Beauty and the Danger it May Play on Black Women’s Reproductive Health
As consumers, we often assume that beauty products offered to us are safe for us and our families. However, in 2018 I found out after my fibroid diagnoses that that belief was so far from the truth. Many beauty products contain endocrine disrupting that plays a critical and dangerous role in our hormonal health.
Endocrine Disrupting chemicals interfere with the body’s hormonal function. This interference can cause significant biological reproductive health effects such as infertility, subfertility,menstrual disruption in women, early onset menopause, PCOS, disrupted hormone production, fibroids, ovarian cysts.
A 2017 Market research study conducted by Nielsen Homescan (U.S) reports that African Americans account for over 85% of total sales of the ethnic hair and beauty aids.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “fewer than one-fourth of the products marketed to Black women scored low in the potentially hazardous ingredients, compared to about 40 percent of items marketed to the general public”.
Is it a surprise that black women are almost twice as likely to experience infertility as white women and that black women are disproportionately affected by fibroid diagnosis?
Some estimates report that 25% of black women between the ages of 18-30 years of age have fibroids, compared with 7% of white women and by the age of 35, 60% of black women are diagnosed with fibroids.
Systemic racism is not new to me but to find out that most of the products targeted towards black women are more toxic than those marketed to other ethic groups was extremely disturbing to me. This is the reason that created Asili Living in 2017, so I could create bath bath and skincare ingredients with your reproductive health in mind.
Additional resources:
https://www.treehugger.com/black-women-are-exposed-higher-levels-chemicals-cosmetics-and-hair-care-products-4852170
