Article Review 1

Permanent hair dye not only has the potential to harm those tinting their hair, but also the salon professionals who work with the harmful substances daily. Professional hair colorists seem to actually face more health risks than those with the color sitting on their scalps in the salon. With many of the ingredients in hair dye known to be carcinogens, and some suspected carcinogens, researchers have been looking into the subject for quite some time.

The FDA has not approved all ingredients in hair dye. When the FDA first began regulating ingredients in these products in the 1930s, the ones already in use were not tested; many of these ingredients are still in use today, and the scientific community has little to no evidence as to what effect these chemicals may have on the body. 1980 is another turning point in the evolution of hair dye formula. Many studies now incorporate [started using hair dye before 1980, after 1980] as a separate variable because of both how much formula has changed over the years and also how long-term use effects health.

On top of cancer risks, hair color poses other risks to chronic users. Allergic skin reactions, hair loss, and eye irritation are among the most commonly cited problems. In extreme cases, blindness may occur from either contact to the eye or simply from the fumes.

This said, it is unclear what exactly can come of long-term hair color use. Most companies offer lengthy warning and precautions to avoid excessive and unnecessary exposure to harsh chemicals. International Research Agency for Cancer has concluded that a profession dealing with permanent hair color is “probably carcinogenic for humans,” but at-home hair color cannot be classified due to the lack of substantiated research. Studies that have been conducted on the subject have varied greatly: namely in the regard to where the studies were conducted: in a lab (interventional) as opposed to observational studies done in people. The interventional studies mainly focused on animals and how their bodies reacted to large amounts of the chemicals commonly found in hair dyes. Unfortunately, these results don’t always directly translate to human reaction to the same chemicals. Observational studies seem to be more effective in this case. The first distinction made is [People who use hair dye regularly, People exposed to hair dye at work]. Professional exposure to chemicals in hair dye has been correlated to a slight, yet statistically significant, increase in instances of bladder cancer. This increase does not translate to people only exposed to hair dye through personal home use. As mentioned before, the use of the variable [started before 1980, after 1980], comes into play with the instances of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as woman who began before 1980 typically have an increased risk. [Darker colors, lighter colors] variable has a similar effect to that of the year 1980.  Darker hair colors tend to have more harsh chemicals and are believed to have a greater negative effect on health. Those who come in frequent contact with hair dye do not have a significantly increased risk of either breast cancer or blood cancers. Not much can be said about other cancers as not enough research has been done on the subject.

Lack of concrete evidence halts this article from fulfilling the question as to whether or not personal use of hair dye will cause serious health risks; however, the evidence the article does offer, shows that it clearly cannot be beneficial to my health. After reading all the evidence the article could provide, I do not feel a strong need to stop dying my hair regularly; however I would be weary going into a professional hair care field. One aspect I wish was addressed further in this article was the links from hair color to breast cancer. I’ve read studies that have concluded that a father with prostate cancer can foreshadow a daughter developing breast cancer later in life. My father has prostate cancer, and although it is under control, I would like to take as many precautions as possible in avoiding breast cancer. If coloring my hair could lead to me developing breast cancer I would like to stop now.

http://m.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/hair-dyes