ArticleJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2021
Hormonal activity in commonly used Black hair care products: evaluating hormone disruption as a plausible contribution to health disparities.
Article in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic evidence map on the association between exposure to personal care products and fetal growth.Environment international · 2026Pooled it
- Adolescent personal care product use and social media engagement: a pilot study in NJ high school students.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Use of Chemical Hair Straighteners and Menstrual Disturbances.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2026Article
- Analyzing the landscape of "clean" products for textured hair at a Los Angeles Target.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Personal Care Products and Incident Hypertension: Prospective Cohort Study of U.S. Women.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Associations between self-reported personal care products use and menstrual cycle length and regularity in a US digital cohort.Environment international · 2026Article
- Clean beauty gentrification: The role of historic and contemporary resource allocation practices on hair product safety in Boston, MA.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- Use of hair straighteners and chemical relaxers and incidence of non-reproductive cancers.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2026Article
- Cosmetic Habits Associated With Breast Cancer in Benin: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Article
- A prospective study of hair dyes and uterine leiomyomata incidence in the study of environment, lifestyle, and fibroids.Fertility and sterility · 2026Article
- Personal care products exposure patterns and prostate cancer: evidence from a case-control study in Mexico City.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Evaluating personal care product use by Environmental Working Group hazard scores in relation to consumers' sociodemographic characteristics, purchasing behaviors, and product safety perceptions.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Environmental hazard ingredients in women's hair growth cosmeceuticals: a comprehensive analysis.International journal of women's dermatology · 2025Article
- Associations of personal care product use during pregnancy and the postpartum period with markers of postpartum glycemic control - Results from the ERGO Study.International journal of hygiene and environmental health · 2025Article
- Exploring the barriers and facilitators to safer hair product purchasing and use among Black women in the greater Boston area through photovoice in the RESTYLE study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Hair product use and urinary biomarker concentrations of non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals among reproductive-aged Black women.Chemosphere · 2024Article
- Frequency of personal care product use among reproductive-aged Black individuals and associations with socio-demographic characteristics.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2024Article
- Associations between use of chemical hair products and epigenetic age: Findings from the Sister Study.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2024Article
- Article
- Personal Care Product Use during Puberty and Incident Breast Cancer among Black, Hispanic/Latina, and White Women in a Prospective US-Wide Cohort.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCertain types of hair products are more commonly used by Black women. Studies show hair products contain several endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are associated with adverse health outcomes. As chemical mixtures of endocrine disruptors, hair products may be hormonally active, but this remains unclear.
objectiveTo assess the hormonal activity of commonly used Black hair products.
methodsWe identified six commonly used hair products (used by >10% of the population) from the Greater New York Hair Products Study. We used reporter gene assays (RGAs) incorporating natural steroid receptors to evaluate estrogenic, androgenic, progestogenic, and glucocorticoid hormonal bioactivity employing an extraction method using bond elution prior to RGA assessment at dilutions from 50 to 500.
resultsAll products displayed hormonal activity, varying in the amount and effect. Three samples showed estrogen agonist properties at levels from 12.5 to 20 ng/g estradiol equivalent concentrations All but one sample showed androgen antagonist properties at levels from 20 to 25 ng/g androgen equivalent concentrations. Four samples showed antagonistic and agonistic properties to progesterone and glucocorticoid. SIGNIFICANCE: Hair products commonly used by Black women showed hormonal activity. Given their frequent use, exposure to hormonally active products could have implications for health outcomes and contribute to reproductive and metabolic health disparities.
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