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'Pink' Flags on Skin, Hair Products

THIS WEEK we will cover reviews that may not have reached you: cancer-causing substances that can have you exposed as you have your hair done either by a hairdresser or a barber, or even from your personal use of hair dyes.

The Lyons, France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) facilitated a meeting between 17 scientists from seven countries in February 2008 in order to address new studies on compounds, scientifically referred to as “aromatics,” a name given because of their pleasant scents.

Ortho-toluidine (OTD) is a biological stain used in the production of dyes and pigments. Exposure to this compound happens mainly through skin contact. So check your skin and hair coloring products if you have this in the label. Heightened risks toward developing bladder cancer continue with regular exposure to OTD. The longer the exposure, the higher the risk. IARC classified OTD as “carcinogenic to humans.”

4-Chloro-ortho-toluidine (COTD), a known metabolic byproduct of chlordimeform (insecticide), is... [Read more.


This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 12 January 2011.

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