Greene County Democrat

Tag: Ayanna Pressley

  • Newswire: Harmful chemicals lurk in extensions and hair braiding marketed to Black women, study finds

    Newswire: Harmful chemicals lurk in extensions and hair braiding marketed to Black women, study finds

    By Claretta Bellamy, NBC News

    The same chemicals found in pipes, pesticides and floor tiles are also present in some wigs, braiding hair and hair extensions, a new study published Wednesday in the journal Environment & Health found.
    Researchers at the Silent Spring Institute, a scientific research nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts, tested 43 hair extension products purchased online and from local beauty supply stores and identified 169 chemicals present overall, including dozens of harmful substances such as flame retardants, pesticides and compounds used to stabilize plastics.
    A dozen of the compounds found are listed under California’s Proposition 65, known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which warns residents of chemicals known to cause birth defects, cancer and reproductive issues. Additionally, 17 compounds that have been linked to breast cancer were found in 36 samples tested, the researchers said.
    In recent years, researchers across the country have been sounding the alarm over harmful hair products, many of which are used and marketed to Black women. Consumer Reports revealed last year that carcinogens were found in samples of 10 popular synthetic braiding hair brands. Nine of the 10 samples also tested positive for lead.
    Chemical hair relaxers also pose risks. The Black Women’s Health Study in 2023 found a 50% increased risk of uterine cancer in postmenopausal Black women who used chemical hair relaxers more than twice a year or used the products for more than five years, compared to a cohort who rarely or never used relaxers. And a 2022 study from the National Institute Environmental Health Sciences found that women who used hair straighteners more than four times per year had more than a double chance of developing uterine cancer than those who didn’t use the products. (Uterine cancer accounted for about 3% of new cancer cases in the U.S. in 2025.)
    Harsh chemicals found in synthetic braiding hair and other hair extensions can be absorbed through the scalp, causing irritation, burning and redness, according to Dr. Chris Pernell, director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity. They can also be inhaled — particularly when heated during styling — and absorbed through a person’s hands.
    Pernell, who was not involved with the new research, said in an email that braiders or stylists may be most at risk for dermal absorption through their hands and fingers, “due to ongoing handling of the products, which they may transfer to their mouths and faces when eating.”
    She said the long-term impact of being exposed to chemicals through hair extensions requires additional research.
    “While some of these compounds are known to be carcinogens, such as benzene, or have neurotoxicity like lead, it is unclear whether these chemicals in hair products lead to cancer or neurological impairments,” she said. However, the fact that these chemicals are present in commonly used products and pose a hazard “warrants attention, inquiry, and regulation.”
    Hazardous hair
    The new study tested 43 synthetic and human hair products. Human hair was classified as raw (unprocessed) or virgin (minimally processed); several types of synthetic hair were included, as well as blended synthetic and human hair, referred to as mastermix.
    Elissia Franklin, a research scientist at the Silent Spring Institute and the lead author of the new study, said that 41 out of the 43 products tested contained hazardous chemicals. The two products deemed to be safe, from the brands Spetra and Latched & Hooked, were labeled as “non-toxic” or “toxic-free.”
    The study also checked its findings against chemicals listed in the PlastChem database, an international scientific initiative that classifies chemicals in plastic. Several of the samples contained chemicals that PlastChem lists as hazardous, particularly in samples of raw, virgin and blended hair.
    Among the chemicals identified were benzyl chloride, a compound used in the production of sanitizers and plasticizers that is possibly carcinogenic and can cause harm to the lungs and digestive tract.
    Seventeen of the chemicals identified were linked to breast cancer, including dibutyl phthalate and DEHP, which are both used to increase flexibility in plastics.
    Four samples tested contained 23 so-called organotin compounds. These samples contained “unspecified” synthetic hair, the study said.

    “It was the organotin compounds that stood out to us, in particular because that’s not commonly found in consumer products,” Franklin said. “It is used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as a stabilizer. However, we do know that they are linked to cancer and hormone disruption as well, and they’re really bad for the environment.”
    Lariah Edwards, an associate research scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said this is the first time she’s heard of organotins in hair extensions.
    “This is definitely concerning,” she said, especially as it relates to endocrine disruptors, which studies have shown are linked to obesity and birth defects.
    For Black women, hair-braiding is often seen as a protective style — it allows the hair to grow and gives it a break from relaxers, Edwards said.
    “To find out that this style is also exposing them to toxic chemicals is really unfortunate,” Edwards added, calling the findings another “catch 22 for Black women.”
    A push for legislation
    More research is needed to determine the exact routes of exposure for chemicals in hair extensions, Franklin said. Still, the responsibility lies on the companies, who need to remove the chemicals from their products. According to the Silent Spring study, hair extension products rarely disclose chemical ingredients on packaging.
    On a legislative level, some efforts are moving in a positive direction. Last summer, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., along with three other members of Congress, reintroduced the Safer Beauty Bill Package to expand the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of cosmetics. One of four bills in the package includes the Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color and Salon Workers Act.
    In 2023, the FDA proposed a ban on using formaldehyde in chemical relaxers. Since then, however, the agency has missed four deadlines to act, including its most recent deadline of Dec. 31. Some changes are also happening at the local level. New York’s State Assembly Bill 2025-A7001 would require that hair extensions, wigs and braiding hair containing toxic chemicals must be labeled with a warning.
    For people who are concerned about their hair extensions, braiding hair and wigs, Franklin said to look out for brands that label themselves as nontoxic or toxic-free. She also suggested a possible at-home remedy that is commonly found in kitchen cabinets: apple cider vinegar.
    “We have some support that apple cider vinegar rinses of the hair could reduce the number of chemicals in it — but it’s limited,” she said.
    Pernell, the NAACP Center for Health Equity director, said that people can also limit the frequency of wearing synthetic braids or hair extensions and look for safer alternatives, including plant-based products. She also emphasized the importance of consumer advocacy and the demand for safer products.
    “Consumer advocacy plays a vital role in health advocacy,” Pernell said. “Just as we fight for clean air, safe streets, access to green spaces, and healthy, affordable food, the public and historically marginalized communities, particularly, have the right not to bear disproportionate risks from consumer products.”

