Limiting Toxic Chemical Exposure in African American Women’s Hair Salons

In an article in The Atlantic, Vicky Gann, explains how toxic chemicals have made their way into certain hair salons and what is being done to address this problem.  A wide variety of potentially harmful chemicals are used in salons that cater to African American females.  Although this is a concern for the health of the patrons of these establishments, the workers have a much greater likelihood of suffering from ill effects due to their continuous exposure. Teni Adewumi, a graduate student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, surveyed workers at salons in Inglewood, CA and found that complaints of certain health problems were unusually common.   Adewumi believes that these are the effects of toxic chemical exposure and she is working to ensure that hairstylists’ environment is not making them sick.

Due to the large variety of different types of hair styling products, there is a wide range of chemicals that beauty workers get exposed to.  Styrene, formaldehyde and tricholoroethylene are commonly found in products used to treat hair, such as glues and straighteners, and these chemicals have been linked to liver damage, dermatitis and cancer.  Studies that focus on the health risks of individual chemical compounds used in the beauty industry are not uncommon, but when people are exposed to an assortment of different chemicals it can be difficult to know what the long term effects could be.  More research needs to be done to better understand the additive effects of hairstyling products. 

Adewumi has been working to educate hairstylists about the risks associated with the use of hairstyling products, as well as which products to avoid. She stresses the importance of ventilation, label comprehension and using the appropriate protective equipment.  Aedwumi would like to see government regulation that ensures that all hair care products have the ingredients listed on the label and that chemicals that are known to be hazardous are strictly prohibited from being used in the manufacturing of these products.   Although we may be able to prevent all toxic chemical exposure in beauty salons, there is a lot that can be done to make this environment safer for workers and patrons alike.