VOA常速英语2016--非洲女性护发用品抗癌成分堪忧（在线收听）

非洲女性护发用品抗癌成分堪忧

This may look like a typical hair salon in Abuja. But it’s not. We specialize in maintaining and taking care of the natural hair. What the everyday people call the virgin hair, the hair that hasn’t been relaxed, like the hair you were born with. At the Lumo Hair Salon, hairdressers use natural-based ingredients and avoid using heat on the hair of their clients. Heat can dry or damage hair. One of the reasons why this salon came up is because people had a lot of issues taking care of their natural hair. Hair is big business in Nigeria. Beauty stores display a wide range of hair products mainly imported from the United States. But some of the ingredients in these kinds of products are coming under scrutiny. In a new report, Black Women for Wellness, an NGO based in Los Angeles, compiled five years of research and says that chemicals used in some hair products are linked to uterine fibroids in black women and girls. Products including relaxers, shampoos and hair dyes are mentioned in the study as containing toxic ingredients. The World Health Organization has warned that hairdressers may be routinely exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. But the American Cancer Association says studies have not found a strong link between cancer and hair products and recommends more research. In 2011, a health agency of the U.S. Department of Labor found that some “hair smoothing” products may release unsafe levels of formaldehyde, which is toxic. Dr. Oluwakemi Osunderu has been doing her own research, conducting a poll asking Nigerian women about the experiences with synthetic hair products. She says common complaints are hair loss and burns on the scalp. She says black women are more at risk because they tend to use hair products frequently over a longer period of time and therefore have higher exposure levels to the chemicals. You find some harmful products in them like the thalates and the parabens. These have been linked to cancer, especially breast cancer. Enter the natural hair movement. Natural hair activists gathered together at the first African Hair Summit in Abuja. It’s health first, then beauty or fashion. Locally manufactured products made with natural ingredients like pure shea butter and coconut oil were on display. And while interest may be growing, these products are still far from mainstream in Nigeria.

这里看起来可能像阿布贾典型的发廊，但其实不是。我们专营的是保养头发，维持发质自然。也就是大家常说的处女发质，没有经过特殊处理的发质，出生时自带的发质。卢莫发廊的理发师使用天然材质，并避免对客户头发加热。因为热量可能使发质干枯或损坏发质。这家发廊成立的原因之一就是因为很多人都很难维持自然的发质。在尼日利亚，有关头发的事儿都是头等大事儿。美容院有很多从美国进口的护发用品。但这些护发用品中的一些成分目前正在监察中。洛杉矶一家名为“黑人女选健康”的民间组织编纂了一则报告，这则报告对过去五年黑人女性的护发用品进行了调研。结果表明，一些护发用品中的化学成分与黑人妇女和女孩的子宫肌瘤有关。在有毒成分的列表中，直发膏、洗发水、染发剂都榜上有名。世界卫生组织警告称，理发师由于工作的原因，可能会经常接触引发癌症的化学成分。不过，美国癌症协会称，这样的调查报告并没有揭示出癌症与护发用品之间的直接因果关系，并建议进行更多相关调研。

2011年，美国劳工部的卫生部门发现一些护发素可能会释放出有毒的甲醛，对人体不健康。Oluwakemi一直在进行调研，对尼日利亚女性在合成护发用品方面的使用经验。Oluwakemi称，很多女性普遍反映有脱发现象，同时头皮也受到损伤。她还说，黑人女性的风险更大，因为他们习惯于长期地频繁使用同样的护发用品，这样就会更多地接触有毒化学成分。你在他们身上会检测出对羟基苯甲酸酯类这样的有毒物质。这些有毒物质都与癌症，尤其是乳腺癌密切相关。加入护发运动吧。护发运动积极分子齐聚一堂，参加阿布贾的第一届非洲发质峰会。有了健康，才能谈美丽与时尚。峰会上可以见到用牛油树脂和椰油制作的自然护发用品。而虽然当前人们对这些健康护发用品的兴趣不断攀升，但这离成为尼日利亚主流护发用品之路还很远。