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Reports have found that synthetic fibres contain dangerous and carcinogenic chemicals.
A Consumer Reports study has found that the ingredients used in synthetic hair across a range of popular brands – including Magic Fingers, Sensationnel and Shake-N-Go, have the potential to cause cancer.
Braids have been the site of care and resistance for centuries within the Black community, serving as protection from the heat and other environmental factors. This follows a rich history of protective hairstyles, with plaits conveying tribal affiliation in West Africa, and even escape routes on plantations in slave-era America.
But a recent wave of research suggests that one of the most common tools in this protective ritual – synthetic braiding hair – may be doing the opposite of what it promised.
A joint investigation by Consumer Reports and Black Women for Wellness tested ten samples of synthetic braiding hair and found every one laced with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Several were linked to serious health risks: formaldehyde, benzene, and other known carcinogens.
In other words, the same fibers marketed as low-maintenance and cost-effective might be slowly compromising the health of the women who wear them.
Rochelle, a Black woman who has worn synthetic hair including braids, locs, and wigs, told BBC reporter Chelsea Coates that the findings upended her understanding of, and relationship to, her hair.
Dr Umar was right. Synthetic hair causes cancer. pic.twitter.com/167XHEy7ch
— Brother Legend (@BigBroLGND) March 2, 2025
‘The fact that this style is doing everything but protect us – it’s actually harming us – is actually quite wild to me.’
‘People that are eating unhealthy food or smoking, they know that what they’re doing could harm their bod, whereas if you’re putting braids in your hair, you’re not thinking that it’s harming you.’
That contradiction – between intention and outcome, safety and exposure – is hard to ignore. By their very nature, braids are worn close to the skin. Strands are tucked, twisted, and knotted onto the scalp, often for weeks at a time. Add in the heat sealing techniques commonly used to set synthetic fibers, and the likelihood of absorption only increases.
As Adana Llanos, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, explains, these exposures are compounded over years and even decades.
The paradox is particularly bitter given how braids have long been framed as the healthier choice. In a landscape of relaxers, hot combs, and other scalp-hostile solutions, braiding has provided an alternative for Black women looking to maintain their natural hair in the long-term.
