13/03/2026
‘What Black hair product is safe?’ Lead and carcinogens are found in hair extensions used by Black women
(CNN) Almost every Black woman or girl has, at some point, purchased hair extensions for box braids, boho braids, twists or faux locs.
For many Black women, these “protective styles” are worn year-round to protect and maintain their natural hair.
For others, they’re a pre-vacation splurge — an easy way to shield one’s curls from the harshness of salty ocean water or a chlorine-filled pool.
Beauty shops feature walls of extension colors — 1b, 30, 27, 24 or maybe even 613 — ready to be purchased and installed by a pro or a patient auntie.
But a growing number of studies are revealing dozens of potentially dangerous chemicals and carcinogens in these hair extensions: a Consumer Reports study published this week found lead in 29 brands of extensions, while a peer-reviewed study published earlier in February found dozens of hazardous chemicals, some of which have been linked with cancer, birth defects and reproductive issues, across 43 hair samples.
Some samples in the latter study had chemicals that should have required consumer warning labels under California’s Proposition 65.
Research has yet to determine whether or not these hair extensions are dangerous or could be causing illness.
But both studies indicate how a largely unregulated billion-dollar industry fueled by Black women may also be disproportionately harming them.
Read more: https://znbc.co.zm/?p=11569
