Natural hair: What you should know before using hair-straightening products

Hair straightening has been fashionable since the 1890s. But it became mainstream in the 1950s famous among men and women across all races.

Recently, there has been more celebration of natural hair among black people and individuals that do not have naturally straight hair. Despite this progression, today, scientists have found that out of 33,947 racially diverse women ages 35 to 74, 378 developed uterine cancer in the past decade.

According to study lead, Alexandra White of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Safety (NIEHS), even women who have never used hair-relaxing products are at risk of developing uterine cancer. But the chances are sky high for those who use them four or more times a year.

“We estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70, but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%,” she said in a statement.

Despite being a rare occurence, uterine cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer and claims 66,000 lives per year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with most victims being Black women.

“However, it is important to put this information into context. Uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer,” White added.

Previous studies have shown that chemical hair-relaxers contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Scientists believe that these chemicals enter the blood stream via the scalp and travel to the uterus where they do the most damage.

“These findings are the first epidemiologic evidence of association between use of straightening products and uterine cancer. More research is warranted to identify specific chemicals driving this observed association," White and colleague wrote.

The findings have been said to be more relevant to Black people because they initiate use at earlier ages and use more frequently than other ethnicities and races, according to Che-Jung Chang from NIEHS.