Occupational hazards

Many chemicals in salon products pose potential health risks. Examples of hazardous chemicals found in common treatments (e.g. hair coloring, straightening, perms, relaxers, keratin treatments, Brazilian Blowouts, and nail treatments) include dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, lye (sodium hydroxide), ammonia, and coal tar. Allergies and dermatitis have forced approximately 20% of hairdressers to stop practicing their profession.

In the beauty and cosmetology industries, some of the products used in hair dyes and nail applications contain chemicals that have been shown to have adverse health effects for cosmetologists. A chemical combination known as the toxic trio is often part of the ingredient list in nail polish, hair dyes, and nail polish removers. The toxic trio consists of formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). DBP is commonly found in nail polish and is used as a binder to increase the amount of time that the polish stays on the nail. Toluene is an industrial solvent and is usually in nail polish removers. Formaldehyde can be found in a variety of beauty products but is generally found in hair straightening products and hair dyes as well as in some nail polishes. Each chemical member of the toxic trio has independently been found to have adverse reproductive effects in humans, so there concern that the presence of all three chemicals in cosmetologist supplies could pose a detrimental health risk for cosmetologists.citation needed

Demographics of the cosmetology industryedit

As a profession, cosmetology is predominantly female, most of whom are of reproductive age. There are more than one million women registered and licensed as cosmetologists in the United States and roughly several million more work as hairdressers. Among cosmetologists, hairdressers and nail technicians make up a large part of the working population. Many cosmetologists begin their careers before reproductive age and before family planning, which may put them at higher risk for reproductive health effects from exposure to workplace cosmetology chemicals.

In the United States the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for public safety regarding cosmetic products and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regulates these products. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) utilizes an "Expert Panel" to review available data on cosmetic ingredients and determine whether or not chemical ingredients in cosmetic products are safe to use considering how they are currently utilized. However, this protocol is only helpful if applied to all cosmetology workplaces in the United States.

An investigation carried out by the Environmental Working Group revealed only 11% of more than 10,000 cosmetic ingredients documented by the FDA were evaluated in a CIR review. Research studies have shown that although "toxicological considerations play an increasingly significant role in product formulation; reproductive risks are not typically taken into account. It is also known that, "more than 9,000 chemicals are found in cosmetic products". Hairdressers use a wide range of products containing chemicals. "Hair dyes represent the largest segment of chemical products in the hair market today. As such, they are the main source of chemical exposure among hairdressers".

Chemical exposuresedit

Tolueneedit

Toluene is a clear, water insoluble liquid with a distinct and pungent smell, similar to paint thinners. Toluene is found in cosmetic products such as nail polish, nail glue, and hair dyes and is widely used as an industrial solvent and is used to make fingernail polishes, lacquers, adhesives, rubber, and paint thinners. It is used in the production of benzene, gasoline, nylon, plastics, and polyurethane. Toluene can be found on cosmetic labels under the names, benzene, toluol, phenylmethane, methylbenzene.

Toluene enters the environment when materials like fingernail polish, paints, paint thinners, and adhesives are used. It rapidly mixes with the air and individuals who work with paint, lacquer, or dyes have greater exposures to toluene via dermal and respiratory routes. Toluene inhalation during pregnancy has led to neonatal effects, including intrauterine growth retardation, premature delivery, congenital malformations, and postnatal developmental retardation.

Dibutyl phthalateedit

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a manufactured chemical used as a plasticizer. It is used to make plastics more flexible and can be found in paints, glue, insect repellents, hair spray, nail polish, and rocket fuel. Due to its flexibility and film forming properties, making it an ideal ingredient in cosmetics and cosmetology products. DBP is mainly used in nail products as a solvent for dyes and as a plasticizer that prevents nail polishes from becoming brittle, but is also used in hair sprays, to help avoid stiffness by allowing them to form a flexible film on the hair.

Dibutyl phthalate has been linked to reproductive issues in humans if the mother is exposed while pregnant and has been banned for use by the European Union and certain phthalate esters have been shown to cause reproductive toxicity in animal models.

Formaldehydeedit

Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong smelling liquid that is highly volatile, making exposure to both workers and clients potentially unhealthy. Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) classify formaldehyde as a human carcinogen. Formaldehyde has been linked to nasal and lung cancer, with possible links to brain cancer and leukemia.

Growing evidence reveals that various popular hair-smoothing treatments contain formaldehyde and release formaldehyde as a gas. Formaldehyde is a common ingredient in Brazilian blowouts, Cadiveu, and Keratin Complete Smoothing Therapies. Four laboratories in California, Oregon, and Canada, confirmed a popular hair straightening treatment, the Brazilian Blowout, contained between 4% and 12% formaldehyde. Oregon OSHA demonstrated that other keratin-based hair smoothing products also contain formaldehyde, with concentrations from 1% to 7%.

Formaldehyde may be present in hair smoothing solutions or as a vapor in the air. Stylists and clients may inhale formaldehyde as a gas or a vapor into the lungs and respiratory tract. Formaldehyde vapor can also make contact with mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or throat. Formaldehyde solutions may be absorbed through the skin during the application process of liquid hair straighteners. Solutions of formaldehyde can release formaldehyde gas at room temperature and heating such solutions can speed up this process. Exposure often occurs when heat is applied to the treatment, via blow drying and flat ironing.

Stylists and clients have reported acute health problems while using or after using certain hair smoothing treatments containing formaldehyde. Reported problems include nose-bleeds, burning eyes and throat, skin irritation and asthma attacks. Other symptoms related to formaldehyde exposure include watery eyes; runny nose; burning sensation or irritation in the eyes, nose, and throat; dry and sore throat; respiratory tract irritation; coughing; chest pain; shortness of breath; wheezing; loss of sense of smell; headaches; and fatigue.

Reproductive health and birth defects of the toxic trioedit

The presence of Formaldehyde, phthalates, and toluene (the toxic trio) in the work environment play a role in the risk of reproductive health effects for cosmetologists. Studies shows that there is a significant increase in premature birth and an increased risk of pregnancy disorders when hairdressers were compared to a referent group of teachers and salesclerks where the only occupational difference were exposure to the toxic trio. Hairdressers and cosmetologists have a slightly increased risk of having an infant with small gestational age. Reproductive disorders in relation to low birth weight were examined and found an increased risk of having infant with low birth weight; three of these studies showed a significant increase.

Case studies on toluene exposures have found increased incidences of urogenital, gastrointestinal, and cardiac anomalies among children of mothers who were exposed to organic solvents, such as toluene. Associations were found between pregnant women who inhaled Formaldehyd, phthalates, and toluene and adverse reproductive outcomes such as intrauterine growth retardation and premature delivery. Hairdressers report premature ovarian failure five times more frequently than women in non-cosmetologist occupations.