The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (45 page)

Natural Hair Styling

Take a look at the label of your average hair styling spray, and what do you see? Petroleum-derived polymers diluted with alcohol and propylene glycol, spiffed up with synthetic fragrances and minuscule doses of plant extracts. Most bestselling hair sprays, from expensive René Furterer to affordable Thicker Fuller Hair, contain hydrofluorocarbon, a cooling liquid used in air conditioners and freezers that contributes to global warming and is a target of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that aims to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global climate change. As of today, 136 countries, including Canada and European Union, but not the U.S., have ratified the Kyoto Protocol agreeing to keep greenhouse emissions at certain levels. The United States is the world’s largest single emitter of carbon dioxide, according to the latest official energy statistics from the U.S. government (Energy Information Administration 2007).

But sometimes energy is what our hair is lacking. What’s a limp-locked yet health-conscious girl (or guy) to do? Start with correctly chosen hair conditioner, recommends John Masters. “When you condition your scalp, your hair will gain so much volume you didn’t realize you had,” he says. “As you improve the circulation, your hair raises naturally, creating lasting volume.” Another trick is to regularly remove product buildup, which leaves hair lighter and bouncier.

A sea salt spray adds instant texture and volume. John Masters prepares his with sea salt and essential oils, and he says you can easily recreate this bestselling (and very expensive) product at home. Just mix a tablespoon of fine sea salt in a cup of water and add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil. Peppermint, jasmine, and neroli work wonders for boosting circulation in the scalp while keeping hair deliciously scented.

A word about a common styling product ingredient, PVM/MA copolymer. Chemically known as polyvinylmethyl ether maleic acid, this petroleum derivative is frequently used in toothpastes and so-called “natural” hair products. In fact, there’s nothing green or natural about PVM/MA copolymer, but there are many things that concern me. This synthetic resin is formed from vinyl methyl ether. The U.S. Personal Care Products Council, formerly the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, insists that PVM/MA copolymer is safe for use. However, the U.S. consumer safety organization Environmental Working Group found that this chemical has never been assessed for human safety. Personally, I would rather not use anything that has undergone ethoxylation, especially if vinyl, a highly questionable compound, is present. I found a very disturbing study by scientists of the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1997 that clearly shows that vinyl ethers form “mutagenic and tumorigenic metabolites” in animals (Park et al. 1997). As science begins to look closely at the toxic potential of various polymers, including vinyl, I would rather err on the side of caution and stick—pun intended—to botanical hair spray ingredients. Luckily, as technology moves on, green alternatives to petroleum-derived plastics become available.

Want shine and definition? The usual shine booster is pure silicone, a petroleum-derived clear liquid that works pretty much the same way Vaseline does on your skin. “Silicones provide an instant effect, but they do more damage in the long run,” says John Masters. “Hair reprograms itself and stops producing natural emollients. As a result, the hair shaft becomes dull and lifeless, and you need to use more and more silicones to keep up the shine.” Instead, use plant-based styling products that contain gum arabic and sugars for definition. Good green choices include B5 Design Gel by Aubrey Organics, Kiss My Face Upper Management Natural Styling Gel, and Lavera Volume & Shine Extra Strong Hold Styling Mousse. Trick of the trade: because organic styling sprays are much harder to find than organic styling gels, pour some gel into a spray bottle and dilute with water and grain alcohol or witch hazel. Here’s what I use for my homemade styling spray: 1 ounce of B5 Design Gel by Aubrey Organic mixed with 2 ounces of purified water (avoid using mineral water because it may leave unsightly residue) and 1 ounce of organic grain alcohol (vodka). Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle, add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil for a truly luxurious green experience, and shake well.

Green Hair Coloring

If you take to heart only one piece of advice from this book, make it this one: do not color your hair with the toxic brew of chemicals sold in every drugstore and used in every salon. What makes the following information extremely important is not only the good condition of your hair. Synthetic hair dyes directly affect our health. We are talking serious health risks here.

