Study says hair treatments increase risk of uterine cancer

Study says hair treatments increase risk of uterine cancer


For centuries, women have endured all manner of painful and dangerous trends in the name of beauty: lung-restricting corsets, bound feet, even lead face powder.

Should chemical hair-straightening products go the way of those once-trendy treatments? A new study has found that women who used chemical hair-straightening products had more risk for uterine cancer than women who didn’t use them.

The findings have bigger health implications for Black women than others because they use hair-straightening products, called relaxers, more frequently than other groups.

While uterine cancer is relatively rare, it is the most common female reproductive system cancer. And the rate of uterine cancer is up in the United States, especially among Black women.

The National Institutes of Health study reviewed data from more than 33,000 women from age 35 to 74 who participated in the Sister Study, aimed at identifying risk factors for breast cancer and other health issues.

The study lasted almost 11 years, and during that time, 378 cases of uterine cancer were diagnosed among its participants.

The researchers found that women who reported using hair-straightening products more than four times a year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who reported less or no use.

The scientists found no increased risk for uterine cancer from other hair products women used, including bleach, highlights, perms or dyes.

With sales of hair relaxers to salons and professional stylists on the decline for the last decade, the link between relaxers and higher urterine cancer risk may prompt women to embrace their natural hair.

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