Hairdresser
[verification needed] Before a master hairdresser died, they would give their combs and tools to a chosen successor during a special ceremony.
[3] In ancient Egypt, hairdressers had specially decorated cases to hold their tools, including lotions, scissors and styling materials.
In ancient Rome and Greece household slaves and servants took on the role of hairdressers, including dyeing and shaving.
The hairstyle, "the tower," was the trend with wealthy English and American women, who relied on hairdressers to style their hair as tall as possible.
Tall piles of curls were pomaded, powdered and decorated with ribbons, flowers, lace, feathers and jewelry.
de Rumigny died in 1770 and other hairdressers gained in popularity, specifically three Frenchmen: Frederic, Larseueur, and Léonard.
Leonard was her favorite, and developed many hairstyles that became fashion trends within wealthy Parisian circles, including the loge d'opera, which towered five feet over the wearer's head.
Hairdressing was primarily a service affordable only to those wealthy enough to hire professionals or to pay for servants to care for their hair.
Laveau, located in New Orleans, began working as a hairdresser in the early 1820s, maintaining the hair of wealthy women of the city.
New coloring processes were developed, including those by Eugène Schueller in Paris, which allowed hairdressers to perform complicated styling techniques.
[8] Like many occupations, hairdressing is associated with potential health hazards stemming from the products workers use on the job as well as the environment they work in.
[10] These can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and long-term health effects, including cancer and reproductive issues.
Formaldehyde is a chemical used in various industries and has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC as “carcinogenic to humans”.
[19] Phthalates have been implicated as endocrine disrupting chemicals, compounds that mimic the body's own hormones and can lead to dysregulation of the reproductive and neurologic systems as well as changes in metabolism and cell proliferation.
[19] Most hairdressers are women of childbearing age, which lends to additional considerations for potential workplace exposures and the risks they may pose.
[9][20][21] However, these studies failed to show a well-defined association between individual risk factors and adverse birthing outcomes.
Oncologic The International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC, has categorized occupational exposures of hairdressers and barbers to chemical agents found in the workplace as “probably carcinogenic to humans” or category 2A in their classification system.
[14] This is due in part to the presence of chemical compounds historically found in hair products that have exhibited mutagenic and carcinogenic effects in animal and in vitro studies.
There have been studies showing a link between occupational exposure to hair dyes and increased risk of bladder in male hairdressers but not females.
[16][26] Studies have exhibited an increased rate of respiratory symptoms experienced such as cough, wheezing, rhinitis, and shortness of breath among hairdressers when compared to other groups.
[27][28] Decreased lung function levels on spirometry have also been demonstrated in hairdressers when compared to unexposed reference groups.
Overtime, this type of work has also been implicated in increased rate of irritant dermatitis among hairdressers due to damage of the skins natural protective barrier [32]
