Chemical hair relaxation and adverse outcomes among Negroid women in South West Nigeria
Keywords:
Chemical hair relaxers, Nigerian Negroid women, adverse outcomesAbstract
Background The use of chemical hair relaxers has found widespread use in African Negroid women because of the desire to straighten their curly hair. The hair texture in Negroids is essentially coily and the process of straightening makes easier to comb and style. This beautification process, however, is not without its own hazards to the users. We document the adverse outcomes of this practice in a group of Nigerian Negroid women who had been exposed to repeated regular professional application of chemical hair relaxers for a period of greater than one year. Patients and methods Women who were exposed to regular professional use of chemical hair relaxers for greater than one year were selected from hairdressing saloons with trained hairdressers in the city of study. Self-administered questionnaire was developed to elicit socio-demographic data, motivation for this practice, duration of exposure and various self-reported side effects experienced. Exclusion criteria for respondents included history of hair loss prior to initiating the chemicals, history of use of hair dyes, and history of previous scalp disease. Results Two hundred and fifty women were subjected to the questionnaire over a period of three months. Their ages ranged between 11-60years with a peak between 21-40years. Sixty two percent of the women were married. The duration of first exposure was 1-20years with repeated application every two to three months. Reasons for the use of chemical hair relaxers included beauty, social acceptability and ease of management of the relaxed hair. Major side effects were documented despite professional handling and these included itchy scalp, dandruff, burnt/scarred scalp, thinning and weakening of hair shaft, hair discolouration, hair loss, and allergic reactions to the chemicals. Conclusion The practice of hair straightening with chemical hair relaxers is still relevant and still has widespread use among Nigerian Negroid women for beauty and convenient hair management. The various self-reported side effects have health implications and might call for a greater emphasis on safer modes of application and stiffer market legislation concerning these chemicals.ÂReferences
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