Welcome to Blaq Natural Hair

Hello and welcome to my Blaq Natural Hair blog. I am starting this blog because I am still new to my own natural hair journey. It's been one year of growing out my relaxer and nearly one year fully natural... Read more: HERE

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Black Women, Warning to Stop Using Hair Relaxers, Linked to Fibroids [VIDEO]

black women, relaxers and fibroids


Black Women, Warning to Stop Using Hair Relaxers, Linked to Fibroids [VIDEO]

There's some startling news coming from a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study says hair relaxers are linked to uterine fibroids and to young girls early as puberty.
When we think about this, it really brings to light why black women need to embrace the ever growing culture of going natural with their hair. We have always felt relaxers caused issues for our type of hair but who would have known that fibroids was a huge problem because of hair relaxers.
The study continues to state that:
Scientists followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the two- to three-times higher rate of fibroids among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers. Women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids, and early menstruation may result from hair products black girls are using, according to a separate study published in the Annals of Epidemiology last summer.
This may be a result to black mothers who grew tired of combing their young girls' hair and put relaxers on their heads as young as 4 years old. We have heard of cases like this. The study goes on to state:
Three hundred African American, African Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women in New York City were studied. The women’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but African Americans, who were more likely to use straightening and relaxers hair oils, also reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic groups. So far, there is only an association rather than a cause and effect relationship between relaxers, fibroid tumors, and puberty.
Here are some true and important facts about fibroids
Fibroids are tumors that grow in the uterus. They are benign, which means they are not cancerous, and are made up of muscle fibers. Fibroids can be as small as a pea and can grow as large as a melon. It is estimated that 20-50% of women have, or will have, fibroids at some time in their lives. They are rare in women under the age of 20, most common in women in their 30s and 40s, and tend to shrink after the menopause.
According to US studies, fibroids occur up to nine times more often in black women than in white women, and tend to appear earlier. The reason for this is unclear. Also women who are overweight may be more likely to have fibroids. This is thought to be due to higher levels of estrogen in heavier women.
black women and natural hair

This is so important that black women take heed to the information here about fibroids and black girls and women. We pray that more black women take in consideration that going natural really is the best way. Take a lesson from a story from our friends at Hicktown Press that was pretty eye opening for many of us.

Watch video below:

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

:-)
great
thanks a lot friend

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