All over the world, chemicals that once prevented barnacles from sticking to ships have sunk into marine structures.
Animals have suffered brain and immune system defects. Some female mollusks have become imposex, which enlarge the male genitalia.
The chemicals cause so much damage to the aquatic environment that, decades ago, they were banned worldwide for use in the sea.
But for hair products? They seem to be fair game.
Recent tests of hair extensions and braiding products have found these toxic compounds, known as organotins, hidden in plain sight.
In a February report, cancer researchers at the Silent Spring Institute criticized the industry for its lack of transparency. Their study of 44 products found nearly 170 chemicals, including known killers, phthalates and organotins, in every sample.
According to their research, most hair extension brands “rarely disclose” the chemical composition of their products, which are made from synthetic fibers, human hair or other natural sources, and “may be treated with dyes, flame retardants, waterproofing agents, pesticides/antimicrobials and other conditioning agents.”
And it’s not news: Previous studies have identified heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic and lead in these products, too.
For hair entrepreneur Ciara Imani May, it’s hard to imagine what would happen to a manufacturer who would put the most toxic chemical in the open ocean into cosmetics that stay on a person’s head.
Apparently, he tells The Post, “the people making these suggestions weren’t actually using the products themselves.” But a growing movement is itching to change that.
“The beauty of justice” – and the right to look good without being sick
Silent Spring has previously published numerous studies on flame retardants in household products, and even conducted research on furniture replacements that provide homes with non-toxic materials.
But braided hair — often called “flame-resistant” and “non-flammable” — never got the same attention until analytical chemist and exposure scientist Elissia T. Franklin, Ph.D., got on the case.
“How wrong it is to have sofas with fire retardants, but something you wear in your hair for days or months at a time—what? that OK?” he asked himself.
“Although Harvard epidemiologist Tamarra James-Todd has laid the groundwork, researchers like Franklin are contributing to a movement known as “beauty justice,” with the goal of empowering people to express their beauty however they see fit without exposure to harmful chemicals,” said Franklin.
For James E. Rogers, Ph.D., it was his older daughters who inspired him to give.
Under his leadership as director of food safety, Consumer Reports has conducted several rounds of testing to determine whether products marketed as healthier alternatives to synthetic hair (often made of plastic fibers like the rash-causing Kanekalon) are actually safe.
“It’s a risk you take when you get braids. People are talking about it, we know people are upset.”
Elissia T. Franklin, Ph.D.
Although braids are considered “protective” hair and are meant to be worn for weeks or months at a time, Rogers cites several stories of people putting in Kanekalon hair and removing it the same day because of the reaction.
But the hair samples of the people they tested had high levels of lead, and some “safe” synthetic samples were just as toxic.
Itching, burning and other hair-raising nightmares
Frostine M. Williams, a braider in Fredericksburg, VA, is a licensed cosmetologist and specialist in cranial prosthetics, meaning she makes medical-grade hair pieces.
Clients come to him with stories of “headache irritation, redness, constant itching, small bumps or swelling and coughing” from previous experiences.
Some estimates say that more than 70% of black women in the US use hair extensions, and everyone who spoke to The Post had their own horror stories of rashes, burns, itching, split ends or hair loss from the weaves.
And the problem could be worse.
“Exposure to the skin over time can intensify the response,” Raman Madan, MD, director of cosmetic dermatology at Northwell Health, told The Post.
Exposure to allergens “triggers” the immune system, which means “your body recognizes that something is off.” The more exposure there is, the more the body is “ready to react” with inflammation.
It is surprising that Franklin says that many black women have become untilsensitivity to results. As someone who is “allergic to shrimp” but doesn’t eat shrimp anyway – “it doesn’t clog their throat, it’s a bit of a bite,” she said.
“It’s a risk you take when you get braids. People talk about it, we know people get bruises,” she added. “You might be a little puffy, but it’s easy to get braids and it’s very attractive.”
To make “protection” styles safe
Independent research has increased the demand for natural, safe, plant-based hair products – and the industry is listening.