To the dismay of cosmetic manufacturers and hairstylists worldwide, it eventually became clear that synthetic hair dyes were dramatically increasing the risks of some of the deadliest cancers. It was found that permanent hair dyes contain ingredients that are not only irritating—they are proven carcinogens (Bolt, Golka 2007; Miligi et al. 2005).

Two out of three women today color their hair. They color their hair every five weeks on average. The process of dyeing hair at home is so familiar that we don’t even look at the instructions. We assume we know everything about hair colors, because our grandmother, and mother, and sister, and celebrity stylist—everybody—is doing it, so we guess it’s just fine.
It’s not.

How does chemical hair color work? First of all, we have to blend a tube of coloring solution with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Most permanent hair colors first remove the original color of the hair and then deposit a new color. Ammonia opens the hair cuticle to allow for the penetration of hydrogen peroxide, and it also increases the penetration of this potent bleach. No matter which shade you choose, a dark mahogany or light ash blond, every time you color your hair, hydrogen peroxide removes the original color and then the new color is deposited. Peroxide breaks chemical bonds in hair, releasing sulfur. When the color is gone, a new permanent color is injected into the hair shaft. After we have washed off the excess color, we use a silicone-based conditioner to close and seal the cuticle.

Here’s what is happening to our body as we apply the hair color. Hydrogen peroxide, sulfur, and ammonia, well-known respiratory tract irritants, fill our lungs. Pigment-forming chemicals, known as aromatic amines, particularly phenylenediamines and aminophenols, are known to penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream. We usually apply the coloring solution directly to the scalp, nearest the root, and most of us also stain our forehead, neck, and ears. The scalp is where the blood supply is the richest in the entire human body. This rich blood supply carries carcinogenic components right into the bloodstream, spreading them across the body, accumulating toxins in lymph tissue, and dumping them into the bladder.

No wonder bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and bone marrow cancers have a higher incidence in hair care professionals who work with hair dyes daily for long periods of time (Bolt, Golka 2007). In 2008, scientists of Yale University, reporting in the
American Journal of Epidemiology,
observed that “increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma associated with hair-dye use was observed among women who began using hair dye before 1980” (Zhang et al. 2008). In 1995, the
European
Journal of Cancer Prevention
found that hairstylists and colorists also have a higher risk of developing breast cancer (LaVecchia, Tavani 1995). But, while hairstylists are usually exposed to the fumes of hair dyes (mind you, they are wearing gloves!), the carcinogenic cocktail of chemicals is applied directly to our skin, exposing us to significantly higher amounts of toxins. In one study, the risk increased with more prolonged exposure to darker, more concentrated, permanent dyes (Miligi et al. 2005).

Many experts still prefer to insist that hair dyes may not be harmful at all. Most often, these experts have strong ties to the cosmetic industry or perform research that was paid for by cosmetic corporations. For example, in 2008, an industrial consultancy firm Exponent performed
a study
of studies
on hair dyes and made a verdict that hair dyes are safe: “No association was found between any personal use of hair dye and bladder cancer among women” (Kelsh et al. 2008). To achieve these conclusions, scientists “compared, updated, and expanded the analyses of two previous meta-analyses” on hair dyes. No independent, scientifically sound research was done to support the optimism about hair dyes.

Writing about hair dyes is very painful for me. My mother continues dyeing her hair every two weeks despite all my pleas to stop or at least to switch to safer, less chemical dyes. Until five years ago, I couldn’t be without the darkest brown dyed hair, heavily styled with petrochemically laden foams and sprays. So instead of crying wolf, let’s see what real science has said recently about the troubling relationship between hair dyes and cancer.

A large population-based case-control study at the Centre for Study and Cancer Prevention, Florence, Italy, in 2005 found an association between the use of hair dyes and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, and Hodgkin’s disease (Miligi et al. 2005). Women who used black hair dye colors were at an increased risk of developing leukemia, in particular chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Another 2007 study in Germany found that human bladder cancers, induced by aromatic amines, can often hide for more than twenty years, which means that hair colors could make their deadly impact many years later (Bolt, Golka 2007).

A Spanish study in 2007 analyzed 2,302 incident cases of lymphoid neoplasms from all over Europe in 1998–2003 (de Sanjosé et al. 2006). Use of hair dyes was reported by 74 percent of women and 7 percent of men. The lymphoma risk among dye users was increased by 19 percent in comparison with no use and by 26 percent among those people who used hair dyes twelve or more times per year. The lymphoma risk was significantly higher among people who had started coloring their hair before 1980 and people who had used hair dyes only before 1980.

Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NewYork, in 2007 found that hair dyes, along with tobacco exposure and a diet rich in meat, increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer (Ambrosone et al. 2007).

A small study in Nebraska in 2005 found that among women newly diagnosed with brain cancer, a 1.7-fold increased risk of glioma was observed for women who had ever used hair coloring products and a 2.4- fold risk for those who had used permanent hair coloring products (Heineman et al. 2005). For women with the most aggressive form of glioma, the risk increased after twenty-one or more years of permanent hair coloring use.

What’s worse, women using hair dyes not only up their own risk of getting brain cancer, they may be passing this risk on to their children. A 2005 study conducted by scientists at the University of North Carolina linked maternal hair dye use and the elevated risk of childhood cancer, including neuroblastoma (McCall et al. 2005). Doctors analyzed children with neuroblastoma diagnosed between 1992 and 1994 at hospitals in the United States and Canada. They found that use of any hair dye in the month before and/or during pregnancy was associated with a moderately increased risk of neuroblastoma. Use of temporary (nonpermanent dyes, marketed as “low ammonia”) hair colors was more strongly associated with neuroblastoma than use of permanent hair dyes.

For some reason that is beyond the scope of this book, cosmetic manufacturers consistently ignore these findings, launching new brands of at-home coloring kits. Would someone buy a hair coloring kit if it contained a warning “Caution: May Cause Cancer,” similar to those on tobacco products? Many young people start coloring their hair as early as twelve years old, and I was shocked to see a toddler girl with intricately placed pink and golden highlights in her freshly colored black hair. It turned out her mom was a student of hairdressing, and she used her two-year-old daughter as a training model! These children and teenagers are accumulating a toxic load at an incredibly fast rate. The first calls to remove carcinogens from hair dyes and adopt appropriate labeling of hair-coloring products to reduce the risk of cancer were voiced as far back as 1994, yet nothing has been done so far in this direction.

Dyes That Kill

So how do you know if your hair color is slowly killing you? There is only one way to tell. You have to take a thorough look at the ingredients list printed on the box. The list is usually printed in all-capitalized letters,making it incredibly hard to read, and there’s a good reason for this. You will see that cancer-causing ingredients are found in all conventional hair dyes currently on sale in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The next time you feel like changing your hair color, check the ingredients label on the box for one of the following chemicals:

phenylenediamine

aminophenol

ethanolamine

hydroquinone

2,4-diaminophenoxyethanol

If even one of these ingredients is present, you should not purchase the hair dye.

The following ingredients in hair colors have been shown to cause nausea when inhaled, dermatitis, and/or breathing difficulties: p-phenylenediamine, resorcinol, 2-methylresorcinol, toluene (4-amino-2-hydroxytoluene), ammoniumhydroxide, sodiummetabisulfite, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, nonoxynol-4, nonoxynol-9, phosphoric acid, 1-naphthol, etidronic acid. The list can go on and on, but these are the most popular ingredients found in the majority of hair dyes currently on the market.

There is no such thing as a safe chemical hair color. Basic home hair coloring kits sold at drugstores and expensive highlighting jobs at upscale hair salons are equally damaging to your health. Your hair may look glossy and pretty, but the damage to your bladder, breasts, lungs, and immune and endocrine systems is irreversible.

Are There Any Alternatives?

Consider green hair dyes. While they don’t always have the broad color palette and can be messy to apply, their damage rarely goes further than stained towels. Most often, natural hair dyes are based on henna with the addition of mineral pigments. They do not contain carcinogenic chemicals, ammonia, or peroxide.