Authors of are a new study say their work sheds light on racialized beauty norms that motivate the use of chemical hair straighteners and skin lighteners linked to poor health outcomes.

Findings have been published in the journal Environmental Justice. The article is entitled: “Beauty Inside Out: Examining Beauty Product Use Among Diverse Women and Femme-Identifying Individuals in Northern Manhattan and South Bronx Through an Environmental Justice Framework.”

The researchers surveyed 297 women and femme-identifying individuals in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx through the WE ACT Beauty Inside Out campaign.
Data analysis was led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in close partnership with environmental health and justice watchdog WE ACT for Environmental Justice, which also led the design and execution of the study.

Among survey respondents, beauty was the leading reason for using both chemical straighteners and skin lighteners. Evidence suggests chemical straightener use has declined among Black women, in line with the rise of the natural hair movement, while skin lightener use by Asian woman remains steady, the study also finds.

Chemical Straighteners

Forty-four percent of female respondents reported ever using chemical straighteners and 34% of femme-identifying respondents reported ever using them. Current use of products was lower at 15% and 13% for female and femme-identifying respondents, respectively.

Black respondents were most likely to use chemical straighteners. Among non-Hispanic Black respondents, 60% reported ever use and 19% reported current use. Among Hispanic Black respondents, 48% reported ever use and 24% reported current use.

Half of all respondents said they think others believe straight hair makes women more beautiful, while only 36% of respondents said they personally felt this way. The researchers found similar results when respondents were asked about whether straight hair makes women look younger, wealthier or more professional. Respondents who thought that others believe that straight hair makes women look wealthier or more professional were more likely to use chemical straighteners in their lifetimes than women who did not have these beliefs.

Skin Lighteners

Twenty-five percent of female respondents reported ever using skin lighteners and 22% of femme-identifying respondents reported ever using them. Current use was lower at 16% and 9% for female and femme-identifying respondents, respectively.

Asian respondents reported the highest frequency of skin lightener use, with 57% ever and current use. Skin lightener use among Asian and Hispanic respondents was higher for respondents born in other countries versus the US.

Similar to the findings for straight hair, half of respondents said others find light skin more beautiful, while only 33% of respondents reported personally feeling this way. They found similar results when respondents were asked about lighter skin making women look younger, wealthier, or more professional. Respondents who thought others believe that lighter skin makes women look more beautiful or younger were more likely to currently use skin lighteners than women who did not have these beliefs.

Author Conclusions

“We found evidence that racialized beauty norms that are shaped by historical and present-day racism and sexism continue to determine the use of these products,” said study first author Lariah Edwards, PhD, associate research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University. “Respondents’ perceptions that others believe straight hair and/or lighter skin confer benefits were associated with greater product use.”

While the evidence suggests a decline in the use of chemical straighteners by Black women as women opt for hairstyles that feature their natural hair texture, the researchers caution that there is a lack of data on the chemical content of hair products sold to create natural hairstyles. Researchers say the lack of a similar decline in the use of skin lighteners is facilitated by gaps in the regulations of the products that make them easily available to buy online.

“Programs and policies are needed to counteract natural hair discrimination and colorism and transform the markets that depend on racist beauty norms. Educating consumers about racialized beauty norms could motivate them to advocate for legislation, such as the Safer Beauty Bill package, which ensures safer products for all,” noted co-senior author Ami Zota, PhD, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University.

“WE ACT is dedicated to using this data to advancing policy at all levels of government, understanding that the health and quality of life of women of color and femme-identifying folk is of the upmost importance. These Euro-centric standards of hair care, and toxic chemicals in beauty products are endangering the lives of people that we know and love, and change must happen immediately,” stated co-senior author Beaumont Morton, director of environmental health and education at WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

What’s Next

“In addition to the adult survey data summarized in this paper, WE ACT has also collected similar survey data on children. We hope to analyze and publish those findings next. WE ACT will use these results to continue to push for stronger regulations for cosmetics,” Edwards told Happi.

“Additionally, WE ACT will share these results with their communities in order to continue educating consumers and local beauty store owners about the dangers of chemical straighteners and skin lighteners.

“We have received several grants to continue to our collaboration with WE-ACT to support their Beauty Inside Out Campaign and address data gaps specific to the field of beauty justice,” added Zota who is also the founding director of Agents of Change in Environmental Justice, which states its mission is to “empower emerging leaders from historically excluded backgrounds in science and academia to reimagine solutions for a just and healthy planet.”

“Specifically, our community-driven research partnership will be designing, implementing, and evaluating community driven, educational interventions that seek to reduce the use of toxic beauty products, such as chemical hair straighteners and skin lighteners, among women, girls, and femme-identifying individuals in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx.
Our goal is to identify effective and accessible prevention strategies to help advance health equity among communities of color,” she told Happi.

Co-authors include Jasmine McDonald, Columbia University; Lubna Ahmed, Leslie Martinez, Sophia Huda, and Beaumont “Taylor” Morton (co-senior author), WE ACT; Bhavna Shamasunder, Occidental College; and Robert Dubrow, Yale School of Public Health.