Before you decide to cover up those grays, maybe it’s finally time to consider letting your hair breathe! In many beauty standards, gray hair on women is considered unattractive, well we’re here to tell you that’s simply not true and better yet here are some reasons why you should embrace your gray and let your locks flow.
While it comes in a box, dying your hair is an intricate and chemical process. Jiaxing Huang, a a professor of material science and engineering at Northwestern University, explained the process to PBS. “You are basically doing a very sophisticated organic synthesis, right on top of your head. It’s kind of like how you marinate a fish.”
After hair dye has been applied, the compounds could enter into your bloodstream through your skin or hair follicles. This is troublesome because a lot of these chemicals can cause serious health issues. One common precursor is paraphenylenediamine, or PPD, which is derived from petroleum.
This chemical is found in a majority of hair dyes and are linked to allergic reactions. Some other unsettling ones include lead (a neurotoxin), formaldehyde (a known carcinogen, and linked with miscarriages), and benzene (associated with leukemia).
Some studies suggest that there is an increase between non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and bladder cancer while others suggest that there is no correlation between the two.
Health effects aside, gray hair is something all women should embrace. Aging is a beautiful and natural process that should be embraced.
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