Hairdressers Exposed to a Hazardous Mix of Unknown Chemicals

Black and Hispanic hairdressers are exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals, many of them unknown, potentially hazardous, and undisclosed on product labels, found Johns Hopkins University researchers. The new study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology is the first to apply an advanced screening technique used to identify chemicals in food and wastewater to assess chemical exposures in hairdressers.

We know women are more highly exposed to chemicals in personal care products, and we also know women of color have elevated exposures compared to women of other demographics.

Researchers tested urine samples from black and Hispanic hairdressers in the United States and compared them to samples from women of color working in office jobs.

Hairdressers of color are suspected to have more chemical exposures than stylists of other demographics because of the products used and services provided in salons serving primarily populations of color.

Unlike traditional studies, researchers didn’t only measure for chemicals expected to be found in people working with hair products, they looked for other compounds that had not been previously investigated.

Hairdressers of Color Exposed to ‘Concerning’ Mix of Unknown Chemicals

The conventional methods just look for chemicals we might expect to be present, but these products contain a lot of different chemicals, and not all of them are known. They wanted to open up the lens and find potential other chemicals that hairdressers might be exposed to so that we could inform future regulations of these chemicals.

Compared to the women working in offices, hairstylists had higher levels of chemicals in their bodies associated with salon treatments—hair relaxers, conditioners, dyes, and fragrances—but also many more substances the researchers couldn’t identify.

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There are more than 700,000 hairdressers in the United States, more than 90% of whom are estimated to be female, and 30% are black or Hispanic/Latina. In this predominantly female workforce, with many women of reproductive age, exposures may not only pose a women's health issue, but also a children's health issue.

The findings show more studies are critical to better understand what hairdressers are exposed to on the job and to determine how best to mitigate these risks and to try to reduce any health disparities.

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Source-Eurekalert