Amaya Gentry
Straightening techniques such as combing, heating and relaxing can cause damage to Black hair over time.
Research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that Black women with natural hairstyles were perceived as less professional and competent.
A 2023 Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act Workplace Research Study, co-commissioned by Dove and LinkedIn, found that Black women’s hair was 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. The study also found that Black women were 54% more likely to feel they had to wear their hair straight to a job interview to be successful.
First introduced in 2019, CROWN Act seeks to prohibit discrimination based on natural hair texture and protective hairstyles. State versions of the legislation have been enacted to extend anti-discrimination protections. The Legal Defense Fund says the CROWN Act has been enacted in 27 states as of 2026.
Cuyahoga County amended its anti-discrimination code in October 2025 to protect hair textures and hairstyles associated with race. The county protections apply in employment, housing and public accommodations.
History of Black hair straightening
According to a 2020 study in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, preferential treatment for Black women with straight hair can be traced to slavery, when hair texture was used to create a caste system on plantations.
In 1786, the Spanish governor of Louisiana required women of African descent to cover their hair in public. It was during slavery that African American women were first documented straightening their hair.
According to a 2023 article in Practical Dermatology, some accounts describe enslaved Black women historically straightening their hair with butter, bacon fat or goose grease and using a butter knife heated on the stove to smooth the hair down or they would slather lye on the hair, which burned their scalps.
In the early 1900s, Annie Turnbo Malone and Madam C.J. Walker marketed hair growers, pressing oils and other Black hair-care products. Walker helped popularize hot-comb styling but did not invent the straightening comb or chemical perm. Garrett Morgan is separately associated with an early alkaline chemical straightening product.
According to applied psychologist Chanel Donaldson in Applied Psychology Opus, “Academic research and popular culture often assume that Black women who alter their natural hair to make it straight are practicing a form of self-hatred.”
There are many reasons for Black women to change their hairstyle. The 2011 research published in Howard Journal of Communications found that straight hair could require less maintenance for some women, particularly when combing, styling and managing the hair. However, getting Black hair straight can cause damage depending on the techniques used to do so.
Physical harm associated with hair straightening treatments
Black hair can be susceptible to breakage under certain conditions, but hair type alone does not mean it is inherently more fragile. The American Academy of Dermatology describes Black hair as especially fragile and prone to damage.
In a 2020 article published in Cosmetics and Toiletries, chemist and scientist Trefor Evans investigated why Black hair is fragile. He found that while Black hair does have an elliptical structure that makes it more susceptible to breakage, Black hair is not inherently more fragile than hair types commonly found among people of European ancestry. Rather, factors such as combing, hair relaxing and repeated grooming and manipulation can contribute to hair breakage.
According to a 2021 study funded by L’Oréal, combing natural hair daily can lead to breakage and hair damage. The study, consisting of 30 women in Johannesburg, 15 frequent braiders and 15 occasional braiders, found more hair-fiber damage among frequent braiders.
Separate testing in the study examined damage caused by combing natural Afro-textured hair. The study found that frequent combing and frequent braiding caused increased damage to Afro-textured hair.
According to JAMA Dermatology, some Black people may face an increased risk of traction alopecia associated with hairstyles that place prolonged tension on the scalp.
The Society for Pediatric Dermatology warns that those with any hairstyle causing symptoms such as pain, stinging, crusting, tenting or pimples are at the highest risk for developing traction alopecia.
Chemical harm associated with hair straightening treatments
Chemical relaxers permanently alter the hair shaft’s structure. They are commonly classified as lye, no-lye and thio relaxers. While thermal straightening with a hot comb or flat iron temporarily changes its shape, chemical relaxers alter the structure of the treated hair shaft, producing a lasting straightening effect on that hair until it grows out or is cut.
The FDA warns that relaxers can injure the skin, hair and eyes, particularly when directions are not followed or when the product contacts the scalp, skin or eyes.
Some heated hair-smoothing treatments are a distinct concern: The FDA warns that certain products can release formaldehyde gas when heated. Consumers should read ingredient labels and be cautious of products listing formaldehyde, formalin or methylene glycol.
Additionally, a 2022 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that women who frequently used chemical hair-straightening products had more than twice the risk of uterine cancer compared with women who did not report using them.
They defined frequent use as using chemical hair products more than four times in the last year. The researchers emphasized that the findings showed an association and did not establish that hair-straightening products caused cancer.
Researchers estimated uterine cancer by age 70 in 1.64% of women who never used straighteners versus 4.05% of frequent users. The analysis involved roughly 33,500 women followed for almost 11 years, with 378 uterine cancers diagnosed.
A 2023 Black Women’s Health Study later found elevated uterine cancer risk primarily among postmenopausal women with certain patterns of long-term relaxer use, while results for premenopausal women were null.
According to the NIH study’s lead researcher Alexandra White, “This doubling rate is concerning.” The findings do not establish that hair-straightening products cause uterine cancer.
“I can’t tell my patients that hair-straightening products cause cancer because that’s not what the study says,” said Roberto Vargas, a Cleveland Clinic gynecologic oncologist when interviewed by the clinic, “and making an assertion that you cannot or should not use hair straighteners, from a medical standpoint, is beyond my scope.”
Hair-straightening treatments can carry risks, including hair and scalp damage and, for some chemical products, potential health risks. Though hair straightening can help with hair maintenance, people may choose straightened styles for personal, cultural or practical reasons.
Dermatologists recommend limiting damaging heat, using caution with chemical relaxers and avoiding styles that create painful or prolonged tension on the scalp.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends that people who comb their hair frequently use a wide-tooth comb to detangle wet hair; for thick, curly hair, combing in the shower before rinsing conditioner can reduce damage. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using a heat-protective product before styling and limiting heat exposure.
Additionally, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends having relaxers applied by a professional, spacing touch-ups two to three months apart and applying relaxers only to newly grown hair.
Amaya Gentry has a bachelor’s degree in biology and has worked as a quality control chemist.
