Straightening naturally curly or wavy hair is a trend whose demise is long overdue. It’s time consuming, damaging to hair, and could be damaging to your health.
Using a flat iron to attain straight strands damages the cuticle and follicles and dries out scalp and hair. Regularly straightening hair with a flat iron strips hair of its natural moisture and causes brittleness and breakage.
Head to a salon for chemical straightening, and you’ve got another problem on your hands.
According to a February 2024 article, Chemical straighteners are likely to contain formaldehyde, classified as a human carcinogen. Formaldehyde acts as a glue to hold the hair straight for months. Stylists usually seal the product into the hair with a flat iron. The applied heat converts liquid formaldehyde into a gas that creates fumes that can cause illness among salon workers and patrons.
The article also refers to a 2022 study, the first linking hair relaxers to uterine cancer. The study found that frequent use of chemical straighteners more than doubled a woman’s risk. Frequent use was also linked with a 31% higher risk of breast cancer.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to unveil a proposal to consider banning the use of formaldehyde in hair-straightening products, but it may be too little, too late, as other dangerous toxins are still allowed (phthalates, parabens, and other endocrine disruptors). These additional toxins may contribute to the elevated risk of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers, as well as early puberty, fibroids, diabetes, and gestational high blood pressure, that have recently been associated with chemical hair straighteners.
California and Maryland will ban formaldehyde from all personal care products starting in 2025. Some manufacturers have already started to cut back on use of it in their hair care products, which is convenient for the FDA, as the agency tends to wait for the industry to voluntarily remove hazardous ingredients.
So what’s a curly-haired person to do? Ditch the straighteners and embrace your natural curl!
Curly and textured hair is in! It’s celebrated as a statement of beauty diversity and requires much less maintenance. Choose non toxic curl enhancing products to eliminate exposure to the dangerous toxins in at-home and in-salon straightening products.
Pure Haven’s non toxic curl enhancing hair care collection is made with mongongo and babassu oils to naturally moisturize, nurture, define, and accentuate curls and help tame frizz. Acai promotes healthy hair growth and protects against environmental stressors.
Ask your Pure Haven Consultant about our curl enhancing hair care collection and begin your life-changing non tox curl routine today.
Resource:
Cohen, R. (9 Feb 2024). FDA’s plan to ban hair relaxer chemical called too little, too late – TheGrio