It’s not been a great week for beauty and hair lovers, as health experts have warned of the potential dangers of the UK’s most popular cosmetic and primping products: hair straighteners and fake tan.
According to statistics released by the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, women's love of having sleek, straight hair could be putting their children’s health at risk.
The hospital, which specialises in treating paediatric burns, recently revealed that they treated 421 children in 2011 for serious burns – a third of them (110) caused by handling unattended hair straighteners.
Leading plastic surgeon, Dr Andy Williams, says that although the majority of burns suffered by children are scald injuries (from hot water), 90% of them occur in the home and hair straightener-related burns are becoming increasingly common.
"What we see typically happening is hair straighteners being used in the bedroom and left on the floor and they come back in and either step on the hair straighteners or a toddler will wander past and grab the hair straighteners,” Dr Williams said, reports This Is Bristol.
"In kids we have had quite deep burns from hair straighteners. They don't tend to be that large because of the area of contact but I have seen some quite big ones and some that might leave scars."
The average two-iron hair straightener device can reach up to 230 degrees – hot enough to fry an egg.
Therefore, health experts are urging women who use them every day to be extra vigilant when the tongs are in reach of children.
“The key safety messages we want to get across to those with hair straighteners is to switch hair straighteners off straight away after use, put them into a heat resistant pouch, put them away straight away and to never leave them lying around,” Rob Benington, injury prevention manager at NHS Bristol, said in a statement.
If you’re more into having a deep-bronzed glow than polka straight hair, health experts have issued a warning to beauty fans too.
Although fake tan has always been the go-to, safer alternative to sun bathing when it comes to tanning, researchers from George Washington University claim that self-tanning may not come without its health hazards.
Researchers discovered that the dihydroxyacetone (DHA) chemical used in spray tans, could potentially make asthma symptoms worse as well as increase the risk of lung cancer, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) if inhaled.
The study claims that if high levels of DHA are inhaled and absorbed into the bloodstream, it could cause DNA damage and trigger cancer tumours.
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Dr Lynn Goldman from the study believes that DHA has the potential to mutate DNA in living cells, which could prove a problematic to our health.
“What we’re concerned about is not so much the reaction that creates the tanning, but reactions that may occur deeper down with living cells that might then change DNA, causing a mutation and what the possible impacts of that might be,” Dr. Goldman said in a statement.
“The lungs have a huge surface area, so this compound gets into cells and gets absorbed into the bloodstream. The consequences of that has not been shown to be safe, Dr. Rey Panettieri, a lung specialist from the study, said during an interview with ABC News.
“For the casual user - the person who goes once a month - frankly there’s probably no problem at all.”
What Is Dihydroxyacetone (DHA)?
Also known as DHA or glycerone, Dihydroxyacetone is a common active ingredient in tanning lotions or sprays designed for sunless use. A simple carbohydrate, dihydroxyacetone is crated from sugar beets or sugar cane and the glycerin fermentation process. It can also be used in wine making.
According to Mintel, 41% of British women use self-tan and spend £35m on bronzing products. St. Tropez, a leading fake tanning brand, claims it sells three bottles of bronzing mousse a minute.
Watch the full report on the potential dangers of DHA here...