Hairspray Linked to Birth Defects
Filed under: Cosmetics, Beauty Tips
Hairspray Linked to Birth Defects
Bad news for stylists, hair dressers, and any woman who's a fan of big 'ol Texas hair. A new study has found a disturbing link between your hairspray habit and an alarming birth defect. Researchers claim that boys whose mothers were around large amounts of hairspray may run the risk of being born with a genital disorder.
SXC
Scientists at the Imperial College London surveyed women who had boys born with a condition called hypospadias -- essentially, a deformity that causes the baby's urinary tract to grow where it shouldn't. According to those scientists, hairspray more than doubled the chance that the women's children would be born with this defect.
SXC
That said, it's not all bad news. The professor who led the study told the BBC that this new research didn't not prove conclusively that hairspray was to blame.
He went so far as to say: "Pregnant women will need to make their own choices about whether or not to avoid these kind of exposures."
But that doesn't mean dousing your head in hairspray is a good idea.
SXC
The number of hypospadias cases has gone up dramatically over the past twenty years, and many have been blaming a chemical called phthalates. As you might suspect, this chmeical is found in plastics -- namely the plasitcs used in hairspray.
Evidence is mounting, and certain types of phthalates have already been banned from hairsprays and other cosmetics.
SXC
You might recognize phthalates -- they've been in the news quite a bit recently, but mostly due to their ability to disrupt hormones. These revelations have led the European Union to ban the substance for toys (for quite some time).
SXC
However, before you completely freak out, while research has shown phthalates could mess with the production of testosterone in some animals (and could therefore effect the development of the urinary tract), studies in humans remain unclear.
So, while avoiding chemicals in hairspray and other cosmetics is a good idea -- particularly when you're pregnant -- you probably won't see any official word on this for a some time.
SXC
Karen 11-21-2008 @ 8:22PM
I am a hairstylist and have a 14 year old son and have done hair for 24 years and he is fine!
Reply
Rella 11-21-2008 @ 10:40PM
I think people do over-react. My mother used Aqua-Net. Dyed her hair, etc.. My sisters and I are fine. My sister has been a hairdresser for 22 years, has 6 children; not a one of them has any birth defects. People can get heart disease by eating McD's (only if you eat it everyday). As my mother always said in moderation!!! There was a time when butter or eggs weren't good for you... If we all worried about every little thing, then no one woudl really live life to it's fullest. I agree with you.
Barbara 11-21-2008 @ 10:47PM
Yeah, your son is fine... and so are his three penises and four arms! LOL!
Brad 11-22-2008 @ 1:30AM
WOW!!! Jessica Simpson posing nude here:
http://www.celebcvid.com/video.php?v=Jessica_Simpson_nude
denise 11-21-2008 @ 8:56PM
dont be so sure karen who knows what effects of breathing chemicals for all of those years may be, you're son may be fine now but who is to say that years down the road he or his future children may not show something dont be so sure how fine your son is
Reply
Karen 11-21-2008 @ 9:37PM
Thanks. I won't be so sure. You're so thoughtful.
Steven 11-21-2008 @ 9:04PM
This is for Karen. Let me just explain something to you. The fact that you do hair and must have taken in a lot of hairspray fumes without your son having any problems does not mean that hairspray does not do damage. Here is an example of what I am talking about. There are people that have smoked cigarettes there whole lives and never got cancer. But people that do smoke increase there chances quite a bit though not all get cancer. Got it now?????
Reply
Karen 11-21-2008 @ 9:36PM
Thanks for the info. I was just making a comment so people wouldn't over react. Give me a break. I didn't need a lecture. I have never smoked because I know the consequences. So all of us sylists should quit doing hair ? You're implying I'm stupid because I said was my son is fine? I thought I'd be nice and comment to ease fear-my first time ever doing this. It is my last.
THICKAGE 11-21-2008 @ 9:43PM
I agree with Karen. Denise and Steven are douche bags. F@ck the both of you.
VINCE 11-21-2008 @ 9:05PM
MY MOTHER WAS A STYLIST FOR YEARS AND I AM FINE, BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT, MY BROTHER IS AN IDIOT!
Reply
jonas 11-21-2008 @ 9:27PM
Hi Sis I just said the same thing about you, I'm fine but my sister is an Idiot.
Dana 11-21-2008 @ 9:07PM
What do you think that hairspray is doing to your lungs? You are breathing it when you spray your hair. Just look at the surrounding area where the hairspray lands. My wife uses it everyday and my sink, floor, and walls are covered in a glue. It's got to shorten your lung capacity over the year.What about cancer and other lung diseases!
Reply
Giselle 11-21-2008 @ 9:11PM
you all have WAY too much time on your hands.
Reply
JJ 11-21-2008 @ 9:11PM
WOW! My Mom used Extra Hold Hairspray before I was born and after I was born, I saw a Beehive and I am fine.
Reply
sue-z 11-21-2008 @ 9:11PM
geez people, nothing like making karen feel like crap just because she does hair. i have done nails for the past 11 years and i have 3 healthy kids. do i think acrylic is damaging? yes. but guess what? i make my living that way and i could get hit by a car tomorrow. then it won't matter if EMA or MMA gave me cancer. i just can't live in fear that my career choice is going to kill me. wearing deodorant may cause cancer. there are parabens in most beauty products. cell phones may cause brain tumors. you gotta die sometime.
Reply
hairgoddess 11-21-2008 @ 9:15PM
i must agree that the chemical part of hairspray is not entirely safe...if you really think about it, neither is the the air we breathe.....go back to the basics shampoo sets :)
Reply
JMP 11-21-2008 @ 9:32PM
Hairgoddes if you think a shampoo set is "basic" you obviously have never set foot into a salon. I've done shampoo sets for 25 years and I spray after I comb the hair out, after I backcomb, and after the set is complete so there is no more safety involved in doing a shampoo set, I use 3 times the hairspray on my little ladies than any other type of style, afterall they want it to hold for a week.
Reply
Gigi 11-21-2008 @ 9:42PM
Love yoruself as you are. Quit the hairspray and the tyranny of good looks in a one-size fits-all standard of appearances. Life is too short to spend it in front of the miiror trying to please the madding crowd. Free yourself and wear your hair long!
DragonCrest 11-21-2008 @ 9:47PM
I did hair for many years and never realized until I quit what hairspray was doing to me, For over two years after I quit I had a form of chronic bronchitis that let me know very quickly what it had done to me! I dont use hairspray on me and dont even own any. But every time I coughed for over two years I tasted hairspray! That's how long it took to get the build up out of my lungs. Now I use nothing on my hair except shampoo and conditioner. A good cut does the rest. I dont want to ever be exosed to the fumes from all tise chemicals again!
Reply
Bren 11-21-2008 @ 10:57PM
I use hairspray every other day,I keep a cough,could it be from that,my cough has gotten worse in the pass year,I smoke as well and I know they can make the cough worse,but I also get earaches not long after I spray my hair,could hairspray be the reason for the earaches too.