Hair Dye Dangers

- Researchers at the US National Cancer Institute estimate that 20% of all non-Hodgkins lymphoma cases in women are due to their use of permanent and semi-permanent commercial hair dyes (NHL is the disease Jackie Onassis died of). Also, the Institute found that commercial dyes also cause Hodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma. All three diseases are types of cancer, and seem to be more common in those who use darker dyes (Sources: American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Epidemiology).

- Use of hair dye is associated with breast cancer (Sources: New York State Journal of Medicine, British Medical Journal, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and The Lancet).

- Use of and exposure to hair dyes leads to bladder cancers (Sources: International Journal of Epidemiology, American Journal of Epidemiology, and the National Institutes of Health International Conference on Women's Health).

- Women who use hair dye just prior to conception or during pregnancy will have children whose risk of childhood cancers is up to 10 times higher than if no dye was used. (Sources: Cancer Research and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute).