Using styling products to groom hair and applying heat to keep it in check has become an everyday ritual for many. But, maybe it’s time to reconsider the choices. A new study has revealed that hair styling products, when used with heating tools, could emit chemicals that are harmful to both health and the environment.
Purdue University researchers found that several chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes, found commonly in hair care products can linger in the air after use. A single hair styling session inside a closed room could result in inhalation of 1-17 milligrams of potentially harmful chemicals, the study revealed.
The study was published in Environmental Science and Technology, a journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
“We found the results to be extremely alarming. We did not expect to see such significant emissions of volatile chemical mixtures from off-the-shelf hair care products during typical hair care routines that many people perform each and every day,” study author Nusrat Jung, an assistant professor at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, said in a news release.
The most concerning chemical inhaled is decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5 siloxane), one of the most common and abundantly used ingredients due to its properties such as low surface tension, inertness, high thermal stability and ability to provide a smooth texture.
“D5 siloxane has been found to lead to adverse effects on the respiratory tract, liver and nervous system of laboratory animals. The use of the chemical in wash-off cosmetic products has already been restricted in the European Union because of this. Many of these products are scented, too, and some of the chemicals used to make these fragrances are potentially dangerous to inhale as well,” Jung said.
Although the results of D5 siloxane in animal studies are concerning, there is little information on its human impact when inhaled for a long period, Jung…
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