| Title: | Volatile Organic Compound Emissions From Heated Synthetic Hair: A Pilot Study |
| Address: | "ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1178-6302 (Print) 1178-6302 (Electronic) 1178-6302 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from a variety of household and personal care products. Many VOCs are known to be potentially toxic or carcinogenic. Synthetic hair is used in hair-styling practices, including practices in African American communities that involve singeing or heating the synthetic hair. The research questions that we sought to answer were as follows: Are VOCs emitted from singed or heated synthetic hair? If so, what are the VOC species and relative masses identified in singed or heated synthetic hair? We tested samples from 2 sources of singed and heated synthetic hair in a microchamber; one source was flame-retardant synthetic hair and the other source was non-flame-retardant synthetic hair. Our findings confirmed that VOCs are emitted from singed or heated synthetic hair for both types of sources. For flame-retardant synthetic hair, we identified and measured mass for species that included acetone, acetonitrile, 2-butanone, benzene, chloromethane, chloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane. For non-flame-retardant synthetic hair, we identified and measured mass for species that included acetone, acetonitrile, chloromethane, trichlorofluoromethane, and 2-propanol" |
| Keywords: | African American Voc asthma braiding indoor air quality personal care products; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEAuguste, Donna Miller, Shelly L eng 2020/02/18 Environ Health Insights. 2020 Jan 29; 14:1178630219890876. doi: 10.1177/1178630219890876. eCollection 2020" |
