There May Be A Worrying Connection Between Hair Dye And Breast Cancer

We already know that chemical hair dyes are dangerous for our health. But a new American study carried out by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has uncovered that those who use hair dyes relatively often have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Researchers recently carried out a study entitled ‘Sister Study’ with around 47,000 American women between the ages of 35 and 74 whose sisters suffered from breast cancer. Among these women, more than half of them admitted to using hair dyes, and 1 in 10 confessed to using chemical products to straighten their hair.

Researchers noted that those who used both permanent and semi-permanent hair dyes were 9% more at risk of developing breast cancer. As for these hair straightening products, this risk was increased to 30%.

Hair dyes and straightening products could be to blame

According to this study published in the International Journal of Cancer, coloured women were the most affected. African American women who regularly used hair dyes were found to be 60% more likely to contract breast cancer.

Although these findings present a worrying connection between hair dyes, chemical straightening products and breast cancer, Dale Sandler, co-author of the study and chief of the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch, is still sceptical about the results, highlighting that it is ‘unlikely that any single factor explains a woman’s risk.’

As a result, additional studies will be necessary in order to concretely prove this hypothesis. In the meantime, researchers recommend avoiding chemical substances in order to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.