  • Newswire :  The unfulfilled power of the Black vote

     News Analysis By: Dr. Ron Daniels

     

     

    Black voting protest

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – For decades I have been hammering home the point that in a low voter participation environment, the group that effectively educates, mobilizes and organizes its voters to turn-out on election day will wield power disproportionate to its numbers in the overall electorate. Put another way, a relatively small group that registers and turns out a high percentage of its potential voters will exercise greater influence than a much larger group that fails to register and turn-out a high percentage of its potential voters. This is a Daniels political axiom. And, as Frank Watkins, Advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson puts it, “a organized minority is a political majority.” The United States has the lowest voter participation rate of any of the western democracies. I have suggested somewhat facetiously that the biggest political party in the U.S. is not the Democrats or Republicans but non-voters. A voter turn-out in this country in the range of 50-55% of the eligible electorate is hailed by political commentators as spectacular. This is absolutely abysmal when compared to western democracies where voter turn-out is routinely 80% or better. But, the reality of this low voter participation environment creates a major opportunity for Black voters to exercise power disproportionate to our numbers in the electorate. We may be out-numbered by Whites, but a large percentage of Whites don’t bother to vote. It is not by accident that Republicans are openly implementing polices to suppress or disenfranchise Black voters. They fear the Black vote. The forces of reaction realize that if Blacks maximize voter registration and mobilize/organize large voter turn-outs, it is a threat to their retrograde agenda. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson has relentlessly urged Black folks to register and vote in massive numbers to maximize our political power. At a session during the recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, he shared data that illuminates the unfulfilled power of the Black vote. He noted that there are still 8 million Blacks who are not registered to vote, 4 million in the South. In 2016 some 2.5 million Blacks, who were registered, failed to vote in an election which was determined by less than 100,000 votes total in key battleground states with a large concentration of Black voters! Rev. Jackson’s point is that a potent key to political resistance and transformation is in Black hands, the ballot. The challenge is to organize/mobilize and turn-out the unorganized, Black people who, for whatever reason, do not believe that voting matters as a means of changing their lives. There is increasing evidence that a new generation of Black leaders, particularly women and young people, understand the potential of the Black vote as foundational to coalitions that can beat back the conservative tide of Trumpism by advancing people-centered, progressive policies. Stacey Abrams has an excellent chance to become the first Black Governor of Georgia by educating and inspiring hundreds of thousands of unregistered, “improbable” Black voters to register and turn-out in massive numbers on election day. Ben Jealous has launched a grassroots campaign to employ the same formula in Maryland. The polls in Boston showed Ayanna Pressley trailing long term Congressman Michael Capuano by 10 points among “probable” voters in the Democratic Primary. She won by more than 10 points because she organized/mobilized the unorganized; the improbable voters showed up in massive numbers as the anchor of her progressive coalition. Rev. Jackson points out that in Florida Andrew Gillum, who shocked the pundits by winning the Democratic primary for Governor, can win because there are more than 1.8 million Blacks who are eligible to register in that state coupled with more than 300,000 recently arrived Puerto Ricans who fled the Island in the wake of Hurricane Maria. When the improbable voters from these constituencies are energized to march on the ballot box, there is a very high probability that Gillum will become the first African American Governor of Florida. It is important to note that in the instances cited above, only 15 percent – 20 percent of forward-thinking White voters are needed to achieve victory. The Daniels’ Axiom applies: In a low voter participation environment, where large numbers of Whites will remain unregistered or will not vote, all that is required is for the unorganized, the improbable voters in the Black community and our allies to mobilize/organize and turn-out in massive numbers to achieve victory! So, the mandate is clear; Black leaders must devise strategies to educate, motivate, inspire and energize millions of unregistered, improbable Black voters to burst into the arena to become the cornerstone of progressive coalitions. These coalitions of the improbable have the potential to fundamentally alter the political landscape in the U.S. by ushering in an era of resistance to Trumpism and more importantly advancing progressive policies which can create a new America! Dr. Ron Daniels is President of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and Distinguished Lecturer Emeritus, York College City University of New York. Dr. Daniels can be reached via email at info@ibw21.org