Hair Relaxers increases rate of Fibroids In Black Women

Hair Relaxers increases rate of Fibroids In Black Women
 

That the rate of Fibroid is on the increase is not surprising, but the shocker is that hair relaxer increases the rate of fibroid in black women. According to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the potentially harmful chemical exposure from hair relaxers is linked to the incidence of uterine fibroids in women and early puberty in young girls in the black population.

Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomata, is a benign tumor that grows on the walls of the uterus of an affected woman. It is most common in women of African descent and in women who have not given birth between the ages of 30 and 45 years old.

The journal reveals that increased rate of women below the age 30 having fibroids is could be linked to chemical substances in hair relaxer. The study, which was led by Dr. Lauren Wise of Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center, tracked the lives of more than 23,000 pre-menopausal black  women from 1997 to 2009. The study points out that a significant majority of black women who were diagnosed with uterine fibroids also admitted to using chemical relaxer treatments on their hair at some point.

The report points out that laboratory analysis of the ingredients of chemical hair relaxers showed that the active ingredient in “lye” relaxers is sodium hydroxide, which is potentially harmful to body tissues and can cause dermatitis, lesions, hair loss, chemical burns, and skin irritation. In addition, hair relaxers are known to contain hormonally active compounds, such as parabens and phthalates.

The study also suggested that some of the chemicals in hair relaxers, including phthalates which can be absorbed by the skin through lesions or “relaxer burns,” have been shown to have harmful estrogenic effects on the cells of experimental animals.

The researchers also found that women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids. In a sample that included African, Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women, the average age of a woman’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but in black women, who were more likely to use chemical hair relaxers, the onset of menstruation came at a much earlier age.