Hair Styling Products Can Emit Toxic Pollutants

Curled and straightened hair adds a touch of beauty, but did you know that it can also attract toxic chemicals that can harm your health? Hair products frequently include substances that evaporate readily, making it possible for consumers to breathe in some of these compounds and suffer health consequences.

Common heat styling methods including curling and straightening hair, as well as smoothing and shining hair care products, can raise the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause air pollution reveals a new study (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Siloxane Emissions and Exposures during the Use of Hair Care Products in Buildings

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How do Hair Styling Products Combined with Heat Pollute Air?

Hair care products (HCPs) often contain cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (cVMS), which might have a negative effect on the environment and public health.

A real-time mass spectrometry data measuring the VOC emissions at home showed rapid changes in the chemical composition of air and revealed that cVMS accounted for most of the VOCs that were detected.

The most common volatile organic compound (VOC) released when using hair care products was decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5).

The types of hair products, styling equipment, operating temperatures, and hair length all had an impact on the cVMS emission variables during hair care activities. Increasing the hair straightener temperature from room temperature to 210 °C increased cVMS emissions by 50– 310%. The high temperature of styling tools and the high surface area of hair elevated VOC emissions.

How Harmful are VOCs?

Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) on acute inhalation can be a dermal or eye irritant. Chronic or long-term exposure can impact the liver, uterus, and upper respiratory tract.

Adverse effects of siloxane in the liver result in hepatocellular hypertrophy. Additionally, it is hazardous to the uterus and can result in uterine adenomatous polyps, endometrial adenomyosis, and endometrial cancer (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5)

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Hair products release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly in real-world settings like small bathrooms, and cramped hair salons where they are commonly used. Most air contaminants in a room can be removed by turning on an exhaust fan, but in heavily populated areas, this could also have an impact on the quality of the outside air.

These findings call for further research into hair styling products as well as projected public health awareness.

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Ultimately, maintaining beautiful hair should not be at the expense of your health.

References:

1. Siloxane Emissions and Exposures during the Use of Hair Care Products in Buildings - (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c05156)
2. Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28092229/)

Source-Medindia