By Robert Preidt
HealthDay reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Moderate hair removal product use does not increase a black woman’s risk of breast cancer, according to a new study.
“While there is biological plausibility that exposure to some of the components found in hair removal products could increase breast cancer risk, previous evidence from epidemiological studies remains inconsistent,” said lead author Kimberly Bertrand, epidemiologist and assistant professor at Boston University School of Medicine.
While the general breast cancer risk in the US is the same for black and white women, black women have a higher rate of aggressive subtypes.
These include estrogen receptor negative (ER) tumors, which are diagnosed at a younger age and are more deadly, according to the study’s background information.
Certain hair care products, including relaxation / straightening irons, are more commonly used by black women. These products may contain estrogens or endocrine disrupting chemicals, but the link between their use and breast cancer risk is unclear.
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To find out more, the researchers analyzed data from a large U.S. study of black women’s health that began in 1995.
They compared breast cancer in women who reported moderate or heavy use of hair removal products with women who reported little or no use of the products. The study found no association between hair removal product use and the overall risk of breast cancer.
“Overall, our results are generally reassuring: we haven’t found strong evidence that hair relaxant use is linked to breast cancer risk for most women,” Bertrand said in a university press release.
However, she added that there is evidence that the heaviest users of caustic products – those who used them at least seven times a year for 15 years or more – had an approximately 30% increased risk of developing a positive estrogen receptor (ER +) Breast cancer.
More research is needed to learn more about the possible link between the use of certain hair relaxants and breast cancer risk, Bertrand concluded.
The results were recently published online in the journal Carcinogenesis.
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More information
The environmental working group is more concerned with hair straighteners.
Source: Boston University, press release, May 24, 2021
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