A 19-year-old woman was recently admitted to Shaare Zedek Medical Center after suffering kidney failure that developed after she underwent a hair-straightening procedure.
She arrived at the emergency room complaining of a burning sensation on her scalp, followed by weakness, nausea, and vomiting. Comprehensive tests revealed severe impairment of kidney function, and she was hospitalized in Internal Medicine Department A.
Prof. Linda Shavit from the Institute of Nephrology said that in the past two months alone, three young women with no underlying medical conditions were treated at Shaare Zedek with the same condition. “We are seeing an alarming increase at Shaare Zedek in women being hospitalized with kidney failure after hair straightening. All three patients treated here in the last two months were young women, with no prior illnesses, who were hospitalized with acute kidney failure solely due to hair straightening," she said.
The Institute of Nephrology at Shaare Zedek led a first-of-its-kind study that examined 26 cases and found a direct link between hair-straightening products containing glyoxylic acid and kidney damage.
Following the study, Israel’s Ministry of Health revoked the licenses of dozens of such products, and similar warnings were issued in Switzerland and France.
Since the findings were published, more than 50 cases have been reported in Israel of women hospitalized with kidney injury after hair-straightening treatments.
Prof. Shavit urged women to take precautions: “Make sure the product is approved by the Ministry of Health, ensure that the substance does not come into contact with the scalp, and insist that hairdressers perform the straightening according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you feel a burning sensation on the scalp during treatment, remove the product immediately. Your health comes first-there is no reason to go to a salon and end up hospitalized."