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Following up on an investigation in the New York Times which found, quote,
"straighteners and other hair products marketed to Black girls and women have been linked to endocrine-disrupting substances associated with the early onset of menstruation and many of the reproductive-health issues that follow, from uterine fibroids, preterm birth and infertility to breast, ovarian and uterine cancer." We explored the possibility of whether beauty products we use in our day to day lives, specifically hair relaxers can be that trigger. Jomarie Lanza dove into that story and here's what she discovered.

Kinks, coils, and curls are familiar in modern day hair salons, with the millions of products sold internationally that cater to the natural hair community. But, a few decades ago, natural hair was not embraced, accepted and worn the way it is now, due to the lack of hair products on the market. It would be easier to get a perm not only because of the practicality of it amongst the majority of natural hair women, but also because straight hair was the epitome of beauty during the 70s and 80's.

Sitting in a chair for hours on end, engulfed by the smell of chemicals and fumes…A common practice, and rite of passage for many young girls. Though not many women have thought of the long term effects these beauty rituals may impose on our bodies and health.

An article published by the New York Times in June of this year titled "The Disturbing Truth About Hair Relaxers" explores the links of these products to reproductive disorders and cancers.

Though there is not sufficient data to prove that there is a direct linkage between hair relaxers and cancer in Belize, Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Belize, with the highest number of victims being women. Could it be that the world of beauty, specifically haircare and the chemicals in these products are a driving those numbers? We began our story by consulting with an expert in the beauty industry.

Maype Smith, Beautician, Maype's Beauty World
"I started maybe a good 50 years ago but I think we have come a long with that and of course they didn't have the research back then to go with some of the things that they say that happens now so I think we have come a long way there is more research, the chemicals are milder so there is a lot of improvements in chemicals in the business."

"The relaxers used to be sodium hydroxide which was lye and some products still have lye in it but now they have moved to calcium hydroxide which is a different chemical so it is called no Lyes now, so the no lye relaxer what people are asking for its milder for the hair so yes. And formaldehyde is in a lot of beauty products not necessarily just hair products so it's also in nail polish but because the focus is on the relaxers that's why it's coming up on relaxers but it's in everything so what we have to learn to do is just like how we read products for the food industry and you look at the active ingredients in the products you will find what you are allergic to and what you are not, the same thing with hair products we really need to learn to read what we are allergic to. So anything with Lye again we have to be very careful with that. A professional can probably help you with it because people still do it and the no Lye relaxers are definitely easier and then there's the formaldehyde. Just the scent of the formaldehyde is just as dangerous as the other ones right, and then there is sodium Lauryl sulfate which is sulfate free shampoos are in now because they dry out the hair and dry out the scalp so if you just know knowledge that some of those are the main ingredients that is not acceptable anymore then we would know that we don't want to use those if we were to read the packages."

While it is true that the chemicals have changed and become less harsh over time, not only on the hair but also the scalp, the potential health impacts are still there, and it is indeed a risk to get up in that chair every couple of months or so. Smith says that the risks can be decreased by practicing proper application of these products and educating the customer on what is best to use when getting a perm.

Maype Smith, Beautician, Maype's Beauty World
"That's what we do, that's what we are known for, for chemicals but I am sure to advise them that you have to take care of the scalp."

"What the article that you have shown me and it just came out in June 2024 is saying that it is cancerous and the long term effects of it but what I find is that if it penetrates the skin if you got burnt so it gets into the bloodstream and so the main thing is to prevent that because if somebody burns not even the relaxers comes out good so I looked at some of the preventative methods because we are not chemists and I must listen to the reports that they did and the surveys that they did so I wanted to listen to that but we can prevent a lot of those with some good practices."

But what would motivate any woman to transition from their naturally kinky, curly hair to something they believe to be more manageable? It depends on a number of aspects, one of them being what is more socially or culturally acceptable? And of course transitioning into "Womanhood"

Dominique Noralez, Natural Hair Community
"So the first time I permed my hair it was the big girl thing to do so I was leaving primary school and going to high school. I was 12 or 13 I was going to St Catherine's academy and I felt the need to straighten my hair because I thought it would make me look prettier I thought it would make me feel more accepted because when you think about SCA at least at that time when I thought about SCA I was like Oh all these girls with straight hair right and I already came from a school that was a south side Belize city School and only three of us got accepted to go to that school so it wanted to make the best first impression and I permed my hair."

Kim Simplis Barrow, President, Belize Cancer Society
"As a young girl I believe I started relaxing my hair probably in the first year of high school that's a transition year from Primary School to High school and like we all know we go through many changes during that time and I think that's when I began relaxing my hair I really I can't attest to weather or not it is the relaxer or whether or not it is the environment or the food I ate or up to now I still don't know and that's the reality that's my reality."

Indira Craig, News Anchor
"I can remember my first perm, burnt all over and poor Ms Rosita she felt so bad and it wasn't her fault but it's just like a rite of passage. getting burnt with something that was, you become so immune to burns that you don't even realize or you don't even feel getting burnt and sometimes we would perm our hair and leave it in for hours on end because you just want it at the absolute straightest."

"I come from a generation where relaxed here was really the standard and I think even being on television as you know, relaxed hair was the standard. I think we have even had somebody as big as Oprah Winfrey speak about her experience with straight hair versus natural hair so far about 15 years if about that may be even more, I worked with relaxed hair and I was happy with it. I think most little girls when you reach primary school back then the biggest part of your transitional coming into feeling "big girl" is when you get your hair permed and that was such a big deal when we were young to be able to perm your hair to be able to have straight hair. Natural here was something that was not widely embraced."

And even so many women find themselves transitioning back to their natural hair after decades of relaxing. But when you've been diagnosed it's hard not to look at the possibilities and causes behind your diagnosis. One hardly ever thinks to analyze the aspect of beauty and the products we have used for years at a time. It is a challenge to embrace what is "normal" or natural even especially with societal views and opinions weighing in on you. For Kim Simplis Barrow, The President of the Belize Cancer Society, she says there is no confirmation as to whether or not the way we take care of our hair could pose a threat to our health, after her battle with Cancer.

Kim Simplis Barrow, President, Belize Cancer Society
"It's not an easy journey for anyone who goes through the natural hair journey especially when you have a 4C type hair it's not easy. It's not easy for several reasons. It's not easy to manage, before now at least we have products before there were not many products geared towards the 4C hair and of course it's not. And a lot of people find our big hair distracting that's the word that's the buzz word it's distracting and from personal experience I can tell you if I'm invited to a meeting where I need to present I always find myself going to the salon to get a blowout because that's the look right?"

"In hindsight I do believe that there are several things that can cause cancer. I mean there's studies out there that show that relaxing your hair causes cancer."

"We haven't really done any studies here in Belize but this is an international study but I mean that might be one of the many possibilities you know that may have been one of the many possibilities but there are so many factors that we don't know you know we still don't know."

"No studies have been conducted in Belize as to what may be the driving factors behind our numbers. Oncologist Ramon Yacab says that his patients are mostly women between the ages of 40-60."

Ramon Yacab, Medical Oncologist
"Here at the KHM where we see most of the patients, around 60-70% of patients are women. Does that mean that the cases of men are less? No it just means that men are not really coming in for consultation. They are there, they are out there, they just are not coming in. What we care for are a lot of women here at the KHMH where the most common diagnosis will be breast cancer, cervical cancer as the lead in second cause and also we have other conditions like ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, colon cancer then so forth. So the diagnosis are quite varied from the population that we serve."

Tune in tomorrow for part two of our story when we speak with an oncologist and learn more about how and why these women transitioned back to their natural hair….