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Occupational Exposures Among Hair and Nail Salon Workers: a Scoping Review

Current Environmental Health Reports volume 6, pages 269–285 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To review the literature published from 2014 to 2019 on hair and nail salon workers concerning exposure assessment, reproductive and respiratory endpoints, and endocrine disruption, in relation to workplace exposures.

Recent Findings

We identified 29 relevant peer-reviewed publications. Overall, there were insufficient studies to determine whether working in these settings is associated with reproductive health endpoints, although prior studies suggest that reproductive effects are of concern. There is consistent evidence that working in hair and nail salons may increase the risk of respiratory effects. Also, despite the fact that many hair and nail care products contain endocrine disrupting compounds, no recent studies have evaluated endocrine-related endpoints. Moreover, few studies have evaluated chemical exposures in these settings and biomonitoring studies are sparse.

Summary

Improved exposure assessment of chemical hazards in hair and nail salons is necessary to properly characterize occupational exposures and assess their potential health risks. Further studies on endpoints related to endocrine disruption and reproductive health outcomes among hair and nail salon workers are needed. Improved exposure and epidemiologic studies will help inform chemical exposure mitigation efforts in a vulnerable occupational population, as well as policies related to workplace and consumer product safety.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E6616, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Lesliam Quiros-Alcala

  2. Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 5B7, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Anna Z. Pollack

  3. STEM library, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Nedelina Tchangalova

  4. School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Melissa DeSantiago

  5. School of Public Health, Maryland Institute of Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH), University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Lucy K. A. Kavi

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  1. Lesliam Quiros-Alcala
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  3. Nedelina Tchangalova
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  4. Melissa DeSantiago
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Contributions

LQA and AP conceived and designed the study. NT conducted the literature search with input from primary authors regarding initial key terms. MD generated the summary tables. LKK helped identify articles for inclusion in the manuscript. The manuscript was written with input from all the authors.

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Correspondence to Lesliam Quiros-Alcala.

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Quiros-Alcala, L., Pollack, A.Z., Tchangalova, N. et al. Occupational Exposures Among Hair and Nail Salon Workers: a Scoping Review. Curr Envir Health Rpt 6, 269–285 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-019-00247-3

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Keywords

  • Occupational exposures
  • Hair and nail salon workers
  • Hairdressers
  • Reproductive
  • Respiratory
  • Endocrine