Certain hair dyes and perm treatments contain banned aromatic amines called toluidine, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, a new research shows.
Researchers at the Lund University in Sweden found that hairdressers are mostly exposed to such products. The study found that permanent hair dyes, also called oxidative dyes, are the ones most dangerous to users as well as hairdressers.
For the study, researchers looked at o-toluidine levels in the blood, along with levels of seven other potentially carcinogenic aromatic amines. O-toluidine (ortho-toluidine) is known to be carcinogenic.
Researchers measured its levels in the blood of 295 female hairdressers, 32 regular hair dye users and 60 people who had not used any of these products.
They found that hairdressers were significantly exposed to o-toluidine and meta-toluidine (m-toluidine). Similar result was found in perming treatments with respect to o-toluidine levels.
"The ingredients of hair dyes and perming products should be analysed to find out if these products continue to be potential sources of toluidine exposure," researchers said.
"The measured levels of o-toluidine in blood among hairdressers were in general low, however, exposure to o-toluidine should be kept as low as possible since it is a carcinogenic compound," study researcher Gabriella M. Johansson told Reuters Health.
Researchers advised that hairdressers can protect themselves from the risk of absorbing these products through their skin by wearing gloves.
A recent study showed that chemicals from gasoline, vehicles exhaust, lawn equipment, smoking and charred food increase the risk of breast cancer. Another study showed that chemicals such as 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), an ultraviolet filter found in certain sunscreens, and the anti-bacterial agent Triclosan, used in some toothpaste, affects fertility in men.
