If it’s about your personal grooming routine Is there anything more rewarding than having hair that is thick and shining hair? Do you separate your day into good and bad days? Do bad hair days cause you to feel depressed and unmotivated while a great one can propel you to the top of the mountain. You’re not alone! You’re not the only one!
Based on Hoovers(r) Hoovers(r) there’s around 65,000 salons that provide hair care services within the United States with combined annual revenues of around $19 billion! A small percentage of these sales is for haircuts, however the majority of these dollars are invested in… colors for hair.
If you’re pregnant, expecting or you hold an appointment at any of the salons listed above, you should be sure to read the following. More than 20 million Americans predominantly women get exposed to the hair dye every year. It is estimated that 35 to 40% of females in United States and Europe use hair dyes. Solutions are used either by a hairdresser in a salon or by those who purchase at-home products.
Based on IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Concerns are raised about security of the drugs. Why? because some of the components used in hair dye are believed to be carcinogenic as well as toxic (causing birth defects in the fetus). Hairdressers have been reported to have an increased risk of spontaneous abortions and congenital malformations, as well as developmental and cancer-related issues in children are common. The older literature of the 1980’s reveal that both genders who work with hair dyes their work may have a higher chance of developing leukemia as well as bladder cancers, the GI tract, ovary as well as respiratory system. Nasca has reported in Journal of the NCI, that there is a greater chance of developing breast cancer in women who use hair dyes.
All pregnant women who regularly use beauty products are concerned about the dangers of exposure to themselves and their fetus because of the potential carcinogenic chemicals found within these items. Many women are afraid to use any dyes in pregnancy due to concerns about chemical exposure and absorption that could harm the foetus.
The most alarming aspect is that a lot of women give birth later in life and consequently, the application of hair dyes will increase in popularity. The combination of hormonal hair growth during pregnancy, as well as the need to dye hair as women age is a clear indication of an increase in the usage of these products.
With these in my mind, I decided it was an excellent concept to create an essay that reviewed the research up to date on the safety of hair dyes to ensure that you are able to make the right decisionfor yourself on whether or not to make use of these products. Conclusions, however, must be based on the method used to apply dye (personal or hairdresser) and the color used and the frequency of color and the different characteristics of various components that are that are available.
What are the different types of hair dyes?
There are three types of classifications:
Permanent,
Semi-permanent
Temporary
The chemical composition of hair dye determines which classification it falls.
Permanent dyes are most common and make up around 75 percent of the hair dyes. They work by oxidation hydrogen peroxide from dye precursors that penetrate the hair fiber and produce the color that goes by the pigment. Hair dyes that are permanent can be typically applied with a hairbrush and by hairdressers. Permanent hair dyes can cause more dramatic changes to hair color. They don’t wash out and last until the hair grows , or is cut.
Semi-permanent dyes make up around 20 percent of all dyes. They directly reach the hair’s cortex without the need for the oxidizing agents. The color typically lasts between 6 and 12 washes. These dyes, usually applied with a hand typically used to cover grays or to enhance the natural color. They can be available at the store.
Temporary dyes comprise approximately 5 percent from all dyes for hair, are employed for just a single wash. The hair coloring is put onto the cuticle of hair and is left there until it’s washed out. It will generally not make hair lighter, but can be is used to enhance natural hair color, tint it other colors, or to add highlights to the natural or tinted hair. It can also be employed to cover a small proportion of gray hair, or get rid of yellowish hues in gray or white hair.
What hair dyes cause concerns during the womb?
A number of studies have revealed the risk for developing brain tumors (CBT) caused by exposure to N-nitroso compounds often present within hair coloring products.
There are two broad classes of N-nitroso compound
nitrosamides
nitrosamines
Nitrosamides are unstable , and don’t require enzyme activation and are prone to develop tumors in the area of exposure. In rats, they traverse the placenta and can cause neurocarcinogens.
Nitrosamines, which are commonly present in cigarettes and in beer, are regarded as carcinogenic substances.
The chemicals in the hair coloring products are aromatic amines that are converted into the nitrosamines. Nitrosamines require this bioactivation to trigger the formation of tumors in places other than the original exposure area. Hair dyes are classified as NOC-related aromatic amines . They contain ammonia-based solutions, coal-tar dyes, hydrogen peroxide as well as lead acetate. A number of studies classify these substances as carcinogenic for animals when administered orally since they alter DNA. However, there is “inadequate evidence” to determine the possibility of human carcinogenesis when applied to the skin.
Other toxic chemicals found in hair dyes include phthalates, cobalt salts, formaldehyde releasing preservatives, lead acetate, nickel salts, 1,4-dioxane, diethanolamine/triethanolamine, and parabens.
What happens to the fetus happen in a pregnant woman who is using hair dyes?
Exposure to the fetus can occur when you use your regular products as a lot of the chemicals that are used can be absorbed by skin. Particular characteristics of dyes and their capacity to penetrate skin affect their toxic effects. Exposure can also happen via oral, ocular or inhalation methods that be then absorbed into the placenta to alter the foetus. Many of these chemicals may store in body fats and then enter the mothers milk.
What kind or toxics have you seen reported during the course of pregnancy?
There have been a number of contradictory outcomes between the hair dyes and a variety of childhood cancers.
Certain studies have demonstrated that there is a link between the maternal hair dye and an increased chance of developing cancer in children. The nervous system that is still developing in the fetus has been shown to be particularly susceptible to mutagens and carcinogens. When exposure occurs during the development of the nerve system in the first trimester, it can cause the nervous system to be more vulnerable to brain and cancer tumors.
Neuroblastoma which accounts for 6 to 10 percent of all childhood cancers worldwide, has been identified as among the most frequent cancers among young children within their first few years of their lives. A threefold increase in risk was observed for children who were exposed to dyes for hair during pregnancy, as per an article by Kramer in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 1987. This risk increase is verified by McCalls article in 2005’s Cancer Causes and Control. Wilms tumor, which is a kidney cancer in children, was associated with an increased risk of 4 times as per a study done in the journal of Bunin on Cancer Research in 1987. A lot of the chemicals that were that were used in 1987 for hair dyes have been eliminated (2-4-diaminoanisole, 4-amino-2-nitrophenol as well as HC Blue No.1) but other compounds found that are in the N-nitroso aromaticamines frequently employed in hair dyes remain present and can cause cancer in animals.
Other studies conducted on other studies from the West Coast have found no relationship between the use of hair dyes prior to and during the pregnancy. (Holly In Pediatric Perinatal Epidemiology, 2002) A large study conducted by Effird in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology in 2005 also found that there is no statistically significant relationship between semi-permanent, temporary, as well as permanent hair color used during pregnancy and brain tumors in children in addition to three times the incidence of brain tumors among Israeli children who use semi-permanent color for their hair.
Do different hair dyes have different risk levels?
Temporary dyes (includes semi-permanent) are thought to be more toxic than permanent dyes during pregnancy. Research on scalp penetration by semi-permanent dyes as compared with permanent dyes on both monkeys and humans revealed the semi-permanent dyes penetrated scalp more deeply than permanent dyes from both species. In contrast to permanent dyes which contain oxidizing agents, which allow the dye to permanently bind with the shafts of the hair, and consequently reduce skin absorption semi permanent dyes get their coloration by the use of solvents (alcohols and ethylene glycol ethers) that penetrate the scalp more effectively than permanent dyes. Additionally, more contact with the skin is found with semi-permanent colors since they are applied in foam rinses or surfactant solutions that facilitate absorption of the dye by skin. Semi-permanent hair coloring products contain Nitro derivatives of phenylenediamines as well as aminophenols and azo dyes as well as aminoanthraquinone-based dyes and N-nitroso- which have been proven to be neurocarcinogens that can be transmitted through the placenta in rodents.
Furthermore, semi-permanent colors are more likely to be applied by the individual herself, while permanent dyes were more likely to be applied by hairdressers. When self-application occurs, there is more skin surface, for instance hands and feet, than if an outside person was applying the dyes.
Smokers also were found to be more toxic than non-smokers using dyes. Additional exposure to nitrosamines and other carcinogens found in cigarettes in addition to the carcinogens found in hair dyes.
Do hairdressers pose a risk to their clients?
The job of a hairdresser can bring with it some dangers that could be carcinogenic. (International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC-1993) Certain skin diseases such as occupational asthma and contact dermatitis are significant health issues for hairdressers. Studies haven’t proven an higher risk of reproductive problems for hairdressers, like infertility and abnormalities in the reproductive system, congenital malformations or childhood cancers. the development of disorders in offspring. (Kersemaekers, 1995)