Warning: Beauty may come at a hidden health cost for African-Americans

When Teni Adewumi was growing up, she, like many of her family members and friends, spent countless hours in hair salons without ever thinking about the potential side effects of the harsh chemicals being used on their hair.  Now a Ph.D. student in environmental health sciences in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Adewumi has sounded a warning to both patrons and professionals that beauty may come at a hidden cost to their health.    Through the nationwide Occupational Health Internship Program and the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health (UCLA-LOSH) program, Adewumi began working last summer with the South Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization Black Women for Wellness on its Healthy Hair Initiative project. The project aims to raise awareness of the potential adverse health effects associated with certain products used at beauty salons in the African-American community. Organizers also aim to empower professionals and patrons to advocate for a healthier workplace. UCLA A pamphlet from the organization Black Women for Wellness “This is an industry that isn’t regulated, and many of the products include ingredients that are known to be possible carcinogens, endocrine destructors or allergens,” says Adewumi, who began working on this effort as a graduate student in the UCLA Fielding school. “These professionals are exposed both from using the products on themselves and from using them on their clients.” To document the problem, Adewumi and UCLA-L...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news