by Jason Henderson
Whether we’re natural, wear weaves, or relax/perm our hair, I think we can all agree that finding the right hair product is important. But what if those hair products are causing us more harm than good?
That’s exactly what happened to Christal Love, who like many Black women was pretty adventurous with her hair.
“Natural was a stigma back in the day,” Love says. “I used to perm my hair. I used to color my hair all of the typical things that women do.”
Her love for being adventurous with her hair continued until 2016 when she found a lump on her breast.
“She said no it’s stage three — maybe stage four,” Love recalls.
After undergoing chemotherapy, she was able to successfully beat breast cancer, but staring at her bald head forced her to take a hard look at the hair products she was using.
“We’ve heard about them being linked to issues and cancer being harmful to us,” she says. “But after cancer that’s when I’m like ‘Ok I got to pay attention to what I put into my body and put on my body.”
Parabens are one ingredient that can be found in many popular Black hair products. To get to the root of what effect parabens have on Black breast cancer patients, the Bench to Community Initiative conducted research.
What did they find?
“We saw increased cell growth in the Black breast cancer cell line with the paraben treatment but did not see the effects in the white breast cancer cell lines at the dose that was tested,” says Dr. Lindsey Treviño, the study’s lead researcher.
This proved to Love that her hunch was right so she decided to ditch the chemical brands and make sure they stay out of her daughter’s hair as well.
Why are Black women more affected?
“This is because Black women have not been picked to take part in most research studies looking at this link. Also, studies to test this link have only used breast cancer cell lines from white women,” Treviño says.
“Black women are more likely to buy and use hair products with these types of chemicals, but we do not have a lot of data about how parabens may increase breast cancer risk in Black women,” Treviño adds.
Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study which tracked 59,000 women who enrolled in the study in 1995, did not find a link between moderate use of hair relaxers and a higher risk of breast cancer but did find evidence that “heavy use of lye-containing hair relaxers” may be associated with a more aggressive form of breast cancer.
Parabens are a group of chemicals that keep mold and bacteria from growing on beauty products, which prolongs their shelf lives. While parabens may be good for prolonging the shelf life of products, in humans, parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which can lead to dangerous cell growth.
That is precisely why Love has decided to go the natural route.
“I’d rather be natural and not have to worry about another what if again,” she adds.
In fact, with the help of her new natural products, Love says her puff is here to stay.
“It took me a long time to get there but I say own it,” she adds. “Rock it.”
What hair products should you avoid?
Wondering if you have any harmful hair products on your shelf? Here’s an easy way to tell. You should avoid products that contain these three ingredients: parabens, phthalates and fragrances, according to Treviño.
For more information on which products contain harmful ingredients, click here.
