4, Pages 911-940 (October 2008)
The Girl Disrupted Report
Download the Girl Disrupted Report (PDF)
Premature Sexual Development in Children Following the Use of Estrogen-or Placenta-Containing Hair Products, Chandra M. Tiwary, MBBS, MRCP, DCH, MA, MBA, MPH Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 37, No. 12, 733-739 (1998)
Movies and blogs that examine the culture of ethnic hair processing
"My Nappy ROOTS" — Award-winning documentary on Black hair.
Watch these trailers for "My Nappy ROOTS" on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFXZceQ2gAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eXmy341CMs&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fZaDf15O-8
The original essay for Nappy Roots
Nappturality: Natural Hair Care Forum
Pelo Negro: A Black Woman's transition from a perm to beautiful natural hair
Relax and Get Good Hair : commentary on Chris Rock’s commercial documentary film, Good Hair
"Good Hair" — Chris Rock's 2009 documentary
Black Feminist Review of Chris Rock's documentary "Good Hair"