There is a proliferation of “non-toxic” hair brands such as Ruka, Dosso, Kynd, New Village Braid and SLAYYY.
Lillian Augusta Beauty, or LAB, uses plant fibers derived from corn. Founder Jannise Newson tells The Post that “even without the data, hairdressers and clients know something is wrong for a long time.”
In 2019, entrepreneur May launched Rebundle with biodegradable hair “BraidBetter” made from banana fibers from Uganda and Kenya. The fibers undergo a “rigorous extraction process” to ensure they are safe both for the skin of consumers and the workers who process them.
“Getting braids is part of being a little black girl.”
Elissa T. Franklin, Ph.D., researcher at Silent Spring Institute
However, in tests conducted by Consumer Reports and Silent Spring, Rebundle also contained trace amounts of lead, as well as DEHP, a phthalate linked to high blood pressure and reproductive harm.
When May got on the phone with The Post, he was in the process of interpreting new data from another trial, trying to unravel how DEHP enters. He welcomes all the peer-reviewed studies he can get, adding that he has been “advocating for this level of research from the beginning.”
But independent testing is expensive, and you want to see better control from the top.
“Everyone is doing their best to reach the event,” he said of his company and its competitors, “but if there is no standard, everyone is grasping at straws.”
“A controlling black hole”
Legislatures in several states, including New York, have enacted their own bills to ban heavy metals, phthalates and PFAS from cosmetics. But legally, these products seem to have fallen into a “regulatory black hole.”
In 2022, the Modern Cosmetics Regulatory Act (MoCRA) gave the FDA the authority to recall cosmetics, which they can do if there is “a reasonable possibility that use or exposure to the cosmetic will cause adverse health effects or death,” which could include rashes, hair loss or hospitalization.
But Rogers said he has never seen the FDA recall hair extensions and believes they should take more aggressive action.
In an email to The Post, Department of Health and Human Services Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard confirmed that synthetic hair, wigs and extensions fall under the FDA’s purview.
“The FDA is developing Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations for cosmetic products,” he added. “These rules will set basic requirements to strengthen the way cosmetics are made and help ensure product quality and safety. They will focus on reducing the risk of contamination and promoting consistent manufacturing processes.”
The agency “now requires companies to report serious adverse events linked to cosmetic products within 15 business days,” he said, which gives them the ability to “respond to safety issues in real time.”
However, last year, the FDA’s retired director of the office of cosmetics and colors explained to NPR that the agency will not ban a product unless it believes there is sufficient scientific evidence to prove that its ingredients cause harm – never mind if they are already banned in the EU.
Independent scientists are trying to fill the research gap, but resources are limited.
“We’re just a non-profit organization,” said Rogers. “The FDA should be able to do more testing.”
“It’s a culture, it’s an art form”
As a child, Yelitsa Jean-Charles sat between her mother’s legs in their Queens living room while her mother — hair product in one hand, comb in the other — braided her hair.
“There are so many different ways to braid your hair,” the 31-year-old artist told The Post. “I think the general public’s perception of a braid is a pigtail or a French braid, but baby, that’s not even 10% of what’s possible.”
There are cornrows, he explains, and mini twists; poodles and baldies are tied. Stylists can do small braids or big braids, small parts or big parts. Your appointment may last two hours, or more than six.
“It’s a tradition, it’s an art, it’s something to be respected and it’s beautiful,” said Jean-Charles. She is so obsessed with black hair that in 2015 she founded a doll company to celebrate natural hair.
Franklin, who grew up on the south side of Chicago, said “getting braids is part of the black girl experience.”
For some, hair extensions are just another thread in the knot of health risks — such as the link between chemical hair relaxers and ovarian cancer — in the everyday products they rely on to feel like themselves.
People will do many things to feel beautiful, says Jean-Charles, whether it’s plastic surgery or putting plastic on their heads.
In May, hair is something she refuses to compromise on. “I can’t control where my water comes from, I can’t grow my own meat, I don’t control the chemicals I eat most of the time,” he said.
But the hair? “That’s something I can control.”
