Dangerous Chemicals Lurking in our products.

There are so many products on the market for hair. I think that I can go for an entire year using a different product every day, but it seems that a flood of products are on the market with many hidden dangers that we all should be familiar with.

We all are familiar with what perms and relaxers do to the hair. One day in Chemistry my teacher took Neet hair removal and placed it on a piece of hair, and it slowly began to melt. He stated, this is what lye does to your hair, and imagine what it does to your scalp! Sodium Hydroxide, otherwise known as lye, is found in everything from detergents and personal products to cleaning solutions for crude oil. It is also in many sink de-cloggers.  Sodium hydroxide can cause chemical burns, scars and blindness. 

Here is what the agency for toxic substances has to say about it:

 Toxic Substances

There are even several other chemicals in our shampoos, hair dyes and fragrances.

Phthalates, placenta and parabens are among the hazardous chemicals found in a multitude of hair care products marketed toward African-American women. Phthalates, sometimes listed simply as “fragrance” on product ingredient lists, is also linked to endometriosis, or when uterine lining grows outside the uterus. Phthalates, parabens and animal placenta can mimic hormones and disrupt critical processes in the body, scientists have said, Writes Jennifer Cunningham of The Grio.

So as you buy products take a look at the ingredients, and make sure you are not using products with these chemicals.

Chemicals to avoid:

• BHA:

relaxers, hair-growth products, skin lighteners

(immune system toxicity, cancer, hormone disruption,

organ toxicity; can build up in our bodies)

• Coal tar:

some hair dyes, dandruff shampoos

(cancer; can build up in our bodies)

• Coumarin:

hair relaxers, hair dyes, fragrance

(immune system toxicity, reproductive harm, cancer,

cell damage)

• Dibutyl phthalate:

nail polish, cuticle treatments,

other nail treatments

(reproductive and developmental

harm, immune system toxicity, hormone disruption)

• DMDM hydantoin:

hair relaxers, dandruff shampoos,

hair dyes and bleach, some skin lighteners

(releases formaldehyde, which is linked to cancer)

• Formaldehyde:

nail polish, nail treatments, eyelash

glue, some hair straighteners

(breathing problems, cancer)

• Hydroquinone:

skin lighteners, hair dyes

(immune

system and skin toxicity, cancer, reproductive harm)

  

• Octoxynol-40:

hair dyes, hair relaxers

(mutagen, cancer, immune system toxicity; may be

contaminated with 1,4-dioxane or ethylene oxide,

which are linked to cancer)

• P-phenylenediamine:

hair dyes

(immune system

toxicity, skin toxicity, hormone disruption, cancer)

• PEG 10 sorbitan laurate:

moisturizing/soothing

shampoo

(skin toxicity, reproductive harm)

• Placental extract:

conditioners, facial moisturizers

(hormone mimicker)

• Selenium sulfide:

dandruff shampoos

(linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, developmental harm;

can build up in our bodies)

• Synthetic fragrance:

many personal care products

(allergies, cancer, birth defects)

• Toluene:

nail polish, cuticle treatments, other nail

treatments

(reproductive and developmental harm,

nervous system toxicity, kidney and liver toxicity)