Hair relaxers: FDA may ban certain products in the US
- Published
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is considering a ban on certain chemical-based hair-straightening products.
The FDA is specifically targeting products that contain formaldehyde, a chemical which is found in some hair relaxers, and has been linked with long-term health risks.
Chemical hair relaxers are commonly used to straighten curly or coiled afro textured hair.
What is a hair relaxer?
Relaxers are creams or lotions that have chemicals in them to straighten afro and curly hair.
They break down disulphide bonds - a type of chemical bond found deep inside hair fibres - straightening out kinky or curly hair patterns.
The hair that is straightened is permanent but new hair growth will come through in its natural texture.
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Your hair could be straight, wavy, curly, or kinky.
The type of hair that you have is decided by the shape of your hair follicles - tiny parts of your skin that grow hair.
People with very curly hair have follicles that are oval-shaped and people with straight hair have round follicles.
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Why are the FDA considering a ban in the US?
There are concerns that certain chemicals in hair straightening products could increase the risk of cancer and other health problems.
A 2022 US study found that women who often used hair-straightening chemical products had a 4% risk of uterine cancer by age 70 compared to a 1.6% risk in women who didn't use the products.
There is currently no strong evidence that hair-straightening products, such as chemical relaxers and pressing products, increase the risk of cancer.
However, speaking about the study, Dr Claire Knight, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "There is currently no strong evidence that hair-straightening products, such as chemical relaxers and pressing products, increase the risk of cancer."
Cancer Research UK has also said that uterine cancer is relatively rare, so even with a slightly increased risk it still wouldn't be common.
Do all hair relaxers contain formaldehyde?
The possible dangers of certain chemicals in hair relaxers is still unclear.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for protecting the public health in the United States, is specifically looking at banning hair-straightening products that contain formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals like methylene or glycol.
Not all hair smoothing products contain formaldehyde and this potential ban of hair straightening products is in the US only.
'It was the only option, now it's not an option'
Jamelia Donaldson is the founder of TreasureTress, a company that provides advice and products for black women and girls with naturally textured hair. She says she's seen young girls move away from the use of hair relaxers in particular.
Speaking to Newsround, Jamelia said she felt she had to use relaxers when she was younger in the 1990s and 2,000s, because straight hair was seen as the "only option" for black girls growing up.
"It was seen as smart and sophisticated," she says, "everyone wanted to look the same."
Now she says younger generations increasingly want to embrace their natural hair.
"There are lots of hair styles; braids, faux locs, plats, blow outs.
The younger generation is very self determined to define what is beautiful and have rejected traditional beauty standards and embraced their own culture and individuality," she said.
"Before, [using hair relaxers] was the only option, now it's not an option."
- Published15 September 2023
