Frequent hair colouring may increase risk of breast cancer, finds new study

A new study carried out by professor Kefah Mokbel from the Princess Grace Hospital in London, UK, has found that frequent hair dyeing may increase the risk of breast cancer. 

According to the findings, women colouring their hair have an increase of 14% in the cancer rates. Further assessments are needed necessary to confirm these results.

Professor Mokbel advised women to limit hair dyeing to a maximum of five times a year and suggested use of products containing natural ingredients such as henna or beetroot. 

Mokbel was quoted by independent.co.uk as saying: “What I find concerning is the fact that the industry recommends women should dye their hair every four to six weeks.

“Although further work is required to confirm our results, our findings suggest that exposure to hair dyes may contribute to breast cancer risk.”

On social media platform, Mokbel noted that the positive link between the hair dyes usage and risk of breast cancer does not represent evidence of a cause-effect relationship.

It was further reported that a separate research by Sanna Heikkinen from the Finnish Cancer Registry also indicated a link between use of hair dye and possible breast cancer development.

Heikkinen was quoted as stating: “It is not possible to confirm a true causal connection. It might be, for example, that women who use hair dyes also use other cosmetics more than women who reported never using hair dyes."