Abstract No:
1704
Abstract Type:
Student Poster
Authors:
E Zhou1, C Tsai1
Institutions:
1University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Presenter:
Evan Zhou
University of California, Los Angeles
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Candace Tsai, ScD, MS
University of California, Los Angeles
Description:
This community-engaged project partners with South Los Angeles salon professionals and community members to better understand real-world use of hair relaxers and other styling products that may pose occupational and consumer health risks. Through community surveying and advisory input, the project identifies products and ingredients of concern so that exposure assessment and laboratory toxicity testing reflect community experience and priorities.
Situation/Problem:
Minority communities and salon professionals of South Los Angeles may experience disproportionate exposures to potentially hazardous chemicals from frequent use of hair relaxers and styling products. Formaldehyde is a known byproduct and component in many hair straightening products. However, these real-world exposure patterns are rarely reflected in toxicology testing or assessments of health risks. This study investigates how community-informed data can improve the identification and prioritization for laboratory toxicity testing and strengthen environmental justice focused exposure evaluation. This project aims to identify commonly used beauty/personal-care products, understand community concerns about exposure and toxicity, and share practical guidance based on Drosophila melanogaster assay findings.
Methods:
This UCLA Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved project includes a community partnership with the Black Women for Wellness organization. An electronic survey is administered to approximately 100 adult residents of South Los Angeles defined using Los Angeles County Service Planning Area 6 and LA Times defined South LA Census tract. Eligible participants are ≥18 years old, residing in the defined geographic area circled through GIS, and complete the survey English or Spanish. The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is composed of local salon professionals, beauty-industry workers, and community health advocates to guide the design of the survey, frame survey questions and examples in a culturally respectful way, and ensure that products and concerns are actually relevant to South LA residents. After eligibility screening and informed consent, respondents complete a 10–20-minute questionnaire administered via an IRB approved platform. Aggregated survey results are used to prioritize products and ingredients for laboratory-based toxicity testing using Drosophila melanogaster. These non-human assays will be used to evaluate neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity, and endocrine-related effects. Additionally, two PIDs (Photoionization detectors) for air sampling are used inside salons and are placed near the stylist while hair relaxer is applied and near the general salon area.
Results / Conclusions:
Data collection for the community survey and CAC formation is currently ongoing. Recruitment and survey deployment are in progress with community partners and salon professionals assisting in outreach within South Los Angeles. As of March 2026, the laboratory component of the project has begun the preliminary exposure testing using Drosophila melanogaster as a non-human toxicological model. This work focuses on exposing flies to pre-identified commonly used hair care products to refine exposure methods and establish the dose-response and feasibility for toxicity screening. Survey data aggregation will guide prioritization of hair relaxer products for further toxicological evaluation on Drosophila.
Core Competencies:
Community Exposure
Secondary Core Competencies:
Exposure Assessment
Work Environments, Occupations, and Industrial Processes
Choose at least one (1), and up to five, (5) keywords from the following list. These selections will optimize your presentation's search results for attendees.
Education and training
Exposure Assessment
Gas and vapor detection
Indoor air quality
Based on the information that will be presented during your proposed session, please indicate the targeted audience practice level: (select one)
Professional: Professional is a job title given to persons who have obtained a baccalaureate or graduate degree in IH/OH, public health, safety, environmental sciences, biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering or who have a degree in another area that meets the standards set forth in the next section, Knowledge and Skill Sets of IH/OH Practice Levels, and has had 4 or more years of practice. One significant way of demonstrating professional competence is to achieve certification by a 3rd party whose certification scheme is recognized by the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) such as the Board of Global EHS Credentialing (BGC).
Was this session organized by an AIHA Technical Committee, Special Interest Group, Working Group, Advisory Group or other AIHA project Team?
No
Are worker exposure data and/or results of worker exposure data analysis presented?
Yes
If yes, i.e., If worker exposure data and/or results of worker exposure data analysis are to be presented please describe the statistical methods and tools (e.g. IHSTAT, Expostats, IHSTAT_Bayes, IHDA-AIHA, or other statistical tool, please specify) used for analysis of the data.
PID, R for statistical analysis, GIS for salon identification
How will this help advance the science of IH/OH?
This project advances the science of IH/OH by incorporating community informed exposure assessment into research on chemical hair products. By engaging with salon professionals and community members as advisors, this study integrates real world knowledge about product use patterns that are often missing from traditional research. This approach can show how IH practitioners can incorporate worker and community expertise to strengthen research and risk communication.
Have you presented this information before?
No
I have read and agree to these guidelines.
Yes