A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has linked relaxer use to the development of uterine tumors (fibroids) and premature puberty.
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A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has linked relaxer use to the development of uterine tumors (fibroids) and premature puberty.
Scientists followed more than 23,000 premenopausal women between 1997 and 2009. They found that black women had two to three times the rate of uterine tumors, and linked this to chemical exposure through scalp damage from relaxer use.
Women who start menstruating before the age of 10 are also more likely to develop fibroids, and according to another study published in the Annals of Epidemiology this past summer, this premature menstruation is being caused by the hair products black girls use.
Three hundred African-American, African-Caribbean, Hispanic, and white women were studied in New York. The women's first menstrual period ranged from ages 8 to 19, but African-American women, who use styling products and relaxers more regularly, had their first menstrual period earlier than other ethnic groups.
While so far only a correlation has been made and no real cause-and-effect relationship has been found between relaxers, fibroids and puberty, many experts have pointed out that the hair care industry is not regulated by the FDA. This means that there is no clear way to know how harmful standard black hair care products really are.
The Facts About Fibroids
Fibroids are tumors that grow in the uterus. They are benign, meaning they are not really cancerous, and are made up of muscle fibers. Fibroids can be as small as a pea and can grow to be as large as a cantaloupe. It is estimated that 20 to 50 percent of women have or will develop fibroids.
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