Kumari Palany & Co

Be aware!! Hair straightening procedures might lead to kidney damage in women!!

Posted on: 04/Apr/2024 9:34:08 AM

How would you react if you come to know that the hair straightening procedure could cause kidney damage also? Shocking right!!

It is learnt that a salon visit by a woman has turned into a nightmare for her. It was brought to light by NEJM or New England Journal of Medicine that ingredients present in cosmetics could become a threat to human lives.

Hair straightening procedure has become very common now especially among women.  After a hair straightening procedure, a woman was found to have damaged kidneys. It must be noted that a woman experienced back pain and vomiting etc after her hair straightening procedure. She did not have any previous history of kidney ailments and this was as per a report. The shocking piece of information is that she had recurrent episodes of acute kidney injury due to oxalate neuropathy after her hair straightening procedure.

What is oxalate neuropathy?

When calcium oxalate crystals get accumulated in the kidneys, then the condition is called oxalate neuropathy. This would result in kidney damage and impaired functions etc. There are few reasons for this medical condition like intake of high oxalate foods, certain medications and underlying metabolic disorders etc. The woman would experience flank pain, urinary urgency and blood in the urine. The kidney issue could be identified by urine and blood tests combined with image studies etc.

Treatment:

It is worthy to note that the treatment focuses on managing symptoms, preventing further crystal formation and addressing underlying factors contributing to oxalate build up.

Reason for kidney damage after hair straightening:

The kidney injury occurred in the woman due to the presence of glyoxylic acid present in the hair straightening products. It must be taken into account that the glyoxylic acid that is a common ingredient present in the hair straightening product could have made her scalp burn and ulcerate. Point is that the acid absorbed by the skin would have reached the kidneys.

What is the hair straightening procedure?

A chemical or heat based process designed to alter the texture of the hair is a hair straightening procedure. It is usually done to make the curly hair into straight hair of smoother strands.