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Hair dye cancer risk

Marie Claire beauty news: Hair Dye IPC Images

Regular use of hair dye could increase your chance of getting cancer, scientists have warned.

Women who use hair dye more than nine times a year increase their chance of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia by up to 60% and those who used hair dye before 1980, when it included more toxic ingredients, have a 70% higher chance of developing the disease.

The bad news continues: women who use dark hair dye may also be at risk of the non-aggressive blood cancer, follicular lymphoma.

The research, which spanned several countries, looked at four separate studies undertaken between 1988 and 2003. All those polled, of which 4,461 had follicular lymphoma and 5,799 did not, were asked detailed questions about their hair dye use.

However, although Dr Zhang of Yale School of Public Health, who led the survey, said this latest study proved a link between cancer and hair dye, another recent study, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, said there is still not enough evidence to prove inconclusively that personal use of hair dye increases the risk of cancer.

For some time now links between hair dyes and cancer have been known.

Meanwhile, Jamie Page, chief executive of the Cancer Prevention & Education Society, tells the Daily Mail: 'For some time now links between hair dyes and cancer have been known.

'It is important that people are aware that many chemicals in consumer products have not been adequately tested for safety.

'It is absolutely vital that regulatory authorities require that all product ingredients have been properly tested for safety before allowing them to be used by the general public as well as workers such as hairdressers.'

Tuesday 29 April 2008


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The fact that scientists have known about the link between hair dye and cancer for years, yet this is the first time I have heard of it (and I read health articles and keep up to date on health issues) is incredibly worrying. Does this include all hair dyes? What about the ones sold in health-food shops as being 'natural'? And at the risk of sounding shallow and vain, I am 37 and have dyed my hair(dark brown)once a month since it turned white practically overnight six years ago due to stress. I don't want cancer, obviously, but I get mistaken for someone 20 years older and lose all confidence if I don't dye it, so what do I do now?
Comment by caroline griffiths on May 04 13:51

The fact that scientists have known for a while there maybe a link between hair dye and cancer is a worry in itself. If cigarettes have a goverment health warning regarding cancer why on earth have we not even been told before of this scare.
And what happens now!!
Comment by anna kioufi on May 01 08:31

I am 76 yrs of age and have coloured my own hair for over 50yrs now, so regarding the findings on Hair dye, I think once again the scare stories are out, if it isn,t Hair dye it will be Food, etc,etc, that they ,ll be on about next,
Like they took everone off H.R.T a couple of years ago and then they decided their findings was not true,

Comment by Edith on April 29 23:14

Now they tell me.
Comment by Dorothy Martin on April 29 22:09

Do all hair dyes have the dangerous chemical in it or just a certain few. This is really scary!
Comment by glennis kearns on April 29 13:04

Does your article really mean that people who used hair dye before 1980 have a 70% chance of developing follicular lymphoma. Do you not mean instead that they increased their chances of developing the disease by 70%?

To say that 70% of people who used hair dye before 1980 will develop follicular lymphoma would make hair dye a hugely potent carcinogen.
Comment by Mandy Boylett on April 29 11:06


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