Many of us are used to enduring a bit of pain so that we can look the way we want to look. A new study suggests that pretty might not just hurt, but that it might be lief-threatening.

A new study in Carcinogenesis found that African American and white women who routinely chemically straightened or darkly-dyed their hair have a greater risk of breast cancer than women from those groups with natural hair.

“I would be concerned about darker hair dye and hair straighteners,” epidemiologist and Harvard professor Tamarra James-Todd told Reuters. “We should really think about using things in moderation and really try to think about being more natural. Just because something is on the market does not necessarily mean it’s safe for us.”

The study took a look at over 4,000 African American and white women, who dyed their hair at least twice a year and who relaxed their hair at least once a year from 2002 to 2008.

The results were startling, with black women who used dark hair dye having a 51 percent increased risk of breast cancer and white women who used chemical relaxers having a 74 percent increased risk.

Black women who straightened their hair and white women who used dyes were also found to have highly elevated chances of getting cancer. However, the study's authors caution that this could be due to chance, as it found that 88 percent of black women polled for their study straighten their hair chemically and that 58 percent of white women polled dye their hair.

“A lot of people have asked me if I’m telling women not to dye their hair or not to use relaxers,” said the study's lead author, Rutgers School of Public Health epidemiologist Adana Llanos. “I’m not saying that. What I think is really important is we need to be more aware of the types of exposures in the products we use.”

James-Todd believes there’s yet not enough evidence to determine whether breast cancer risk is truly elevated given how many black women relax their hair and how many white women dye theirs.

Llanos, an African American woman, is convinced, however. She said that research into the potential dangers of chemical relaxers persuaded her to eliminate their use years ago.

Although there is still more research to do (for instance, this study did not differentiate by relaxer and dye brand), one thing is for sure: there is evidence out there that dyes and relaxers may be hazardous to your health, but you have to decide for yourself whether or not you want believe it.

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