The largest study to date on chemical hair straighteners followed 33,947 women for about eleven years. The results, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in October 2022, found that women who used relaxers more than four times a year showed a higher rate of uterine cancer. The estimated risk by age 70 moved from 1.64% among never-users to 4.05% among frequent users. That means roughly 96 in every 100 frequent users did not develop the disease.
The American Cancer Society calls uterine cancer relatively rare, and the researchers did not conclude these products cause it. All of the data is observational. It shows association, not cause.
The study did not test particular brands or ingredients. Every research team involved asked for replication.
A relaxer is a permanent chemical change to hair, not a treatment that wears off. The curl pattern is held in place by disulfide bonds inside each strand. A relaxer is strongly alkaline, generally around pH 12 to 14. That alkalinity swells the hair shaft and breaks the bonds so the hair can be reshaped straight.
Broken bonds do not reform. Treated hair stays treated until it is cut off. The line where new growth meets relaxed hair becomes the weak point every month afterwards.
Two types are common. Lye relaxers use sodium hydroxide. No-lye versions use calcium hydroxide or guanidine. No-lye is sold as the gentler choice, though it is still strongly alkaline.
There is no undoing a relaxer. You grow it out or cut it off. Growing it out means months of managing two textures on one head, which is when most breakage happens. Budget a year or more if you change your mind.
Relaxed hair loses moisture and protein faster than untreated hair. Weekly deep conditioning, a leave-in between hair wash days, and hair cover at night are part of the care routine.
Most relaxer damage traces to two errors: picking a stronger formula than your hair needs, and leaving it on past the recommended time. Neither buys lasting straightness. Both raise the risk of scalp burns and over-processing. Retouches should happen every eight to ten weeks, applied to new growth only, with timing starting from the first section.
Researchers propose absorption through the scalp as the route for health risks. Burns and lesions on the scalp may increase that absorption. That part is within your control.
The questions before deciding are straightforward. Is your scalp healthy right now, with no sores, flaking or active flare-up? Can you commit to weekly deep conditioning and regular trims? Are you at peace with this being permanent on the hair it touches? Given what the research suggests about frequency, are you comfortable retouching every eight to ten weeks and no sooner?
There is one question people skip. Are you relaxing because you want to, or because someone else expects it?
If you do relax, the safe application steps are specific. Stretch the gap between retouches, since frequency is the variable the research points to most consistently. Apply to new growth only, because overlapping onto already-relaxed hair is the quickest route to over-processing. Base the scalp beforehand. Leave off scratching in the days before your appointment. Follow the directions on strength and timing, and rinse on schedule even if the hair is not as straight as you hoped.
Aftercare is what preserves the length you grow. MegaGrowth's strengthening and aftercare range is formulated for chemically treated hair. The full MegaGrowth range at The Diva Shop covers the deep conditioning, leave-in moisture and damage protection this routine needs.
Alternatives exist. Braids, twists, cornrows and wigs give low-maintenance weeks without changing your hair permanently. Silk presses and blow-outs deliver straight hair temporarily, though heat brings its own damage risk and requires a heat protectant.
No chemical process is risk-free. Relaxers can burn the scalp if misapplied. Observational studies link frequent, long-term use to higher rates of uterine cancer and fibroids, though none has established cause. Occasional, careful use with full aftercare involves less exposure than frequent use.
Fewer applications over a lifetime is the change with the most evidence behind it.
According to Pulse.ng.
