Beauty Inside Out: Examining Beauty Product Use Among Diverse Women and Femme-Identifying Individuals in Northern Manhattan and South Bronx Through an Environmental Justice Framework.

ABSTRACT: The disproportionate use of chemical straighteners and skin lighteners by women of color is a growing public health concern given the link between product use and adverse health effects. Prior studies examined product use as an individual choice but neglected social-structural factors, which influence beauty perceptions and personal decisions around product use. We used a community-based participatory research approach to characterize product use by demographics and investigated how racialized beauty norms impact use among 297 women and femme-identifying individuals in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. Product use varied by race/ethnicity, nativity, and messaging from family and peers. Black respondents were more likely to ever use chemical straighteners than non-Black respondents (O

SUBMITTER: Edwards L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10704575 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature