Are White Beauty Standards to Blame For Toxic Beauty Products?

Black women have higher levels of beauty-related environmental chemicals in their bodies.

Why? 

Let’s break down a few reasons this is happening.

Black women are exposed to more environmental chemical exposures. When Black women have higher and more frequent contact points with certain chemical ingredients - such as phthalates and heavy metals - they are at a greater risk for hormone disruption and cancer. 

Even small amounts of exposure during those critical development stages of pregnancy can trigger an impact on fertility, neurodevelopment and cancer.

There is a difference in beauty product usage. Black women tend to use more skin lightening products, hair relaxing products and products aimed at feminine hygiene - all of which have higher levels of harmful chemical ingredients in them. 

The question is - do Black women really do so by choice? 

Or is it internalized messaging from society and the historical racist vein of Western beauty standards? 

Side note: If you’re using lye based relaxer, please stop. There have been known linkages to this and breast cancer.

Okay, pause. 

Because I want to highlight the higher levels of parabens & phthalates found in Black women’s bodies and pair them with the health disparities we so often see. 

Parabens and phthalates have been linked to uterine fibroids and breast cancer.

So what if I tell you that 25% of Black women (between the ages of 19 & 30) have fibroids. Compared to only 6% of white women.

And then what if I told you that Black women are more likely to have breast cancer under the age of 40 and are more likely to die from it? 

Still don’t believe the connection? 

Well. Black women have 75% more phthalate metabolites in their urine.

Black children (younger than 12) have 112% more phthalate metabolites in their urine.

Black children have 4x more paraben metabolites in urine.

This is why we need to choose safer.

This is why clean beauty matters to Black women’s health.

Who can you share this with to help us educate our community?