Why are so many Black women’s beauty products still so toxic?

Why are so many Black women’s beauty products still so toxic?


They are saying magnificence is ache, however it isn’t purported to be lethal. So why has a brand new evaluation discovered that 80% of greater than 4,000 magnificence merchandise marketed in the direction of Black girls include at the very least one hazardous ingredient (with most containing a number of)? This follows numerous current research highlighting how some artificial braiding hair could include carcinogens, lead and different dangerous chemical substances.

From hair relaxers to skin-lightening lotions and the artificial hair we use to braid our hair, these reviews paint a grim image of a market the place various merchandise include probably harmful chemical substances – parabens, phthalates, endocrine disruptors – a lot of which disproportionately goal Black girls. In actual fact, in 2020, Tamarra James-Todd, a Harvard researcher, went on document saying that in line with her analysis “about 50% of merchandise marketed to Black girls include these kinds of chemical substances, in comparison with possibly solely 7% which are marketed to white girls”, and we’ve not seen a lot enchancment.

What’s extra disheartening? This isn’t new data. Almost a decade in the past, in 2016, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the group behind the examine, issued the same warning, and but not a lot has modified. The analysis is there (albeit not all the time complete) however it all factors to the identical conclusion: magnificence rituals for Black girls might be dangerous, and even lethal.

For years, researchers have flagged the connection between sure magnificence merchandise and elevated well being dangers, notably for Black girls. For instance, formaldehyde, a recognized carcinogen present in some hair relaxers, has been a focus of concern. Research, together with one from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being in 2022, discovered that frequent use of chemical hair straighteners doubles the danger of uterine most cancers. In the meantime, skin-lightening merchandise can harbour mercury or steroids, which might disrupt hormones and harm organs over time.

The most recent EWG evaluation, co-authored with Dr Kristian Edwards, who co-founded all-natural Black market BLK + GRN after studying the preliminary report, reveals the scope of the issue. Of the 4,011 merchandise evaluated, solely 21% are ranked as “low hazard” in EWG’s Pores and skin Deep database. The remainder? Over 3,000 reasonable to excessive hazard, with haircare merchandise (specifically relaxers) main the pack. Some very well-known manufacturers in Black households seem on the checklist with components like sodium hydroxide, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, and hormone-disrupting parabens flagged as harmful.

The report comes with receipts. It names names and spells out precisely which chemical substances pose dangers, which is a degree of readability we aren’t used to on the subject of analysis involving Black girls’s well being and wellness – however for the reason that first 2016 report, Black girls have demanded extra transparency on the subject of their day by day routines.

Whereas Black girls are more and more embracing their pure hair, notably in traditionally hostile environments comparable to faculty and the office, the second we do determine to present into the stress of assimilating to western magnificence requirements – notably on the subject of hair – we’re met with alarming well being issues.

The sweetness trade continues to ignore the wellbeing of Black girls, whereas profiting off our magnificence, artistic output, and cash.

You’ve got most likely ran into current viral movies of Black girls disowning their artificial braiding hair resulting from well being issues, together with allergic reactions, scalp irritation, and respiratory points. These claims have been fuelled by a 2020 examine by ATLAS Institute’s Dr. Donna Auguste PHD reporting that some artificial hair emits poisonous unstable natural compounds (VOCs) when heated, probably linked to most cancers and different ailments. Shopper Stories not too long ago corroborated this by releasing their findings round cancer-causing chemical substances and lead in a number of the artificial hair marketed to Black girls.



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