SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A toxic chemical used in hair products for black women fuels breast cancer, study finds:
Haircare and beauty products marketed to black women often contain a class of hormone-disrupting chemicals called parabens. According to a new study, those chemicals are not only linked to increased breast cancer risk, they uniquely fuel the spread of cancer cells in black women, compared to white women.
Parabens are a group of chemicals that keep mold and bacteria from growing on beauty products, thus prolonging their shelf lives. But, in humans, parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, possibly fueling dangerous cell growth, according to research.
The study, which will be presented today at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Atlanta, analysed the effect parabens had on breast cancer cells from both black women and white women. Researchers found parabens increased the growth of black breast cancer cell lines, but did not effect white breast cancer cell lines at the same dose.
Parabens also increased the expression of genes linked to breast cancer in both black and white women.
"Black women are more likely to buy and use hair products with these types of chemicals, but we do not have a lot of data about how parabens may increase breast cancer risk in black women," Lindsey S. Treviño, the study's lead researcher, said in a press release. "This is because black women have not been picked to take part in most research studies looking at this link. Also, studies to test this link have only used breast cancer cell lines from white women."
(Score: 5, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 16 2022, @06:07PM (14 children)
I have old white man hair, which is lacking in slickness, and there are some products at Target which seem targeted at black women, but work well to keep my hair from tangling.
No Parabens on the ingredients list, but very high up on the list is: Behentrimonium Chloride, rated as: "high concern for allergies and immunotoxicity - limited data." https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/700657-behentrimonium_chloride/ [ewg.org]
I realize medicines are held to a higher standard, but would it kill the industry to establish a core set of GRAS ingredients with data to back up that claim, and only expand to put new chemicals all over people when they, too, have been adequately tested to say something other than: "limited data, high concern for allergies and immunotoxicity?"
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 16 2022, @06:15PM (1 child)
It's pretty crazy how completely UN-regulated the cosmetics industry is. [businessinsider.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 16 2022, @09:42PM
Weird that article specifically mentioned the chemical from this one.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday June 16 2022, @06:18PM (2 children)
It's best to just let old white man hair do what it wants to do. When I get up in the morning, I push it back, so it doesn't get in my face. Run my fingers through it, to tell it to lay down. Pat the bare spot on top that keeps on growing, so it knows I still love it. Every couple weeks, wash it with baby shampoo, run a comb through it, just to inform it which way I want it to lie. Apart from that, I don't mess with the hair, and the hair doesn't mess with me. This treatment requires no mirrors, no harsh chemicals, and the only expense is a visit to the barber shop every 6 to 8 weeks.
I mean, who even looks at old white men's hair? Maybe if your name is Boris Johnson, people can't help staring, but other than that, no one looks at your hair.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 16 2022, @06:37PM
That's quite a privilege we enjoy!
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 16 2022, @07:37PM
Exactly, well sort of. My genetics are 95% Northern Europe, but style wise I'm going with the minority Native American [thelonghairs.us] heritage for the past couple of years. WFH, nobody is looking, so not much corporate culture to be concerned with. And of course, the parents were Vietnam draft age [genius.com] (luckily dad's number never came up, but a good 5% of his high school graduating class didn't come back...) - so I'm sure that plays in to my preferences too.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Informative) by RS3 on Thursday June 16 2022, @06:42PM (1 child)
I work in a food and beverage processing plant. Everything we make is USDA certified organic, tested, no preservatives, etc.
However, it turns out we're allowed to use many additives in very small amounts that don't have to be on the label. Those additives have been extensively tested as to being non-harmful in any way, but still, you might imagine that someone somewhere could have an allergy or sensitivity to something.
For the record, we do not use any of those, but it's possible the raw ingredients have something we don't know about. Very not likely though. No more than say wheat having some amount of insect bits.
The only one we ever even talked about using is an anti-foaming additive, but ended up not using it. If we had, it would be something like 28 cc in 8,000 liters of soda.
Soda can filling: can filled with carbonated soda, split-second later lid crimped on. Some batches and conditions caused soda to foam and you end up with cans not quite full to spec and get rejected and wasted (or workers take home).
TL;DR: US govt. FDA allows a very small amount of "stuff" that's not on the label in foods, drinks, and other human-contact things.
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 16 2022, @07:39PM
They believe in the safety (and ineffectiveness) of Homeopathy...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 16 2022, @08:43PM
Have you tried jojoba? After the late 70s hype died down (it will never be practical as a fuel oil) people understood its value the way the Indians of the southwest always had: as a natural cosmetic.
I think it's about as safe as you can get. You can even eat it, but it will act like as a laxative. It definitely does well as a substitute for natural hair oils that get washed out, as well as making skin less dry. It also emulsifies other oils so if you get car grease on your hands jojoba will help get it out.
It's also a good carrier for essential oils, to use as natural fragrances. Just make sure you're not allergic to any of this stuff first. I've not heard of jojoba allergy but essential oil allergies are more common and a lot of people don't understand that you're not supposed to use them straight.
Standard disclaimer: not a doctor, at your own risk, etc.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Reziac on Friday June 17 2022, @03:16AM
Try "Mane & Tail" horse shampoo and conditioner. You can sometimes find it at Target or Walmart, and pretty much any tack shop. Horses have fairly sensitive skin, so it's made relatively non-irritating, and it works well with fine dry hair that likes to grow knots just from looking at it wrong. (I don't use it myself, but I know someone who has horrible lint-textured hair, and it worked wonders for manageability.)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 5, Funny) by mhajicek on Friday June 17 2022, @06:29AM (4 children)
CNC cutting fluid is the only hair product I use. Enough drips on my head while I'm swapping parts to keep the flyers under control.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday June 19 2022, @12:31AM (3 children)
I just drilled a hole in the bottom of a ceramic pot (45 degree carbide bit) - that dust does no favors to hair or beard...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday June 19 2022, @12:35AM (2 children)
Probably does no good to lungs either!
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday June 19 2022, @03:17AM (1 child)
One small benefit of post-COVID life: facemasks everywhere.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday June 19 2022, @03:46AM
And of course it's always tidy for those bad beard days. ;)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.