DETROIT (WXYZ) — A new study by the National Institutes of Health links chemical hair straighteners or relaxers to uterine cancer.
In the study released this week, researchers surveyed more than 33,000 women over the course of 11 years. They found that women who used the products more than four times a year were twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer. The study also previously linked hair dyes and chemical straighteners to breast and ovarian cancers.
The NIH says because Black women statistically use the products more often, they're at higher risk for the cancers.
"My crown is very important to me. This is your first introduction to people. When people see you the first thing they look at is your hair," said Donna Williams as she sat at her hair appointment.
Williams says she got her first relaxer many years ago and then went natural for a period of years. She says it was only recently, after getting a short haircut that she decided to chemically straighten her hair again.
"As time (passes), you get older you think okay I need a change. So, I thought let me get a big chop and normally with the short hair the go-to is to get a relaxer," said Williams.
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Williams is one of many women who use chemical straighteners to maintain a specific hairstyle like finger waves.
"My grandmother was a stylist and her sister, my great aunt. She had a salon in her home in her basement and I was just always around hair. So it's like I'm continuing her legacy," said hair stylist Kimberly August.
August has been in the hair business for nearly three decades and currently works at the Gift Box Hair Suite in Farmington Hills. She says a lot of her clients still request relaxer hair care services.
"It’s fairly popular for me because I do more short, relaxed hair," said August. "It’s just no way around it. When it’s short, it has to be relaxed or it’s not going to work. Doesn’t necessarily have to be bone straight but it has to be straight in order to hold the style."
August says after she applies and thoroughly rinses out the relaxer. She then molds her clients short style, puts them under the dryer and then prepares to style with a curling iron. She says maintaining healthy hair while having a relaxer is possible but it does require routine visits to the salon for trims and hydration treatments.
"It's just proper application and I think that's the problem now. A lot of people don't know how to properly apply a relaxer and gauge when it's time to do a (touch-up). Sometimes they're doing it too soon and that can cause the breakage that you see," said August.
The active ingredient in relaxers is sodium hydroxide. Experts say it is a powerful chemical that cannot be applied too frequently or left on the hair for too long or it will cause severe damage to the hair follicle.
"I’m going to apply it without putting it on the scalp," said Gloria Gaines with Dymond Designs Beauty School as she demonstrated the technique for 7 Action News.
Gaines is a cosmetology instructor at Dymond Designs Beauty School on East Jefferson in Detroit's Harbortown neighborhood. Relaxing hair is one of the techniques beauty school students learn before they graduate.
Gaines says before a chemical relaxer is applied, the stylist needs to examine the strength of the hair. After they determine the hair is healthy enough for the treatment, they take an "oil like" gel and apply it to the scalp to protect the person's scalp from chemical burns or irritation. Then the relaxer is applied to the roots of the hair, not the scalp. It's then smoothed through to begin straightening the hair. Gaines says the product should not sit on the person's hair for longer than 15 minutes.
Gaines says after it’s applied to the entire head, it has to be washed out with a neutralizing shampoo. She says she doesn't see this process going away any time soon.
"Any time you're using a chemical, it’s going to damage the hair but we’re going to put it in our hair anyway," said Gaines of the chemical relaxing process.
In the last decade, stylists say they've noticed a big shift in Black hair care as more people in the younger generation embrace their natural texture and forego chemical relaxers.
"These are the repercussions of using any kind of chemicals and ingesting them into our body," said Nefertiti Harris, owner of Textures By Nefertiti salon in Detroit's New Center neighborhood.
Harris says she first entered the beauty industry in the early 90s. She says she made the conscious decision to not offer chemical straighteners after hearing a similar study years ago linking the products to breast cancer.
"I don’t have any judgment with women that want to perm their hair or straighten it. No judgment at all. I’m just more concerned and invested in showing women how you can be beautiful and healthy at the same time," said Harris.
Harris said over the last 10 years she's seen more demand for salons like hers as more people embrace their natural hair texture. Her salon offers loc maintenance and styling, braids, bantu knots, curly cuts and more. They also offer straightening services, but without the use of chemical straighteners.
"I wanted to be a part of the movement of changing the standard of beauty for African American women," said Harris. "That little kink in your hair is like your thumbprint. And it's so individualized and I just see so much beauty in that."
Harris says her biggest concern with the links to cancer is how it could impact children as she says there are kids as young as elementary school age who she's seen get a relaxer. She says whatever choice people make, she hopes they're doing so safely.
"I just want us to understand the facts and make informed decisions," said Harris.
