Chemicals in hair and beauty products can affect hormones, especially during pregnancy

1. Chemicals in hair and beauty products can affect hormones, especially during pregnancy According to a new study from Rutgers University, the use of certain personal care products during pregnancy may affect the hormone level of the mother. Personal care and beauty products contain a variety of ingredients, usually including a variety of endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates, benzoates, phenols, benzoates and toxic metals. These chemicals interact with the hormone system, affecting synthesis, regulation, transport, metabolism and hormone reception, which are particularly vulnerable during pregnancy. A study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institutes of health was published in the journal Environmental Research. It studied the relationship between the use of personal care products and the level of sex steroid hormones, including estrogen, progesterone and thyroid hormone in pregnant women. The researchers also explored how demographic factors affect the use of certain personal care products. The researchers collected blood samples from 1070 pregnant women aged 18 to 40 who participated in the Puerto Rico protect cohort, an ongoing prospective birth study designed to examine the environmental exposure of pregnant women and their children living in the karst area of northern Puerto Rico. As part of the study, participants underwent physical examination and completed a series of questionnaires, including their demographic data, occupation, lifestyle and use of personal care products, such as perfume, lotion, cosmetics, nail polish, shaving cream, mouthwash, shampoo and other hair care products, such as bleach, relaxant and mousse. Participants also provided two blood samples during pregnancy and analyzed nine sex steroids and thyroid hormones. Researchers found that the use of hair care products, especially hair dye, bleach, relaxant and mousse, was associated with lower levels of sex steroid hormones, which played an important role in maintaining pregnancy and fetal development. Interruption of these hormones may lead to adverse maternal and pregnancy outcomes, such as growth restriction, premature birth and low birth weight.

2. Zorimar rivera-n úñ EZ, assistant professor of the school of public health of Rutgers University and the main author of the study, said: "changes in hormone levels, especially during pregnancy, will have a great impact on the health at birth, including the growth of infants and children, changes in the trajectory of puberty, and may affect the development of hormone sensitive cancers, such as breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer." "More research should address the impact of exposure of pregnant women to chemicals in hair care products on public health." The researchers also found that socio-economic variables, such as income, education and employment status, affect the use of personal care products by Puerto Rican pregnant women. For example, participants with a household income of more than $100000 use personal care products more frequently than participants with a lower household income. In addition, participants with jobs used more cosmetics than those who were unemployed. Rivera-n úñ EZ said: "previous studies have shown that people who are not pregnant have also reported a link between the frequency of condom use and socio-economic indicators such as family income and education." "A strong aesthetic culture affects Latin American women, which may affect their continued use of cosmetics during pregnancy. This data is important because it will allow us to identify those who are at increased risk of chemical exposure related to the use of personal care products." Researchers from the Rutgers Institute of environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, the University of Michigan, the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Georgia and Northeast University suggest that junior doctors and obstetricians should explain the potential health effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as those found in hair care products, to women of childbearing age.