Does frequent hair dyeing really cause cancer? How often should it be dyed? Do 3 points well, or you can rest assured

Ms. Wang, who lives in Harbin, had gray hair when she was in her thirties. At first, there were only a few sporadic strands, but after forty, the number of gray hairs became more and more. Ms. Wang couldn't pull it out, so she had to dye her hair to cover it up.

Hair dyeing did give Ms. Wang confidence at first, but her hair grew fast, and within a month, white hair appeared from both sides of her temples. In order to cover the new gray hair, Ms. Wang had to go to the barber shop every month to get a haircut. In fact, this infection has lasted for more than ten years.

Ms. Wang, now 50 years old, is often praised by people for her well-maintained hair, without a single gray hair, but Ms. Wang knows that this is all the result of "money".

Just over two months ago, Ms. Wang felt that her body was often tired and her skin was getting yellower and yellower . When her husband told her that the whites of her eyes were turning yellow, Ms. Wang noticed something was wrong, so she rushed to the local hospital for examination.

After a series of examinations, the examination revealed that the liver cirrhosis was in the middle and advanced stage, and it was chemical liver injury. According to the doctor's judgment, it may be related to Ms. Wang's perennial hair dyeing.

1. Why does dyeing hair on the head hurt the liver?

Hair dye is applied directly on the hair and scalp, far away from the liver. Why does it hurt the liver?

How does hair dye change the original color of hair? This is related to their molecular structure.

Hair dye is a coloring agent of small molecule aniline, which can penetrate into the hair through the coupling agent, and then react with oxidative polymerization through oxidation to form a macromolecular pigment that is not easy to fall off, and is enclosed in the hair fiber to make the hair color changes.

So why does it hurt the liver?

Hair dye contains dozens of chemical components, most of which are toxic, such as nitrobenzene, amines, etc., and are easily absorbed . Our common hair dyeing site allergies, erythema, itching, etc., are caused by the toxic components of hair dyes that damage the skin.

Once these toxins penetrate into the body along with the hair follicles and skin, the liver will be required for catabolism. Frequent hair dyeing will undoubtedly increase the detoxification burden of the liver. Moreover, the toxic components of hair dye can directly damage liver cells, which in turn can cause liver disease.

2. Can frequent hair dyeing cause cancer? Research finds answers

Isn't it just a change of hair color? Those celebrities dye their hair every day, why don't any celebrities have leukemia or skin cancer?

Before discussing whether hair dye is carcinogenic, let's take a look at what hair dyes are?

Hair dyes currently on the market can be divided into inorganic hair dyes, synthetic hair dyes and plant hair dyes according to their formulas. According to the duration of hair dyeing, it can be divided into temporary, semi-permanent and permanent hair dyes.

The formula is different, the durability is different, and the degree of harm to the human body is also different.

In 2020, a large-scale joint study published on "BMJ" was conducted by institutions such as Harvard School of Public Health, Indiana University School of Public Health, and Vienna Medical University in Austria. It took 36 years and recruited a total of 120,000 people. subject.

The results found that permanent hair dye was associated with an increased risk of skin cancer, breast cancer, and lymphoma .

• For basal cell carcinoma of the skin, users had a 6 percent increased risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin compared with those who did not use permanent hair dye.
• In terms of breast cancer, people who use permanent hair dyes have an increased risk of breast cancer. For every 50 times the number of hair dyes increases, the risk of breast cancer increases by 1% to 2%.
• For ovarian cancer, those who used permanent hair dye had a 21% increased risk

In addition, the same study found that men who dye their hair may increase the risk of prostate cancer .

A study on the risk of men’s hair dyeing led by Jung-Eun Lim of the National Cancer Institute of the United States compiled and evaluated 28 years of survey data and found that men who regularly use oxidative hair dyes have a 77% increased risk of developing prostate.

In other words, the use of permanent hair dye is associated with the risk of cancer. In addition, frequent hair dyeing may also face the following consequences:

• Skin allergies

The stronger the color of the hair dye, the more chemical components there are, and the more likely it is to cause allergies.

• severe hair loss

Among the causes of hair loss, frequent hair dyeing is a major risk. Benzene compounds in hair dyes are harmful to hair and can cause dryness and breakage.

• liver and kidney damage

In order to enhance the dyeing effect, some hair dyes will add heavy metal substances, which will cause chronic damage to the body.

3. Safe hair dyeing, don’t ignore the 4 points

With people's pursuit of beauty, the demand for hair coloring is also increasing. With the improvement of hair dyes, although the degree of damage has been reduced compared to the past, long-term exposure is still likely to increase the risk of cancer. Therefore, if you want to dye your hair safely, you must pay attention to:

1. Test allergies before dyeing hair

Hair dyes contain sensitizing ingredients, especially the lighter the hair dye, the greater the risk of physical harm.

Therefore, it is best to conduct an allergy test before dyeing your hair. Do not wash your hair two days before dyeing your hair, and take a little hair dye and apply it on the inconspicuous skin such as behind the ears to observe the reaction and see if there is peeling, tingling, etc.

2. No more than 3 times a year

Foreign in vitro studies have found that the ingredients in the dye are toxic to living cells and destructive to the DNA genetic material of cells, so the frequency of hair dye should not be too dense, preferably not more than 3 times a year .

3. Choose regular hair dye

When buying hair dye, be sure to check the packaging carefully to see if there is a "National Makeup Special Character" approval . Try to buy from official channels, and do not choose overseas shopping or purchasing agents. Foreign products generally have not passed Chinese toxicology and safety tests, and they have certain risks.

4. Avoid direct contact with skin

Before dyeing your hair, you must protect your skin. You can apply a layer of lotion to block it. If you accidentally get hair dye, apply it with Vaseline immediately or wipe it off in time.

Although proper hair dyeing is less risky to human health, it is still not recommended for these 7 types of people:

• Those who are allergic to hair dye;
• Menstruating women have low resistance and sensitive skin;
• Outdoor workers whose hair is exposed to sunlight for a long time;
• Those with poor hair quality;
• During pregnancy and half a year after childbirth, women's physique changes and their hair is relatively fragile;
• Those with damaged scalp;
• Children, the elderly and those with liver and kidney insufficiency.

Occasional hair dyeing has little impact on health, and you don't need to be too anxious. But hair dyes are full of chemicals after all, so don't sacrifice your health for the sake of beauty. If you are really not suitable for hair dyeing, don't force it.

References:

[1] "Doctor Business Card | Can hair dye cause cancer? Will it speed up hair loss? Talk about those things about hair dyeing". Healthy China. 2021-01-04

[2] "What happens to people who use hair dye for a long time? A 36-year follow-up study of 120,000 people reached a conclusion." Life Times. 2020-10-11

[3] "Hair Dye Harmful to the Body? Pay attention to 5 points and rest assured." Tencent Medical Code She Knows. 2022-03-09

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