Hair straightening products are not without health consequences. They could indeed be harmful for kidneysas the National Academy of Medicine points out in a statement published on June 6, 2024.
An alert based on various scientific publications, starting with a study published in 2023 in theAmerican Journal of Kidney Diseases and who concluded that “lesions of regressive acute renal failure with the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in renal biopsies were described in 26 young patients, after a ‘Brazilian-style’ hair straightening procedure”writes the National Academy of Medicine.
The learned society also cites another study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in March 2024. In this work, French nephrologists from the Conception Hospital in Marseille made a link between glyoxylic acid contained in products used to straighten hair and kidney risks.
— French Academy of Medicine (@acadmed) June 7, 2024
Can straightening hair products affect the kidneys?
In their publication, the researchers describe the case of a 26-year-old Tunisian woman with no health problems but who suffered three consecutive episodes of acute kidney injury after a straightening product containing 10% glyoxylic acid affected her. been applied to the hair. The latter had “vomitings, diarrhea, fever and back pain. Laboratory tests showed an increase in plasma creatinine level during each episode”it is written.
If the patient’s kidney function improved rapidly each time, “repetition of episodes of acute kidney failure is, however, a major risk factor for developing chronic kidney failure in the long term”specifies Professor Emmanuel Letavernier, one of the researchers who participated in this work, interviewed by Medscape.
To find out more, the researchers carried out an experiment on mice. They applied the same smoothing product containing 10% glyoxylic acid to the upper backs of five rodents. Five other mice were exposed to a so-called “control” product. Blood samples were taken “to assess renal function (plasma creatinine)”it is specified in the work, and urine analyzes were also carried out.
Kidney health: smoothing products containingglyoxylic acid should be taken off the market, researchers say
What was the impact of the glyoxylic acid contained in these products on these rodents? According to Professor Emmanuel Letavernier, the results on mice are “spectacular”. He thus specifies that“they develop kidney failure extremely severe acute within 24 hours after application of the smoothing cream. The samples show the presence of calcium oxalate crystals in all the renal tubules”.
In light of these results, the researchers therefore believe that “Given the potential nephrotoxicity of topical glyoxylic acid, products containing this compound should be avoided and, in our opinion, removed from the market”we can read at the conclusion of this work.
Smoothing products based on glyoxylic and glycolic acid: recommendations from the Academy of Medicine
Faced with this observation, the National Academy of Medicine has provided its advice concerning the use of hair straightening products, these products containing glyoxylic and glycolic acid:
- it recommends informing health professionals, hairdressing salons and beauty product businesses, “in order to raise awareness of the risks of acute renal failure occurring within 24 to 48 hours after technical procedures”;
- it underlines the need to inform users about the risks in the event of regular use of these straightening products, and about the symptoms of acute kidney failure;
- she emphasizes the importance of not performing hair straightening or peeling in the event of lesions on the scalp or facial skin;
- it recommends developing cosmetovigilance in order to assess the frequency of risk linked to the use of these products, but also to establish a profile of the patients most at risk.
Sources :
- Chemical hair straightening and health risks – National Academy of Medicine – 06/06/24
- Kidney Injury and Hair-Straightening Products Containing Glyoxylic Acid – The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), 21/03/24
- Warning on the risk of acute kidney failure with certain hair straightening products – Medscape, 03/20/24
- Acute Kidney Injury and Hair-Straightening Products: A Case Series – American Journal of Kidney Diseases – 04/01/22
