CALL THE GLAMBULANCE: Relaxers Linked To Uterine Fibroid Tumors and Early Puberty
Glamazons, after news hit that a woman died from an allergic reaction to hair extensions and that some of our favorite lipsticks may contain lead, the need to be health-conscious when getting your beauty fix is more serious than ever. A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology shares an equally alarming update. Researchers at Boston University are now linking hair relaxers to uterine fibroid tumors and early puberty. I can’t be the only one that’s shocked!
Scientists from Lauren Wise of Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found the fibroid rate higher among women whose hair was exposed to chemicals. Scary!
A different study published in the Annals of Epidemiology discovered that early menstruation (periods before the age of 10) may result from using hair products that contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals at an early age. Women who start their menstrual cycle earlier are also more likely to have uterine fibroids later in life.
For now, scientists are only associating relaxers and fibroids and early puberty; they cannot confirm an exact cause and effect relationship. Association is enough, though, for long-term relaxer users to give the process some thought. At the least, I think there is an immediate need for the ingredients in relaxers to be regulated strictly by the FDA as no one’s health should be put at risk for a hairstyle.
What do you think about the study’s findings, Glamazons? Are you concerned?
-Glamazon Krystal
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With the exception of two years in my twenties (I lived in DC and felt I could embrace my natural beauty), I wore my hair relaxed continuously from the age of around 9 years through 43. I stopped relaxing my hair last March because I wanted to get away from chemicals. I went natural briefly (about 2 years in my 20s). I wish I had continued on my natural journey in my twenties. Had I done so I may not have the health issues I am now dealing with. I am now 44 and dealing with all sorts scary issues due to uterine fibroids. I've also had four fibroadenoma's removed from both breasts starting from age 19 — BU needs to study whether there's a link there too. As a black woman who is now learning how to embrace my own natural beauty versus the standards imposed by society, I see that a big part of the problem is how WE as black people self-impose these so-called standards. The biggest proponents of my going natural (both times) have been my own family. The unkind remarks, head shaking, references to 'nappy' are not only ignorant but also a reflection of our own psychosis when it comes to our natural beauty. If we can't see the beauty in our own selves as God created us, then how can we expect others to see it. I can honestly say that having chemically straightened hair was the worse health decision I ever made and I am now paying the price for it in my 40s. Had my mother known the risks involved I'm sure she never would have relaxed my hair at age 9. Had I known the risks I certainly would not have ever chosen to relax my own hair as an adult. I am happy to see more black women choosing to go natural and to never relax their little girls' hair. For me, the cost of trying to fit into the European standard of beauty came at a price too high – my health.