Carcinogens circulate in the blood of hairdressers. They come from products used for colors and perms, according to a recent study.
Colors, perms, a high risk cocktail for hairdressers. These professionals are at risk of cancer because of the products they handle every day. A study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine this June 9, underlines the danger represented by the coloring products or fixing the hair.
An increased risk of bladder cancer
Researchers at Lund University (Switzerland) followed 295 hairdressers, 32 regular users of hair dye products and 60 people who did not use these products for at least a year. Their blood was analyzed for the presence of carcinogens from 8 aromatic amines. While perming lotions and nourishing creams did not contain it, fixatives and lotion-fixer mixtures were loaded with toluidine – used as an intermediate in coloring products.
According to the results of the blood tests, there was little difference between hairdressers, home hair color enthusiasts and the control group. Only the levels of ortho-toluidine – from the distillation of coal tar – are really higher in hairdressers than the rest of the population.
But it appears that the levels of ortho and meta-toluidines in the professionals climbed at the same time as the number of light hair colorings or perms practiced during the week. These products are however suspected of being carcinogenic and banned in Europe. They are particularly involved in increasing the risk of bladder cancer, from which hairdressers suffer more than the general population.
Wearing gloves
When coloring or perming, hairdressers should always wear gloves, the researchers advise. This would reduce exposure to carcinogens. They also recommend performing these acts after performing tasks where gloves are not possible – such as haircutting. The team also believes that it is necessary to analyze all the ingredients of coloring or perming products, in order to determine whether they are a potential source of exposure to toluidines.
It is true that the risk has declined since the 1970s, during which 90% of coloring products contained carcinogens. But hairdressing is still considered a job with a “probable” risk of cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Because the repeated use of coloring products or perms increases the risk of bladder cancer, ovarian cancer or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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