Can repetitive dying of your hair lead to a brain tumor?

Question

I have heard that when you dye your hair frequently that it is quite possible for the dye to lead to a brain tumor. Can this really happen??? What's the scientific proof, if any, behind this?
Thanks!

Answer 1

I found conflicting reports, which is disturbing to me....they all seemed like reputable sources.



The American Cancer Society published testing results, and couldn't find correlation between the hair dye and cancer.

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_3_1x_Hair_Dye_and_Cancer_Risk.asp

There is a second reply from Ebony Magazine:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_10_60/ai_n14833375

To throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing, I found an opposing study from the American Journal of Epidemiology. They said that long term use of permanent dyes doubles a person's chances of certain types of blood cancers.
They only found the increase with the use of permanent dyes, and the bottom line was that No increased risk was seen in women who used semi-permanent dyes or temporary rinses.

I switched to semi-permanent (washes out in 13 shampoos)!

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/80/96452.htm

Answer 2

According to this article:"http://news.homesandproperty.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/thehealthnews.html?in_article_id=110050&in_page_id=1797


"Fears over the safety of hair dyes intensified yesterday after a European Commission watchdog withdrew support for the products.

The scientific panel said there is not enough evidence to prove that such dyes, linked in recent studies to bladder cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, are safe.

Concerned consumers have been advised to stop using them. The highest risks are associated with dark-coloured, permanent dyes used every four to six weeks.

Millions of women regularly dye their hair and the market for the products is worth £ 175million in the UK alone.

The watchdog's decision comes after research indicating monthly users more than double their risk of bladder cancer. The results prompted the European Commission to ask manufacturers for details of safety tests.

Dr Ian White, chairman of the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic and Non-Food Products and consultant dermatologist at St Thomas' Hospital in London, said: 'They have not provided ample information that the dye is safe. Isn't it amazing that a product should have such wide gaps in its toxicological requirements but be on sale?' "

Answer 3

I agree--dyes are made from different stuff now, and if the ones today gave you brain tumors, the FDA would pull em from the shelves. They've learned a lot since Jackie's day. But I have heard of people just having bad reactions to dyes. I'd suggest next time she go get it professionally done. She might have just had a reaction to the chemicals. But she isn't going to die from it until she drinks it.

Answer 4

Hair dye contains benzene which is a potent carcinogen. I have seen links to bladder cancer associated with the use of black hair dye in the literature.

Answer 5

My mom had been dying her hair for like 30 yrs.No cancerous tumor there

Answer 6

Last I heard (on TV) there is no link between dying your hair and any kind of illness. And Ive been doing it for many years and so far Im ok.

Answer 7

I've never heard of it causing a tumor, bu I have heard of it causing excessive hair loss.

Answer 8

Don't really know. there hasn't been any scientific proof of it.. but if you think about it.. there has to besomething going wrong cuase you are putting chemicals onto your head.. and some will seep into the skin....

Answer 9

Hair Dye Cleared of Cancer Risk

Spanish researchers find no real connection

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- The millions of people with faux hair color can breathe a sigh of relief: New research from Spain suggests that hair dye does not appear to increase the risk of cancer.

At the same time, the study authors caution that this may not the final word on the subject -- more research may be needed on a tiny link seen between hair dyes and cancers such as leukemia and multiple myeloma.

"Our study is just the best summary of current scientific knowledge on the topic," said study author Dr. Bahi Takkouche, a preventive medicine professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela. "One can never rule out that, in the future, several individual studies will find strong harmful effects. Still, the news is quite reassuring for hair dye users."

"The data should give reassurance to people that the risks of modern hair dye usage as a predisposition to cancer are, at most, very minimal," added Dr. Robert Morgan Jr., section head of medical gynecologic oncology at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif.

Previous epidemiological studies had suggested that hair dye might be a risk factor for several different types of cancer, including bladder cancer. Researchers had speculated that compounds called aromatic amines, which are contained in the dyes, might be responsible for the association.

According to the authors of the current study, about one third of women in Europe and North America color their hair, as do about 10 percent of men over the age of 40. The majority (about 70 percent) use permanent dyes.

For this paper, which appears in the May 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers analyzed data from 79 studies performed in 11 countries. Overall, they found no increased risk of breast and bladder cancer in people who used hair dye.

There was a small increased risk for blood cancers, but the association was a weak one.

"The borderline increase in the risk for hematopoietic cancers is not 'robust,' and may be easily explained by publication bias," Takkouche said. "Publication bias exists when there are studies that are not published, either because the editors reject them, or because the authors themselves fail to send them for publication. These studies are generally negative."

There were also small risk increases seen in brain and ovarian cancer, but this association is also suspect.

"The results concerning brain and ovarian cancers are based on minimal sample sizes (only two studies in each case), [so] they are not as reliable as the results of the rest of the cancers we studied," Takkouche said. "Besides, they are rare cancers, and the increase in the risk, even if it exists, would be of limited interest from the public health point of view."

"Epidemiologic studies are very difficult to perform and have previously implicated many potential sources of increased risks of these cancers without any definitive conclusions," Morgan added. "These studies are primarily hypothesis-generating and allow scientists to focus research on potential cancer-causing agents."

There was also a slightly increased risk of hematopoietic cancers in male users of hair dye. "This is an unexplained finding," Takkouche said. "We do not know whether the increase is real, or whether it is due to methodologic issues."

In addition to looking at male users of hair dye, Takkouche said that future research should be focused on the possible cancer-promoting effects of occupational exposure to hair dyes, such as that encountered by hair dressers and cosmetologists. Here, the exposure is higher and more prolonged than with personal use, Takkouche noted.

Answer 10

no, but it can make your hair fall out if you dye it too often!!!