Does regular exposure to hair dye cause cancer? Is it a rumor or is it true? 36 years of research tells you the answer

Lao Liu is 56 years old this year, and his white hair looks relatively old. Those who don’t know him think he is in his seventies. In order to make himself look more refreshed, he started dyeing his hair. But it is really difficult to cover gray hair. Gray hair will reappear about 3-4 months after each coloring. For this reason, he dyes his hair more frequently, 3-4 times a year.

But in the eyes of his peers, Lao Liu is joking about his health. There are rumors on the Internet that frequent exposure to hair dye will cause cancer, and some people have persuaded him not to dye his hair so frequently and learn to accept his true appearance. But Lao Liu felt that so many people dyed their hair, and no one had cancer because of this. And every time I use “pure plant formula”, I don’t take it to heart.

Does regular exposure to hair dye really cause cancer?

The reason why hair dyes are rumored to cause cancer is mainly because of the “p-phenylenediamine” contained in chemical hair dyes. This substance can build a bridge between the hair and the dye, helping people’s hair color faster and play a role in fixing the color. However, studies have shown that large exposure to p-phenylenediamine in the short term may cause acute poisoning events.

in a color overlayhydrogen peroxide or ammonia While waiting for the formula, it may also induce rash, itching, blisters and other adverse reactions may indeed have certain adverse effects on health.

However, according to the World Health Organization Agency for Research on Cancer classification of carcinogens, p-phenylenediamine Class 3 carcinogens, prolonged and excessive exposure may cause cancer risk. In other words, only when you are frequently exposed to p-phenylenediamine and excessive exposure may bring a certain risk of cancer, not necessarily cancer.

The content of p-phenylenediamine in chemical hair dyes is about 2% to 6%, which is not considered a high concentration, so The risk of developing cancer is even lower. This is just for p-phenylenediamine in chemical hair dyes.

There are also some botanical hair dyes on the market. This kind of hair dye is relatively safe, and often uses natural products from nature, with few chemical substances, and can also produce better hair dyeing effects. If you use this all-natural hair dye, it will be safer for your health.

36 years of hair dye research, give answers

Harvard Medical School has also This view of the carcinogenicity of hair dyes was studied. They found 120,000 American women and followed them for 36 years.

Statistics about the frequency of these women’s hair dyeing and whether they have cancer in their bodies, and then summed up and concluded that the use of hair dyes in these women There is little or no connection between cancer and cancer. And most of them use permanent hair dyes, which have a greater risk of harm to the body than short-term hair dyes.

Therefore, people can rest assured that the carcinogenic effects of permanent chemical hair dyes on the human body are divided into 3 types of carcinogens, and coffee, Tea is of the same grade and does not pose a clear cancer risk to the human body. If you usually need to cover gray hair or change your style, moderate hair color is safer.

But many people have to ask, what is moderate hair coloring?

Here are some small details when dyeing your hair. If you can do it, you can also improve your health protection.

Detail 1: Dying less frequently

Dyeing your hair every 3-6 months is a normal frequency, not a regular hair dye. But if you dye your hair once a week, or once a month, it’s not in the scope of normal use. Even if the p-phenylenediamine in hair dyes does not pose a threat to health, the oxidants and alkalis in it may cause damage to the cuticles of the hair, which is more likely to bring about adverse effects such as dryness and breakage of the hair.

Detail 2:Time to dye hair< /span>To be right

Dyeing hair is not recommended for women during menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding. During these times, women’s immunity is relatively poor, and the chemicals in hair dyes are more likely to bring the risk of allergies to the human body, and they may also affect the baby in the womb because of the chemicals. It is best to avoid hair dyeing.

In addition, if you are in the stage of tumor recovery, postoperative recovery, etc., it is not recommended to use chemical hair dyes to dye your hair. Although it is not accurate to say that hair dyes cause cancer, for cancer patients, the body is inherently more sensitive to carcinogens. If they are stimulated by these, it may be detrimental to the recovery of the disease.

Detail 3: Choose a qualified hair dye

With the increase of shopping platforms, many homemade hair dyes and hair dyes produced by informal manufacturers are sold at low prices. If you are petty and cheap, you are likely to buy fake and shoddy products, which may require more chemicals, which are easy to hurt.

For hair dyes, you should purchase qualified products that meet national standards, and take a small amount behind the ear to try before use. If it is confirmed that there is no adverse reaction, then Not too late to use. If there is any adverse reaction, clean it in time and go to the hospital for treatment if necessary.

If you want to have a better-looking hair color in the spring, those who are preparing to dye their hair should pay attention to the fact that the statement that hair dyes cause cancer is not accurate. But if you can pay attention to 3 details when dyeing your hair, your health will be more secure.

References:

1. Zhu Huijuan, Zhu Ying. Hair dyeing Research progress on the safety of the drug and its detection method[J]. Chinese Journal of Hygiene Inspection, 2006, 16(007):888-890.

2, 8 years, 5 A study of 10,000 people confirmed that hair dyeing is more likely to increase the risk of breast cancer·Health Times·2020-06-19

3. Hair dyeing causes cancer? Still losing hair? This is not a legend·Science China·2020-06-05