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At-home hair dyes and risk of cancer
A new study finds that at-home hair dyes do not have an increased risk of cancer.
HOUSTON - According to a new study published in BMJ, a medical journal, the answer is not really.
The study followed more than 117,000 women in the U.S. for 36 years.
It concluded women who dyed their hair did not experience a greater risk of most cancers and were not more likely to die from cancer compared to those who had never dyed their hair.
Hair dye did not increase the risk of cancers of the bladder, brain, colon, kidney, lung, blood and immune system, or most skin cancers.
However, it did find an increased risk for ovarian and some types of breast cancer.
Natural hair color was found to increase the risk of some cancers.
The study showed a slightly increased risk of basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, and the risk was higher for women with naturally light hair.
Also, women with naturally darker hair who used hair dye also had an increased risk of Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Researchers say these findings warrant further investigation.
However, the authors of the study believe these findings should offer some reassurance to women who dye their hair.