The professor from the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), Isabelle Plante, and her student Marie-Caroline Daguste, are carrying out a study on how the products around us can influence breast cancer.
This study on the toxicity of cosmetic products stems in particular from Isabelle Plante’s interests in the development of breast cancer or problems with the mammary gland.
This concern, according to which the products to which humans are exposed contain molecules harmful to health, is very present for researchers.
They also observe that the socio-economic environment and place of life can cause inequality in exposure to these products.
They therefore decided to focus their studies and research on employees such as hairdressers and beauticians who handle cosmetic products where endocrine disruptors are much more present.
These people will get their hands on the products in question every day. Isabelle Plante and her student therefore wondered if this could not cause major problems with reproductive health or health in general.
There are already epidemiological studies which show that members of the population working in beauty salons are more likely to have reproductive health problems.
The researchers’ objective is to make the link between these dangers and the molecules contained in cosmetic products, particularly in terms of endocrine disruptors.
Progress of the project
The project has three main stages. The first is to recruit participants. Marie-Caroline Daguste is in charge of this recruitment.
The women who will participate in the study will have to complete a questionnaire about their profession, their lifestyle, the way they use products at home and in the work environment.
They should also talk about their health problems. Researchers are mainly looking for hairdressers, makeup artists, anesthesiologists or massage therapists.
“The exposome corresponds to all the products to which they will be exposed. So the idea here is that we expect women who are hairdressers, makeup artists, etc., to have somewhat different exposures than the general population, which will be our control group. The people sought for the control group are more seamstresses or chefs, for example,” explains Marie-Caroline Daguste.
The second step is to perform a urine test. The urine tests will then be analyzed to find out what specific chemicals participants are exposed to.
Health Canada chemists will take care of these analyses.
This sample can be taken from home and three times during the same week. The samples will then be collected by the INRS transport company in front of the participants’ door.
Finally, the last step will allow laboratory tests to be carried out to study the differences between the samples and the cells present in the laboratory.
All women can participate in the study voluntarily. All women who complete the questionnaire have the chance to win a gift card through a draw. Compensation of $50 will also be given to people providing a urine sample.
Funding to carry out this study, offered by the Robert Sauvé Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (IRSST), is for three years and this is the objective that the researchers hope to achieve.
Giving back to the population
“The idea with this study is also to produce material to be able to inform women about the effects of these products found in cosmetics and which could have effects on them, as well as to educate them on these issues” , says Isabelle Plante.
The researchers also want to emphasize the social and salary inequalities which put women working in these professions, linked to the world of beauty, in a greater situation of vulnerability.
“It is often racialized women who carry out this type of profession which is not highly paid. There are also a whole range of different products that are used for curly hair, for example, which are known to have even more harmful products.
Isabelle Plante and Marie-Caroline Daguste therefore want to highlight a certain social inequality with this study.
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