Achi news desk-
Women working in the personal care industry are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals throughout their careers, but little is currently known about the potential combined effect of these products on their health and even on their offspring.
To remedy this shortcoming, toxicologist at Quebec’s Institut National de recherche scientifique (INRS), Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnology Center, Professor Isabelle Plante recently launched a large study for which she is now recruiting participants from across the province.
“The premise of this project is to determine whether working with, or being constantly exposed to, a variety of molecules present in the products we use every day can affect our health,” Plante said.
Products such as shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes, varnishes and makeup contain synthetic molecules that can interfere with the function of hormones, known as “endocrine disruptors”.
This can lead to a variety of health problems, including problems with development, fertility and pregnancy, as well as increasing the risk of breast cancer.
The amount of hair and beauty products that barbers, make-up artists, beauticians and others handle on a daily basis increases their exposure to these substances.
Moreover, these women are exposed to a wide variety of products that contain multiple disruptive molecules. Combined, it cannot be ruled out that these different molecules may interact with each other and cause other unwanted effects.
This potential “synergistic effect,” about which little is currently known, is of particular concern to Planeta.
“We have regulations that say, for example, that you cannot be exposed to more than so many milligrams of triclosan per day,” she said. “But these regulations apply to each product separately. So yes, there is a limit for product A, a limit for product B and a limit for product C. However, these three products can be combined. These three products can be present at the same time. Time for the women that use them, and we don’t really know the effect of this mixture on their health.”
It is possible that the action of the products A, B and C adds up, she added, and that “one and one plus one no longer make three, but suddenly make five or six, because in the end there is an amplification effect”.
The first phase of the project consists of assessing the general health of the participants through a questionnaire that specifically examines reproductive health, the menstrual cycle, the difficulties encountered (or not) in getting pregnant, etc.
Women who wish to get more involved will be asked to provide urine samples, which will be analyzed in a laboratory to determine what substances they are exposed to.
The research will go even further by looking at the health of the offspring, as the harmful effects of exposure to endocrine disruptors are passed down from generation to generation. The research can, therefore, help to better protect the health of these women’s children and grandchildren.
“For example, estrogen and progesterone are very important hormones in women,” Plante said. “So the fact that we are exposed to some of these endocrine disruptors every day can have quite significant effects on our reproductive health.”
The scientific literature already shows that women who work in the beauty industry have greater fertility problems and that these women are the main users of products containing endocrine disruptors.
“What is less understood,” said Plante, “is whether one is the cause of the other, or what correlation there is between the two.”
The scientific data is currently inconclusive.
“Some studies find effects, others less so,” said the researcher. “But we think the problem is that they (the studies) are going to look at one molecule as such and not at all the molecules, so the synergistic effect that all these products can have. So that’s what’s new for us.”
Women who wish to take part in this study are invited to contact the researchers, who wish to recruit both women who work in personal care and a control group of women from other sectors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 20, 2024.
