Evidence suggests that frequent and long-term use of hair dyes may be associated with an increased risk of certain cancers in specific populations, highlighting the need for cautious use and further research.
The global hair color market is valued over 23 billion dollars with over 2 billion in sales in the United States. Asia dominated the market accounting for over 35% of global revenue in 2021. Hair dyes are classified by permanence: temporary, semipermanent, and permanent hair dye (PHD). PHDs account for approximately 80% of hair dye products on the market and contain coupler m-aminophenols that oxidizes and penetrates the hair cortex. Whereas, temporary and semipermanent do not oxidize therefore weakly adhere to the hair shaft. As a result, more consumers use PHD because it provides a more natural hair color than the other hair dyes. A systematic search of PubMed and MEDLINE from January 1964 to March 2025 was conducted. Articles were reviewed independently by 3 assessors.
Reference:
Greene RK, Maghfour J, Nguyen C, Baker G, Mesinkovska NA. Association between hair dye use and human cancers: A systematic review. JAAD Int. 2025 Oct 25;24:205-233. doi: 10.1016/j.jdin.2025.10.009. PMID: 41399670; PMCID: PMC12702374.
Keywords:
Greene RK, Maghfour J, Nguyen C, Baker G, Mesinkovska NA, Association, between, hair, dye use, human cancers, bladder cancer, breast cancer, cancer, hair dyes, leukemia, neoplasm, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, paraphenylenediamine (PPD)