Differences in personal care product use by race/ethnicity among women in California: implications for chemical exposures

Personal care products may contain many chemicals, some of which are suspected endocrine disrupters. This is an important source of chemical exposure for women, but little is known about how chemical exposure differs among different races/ethnicities. This study examines differences in personal care product use among Black, Latina, Vietnamese, Mixed Race, and White women in California. We used a community-based participatory process to create and administer a personal care product usage survey to 321 Black, Latina, Vietnamese, Mixed Race, and White women. We used multivariate regression models with pairwise comparisons to examine the frequency of product use by race/ethnicity. We found distinct trends of personal care product use by race/ethnicity: Latina women typically used makeup most frequently; Black women used certain hair products or styles most frequently; and Vietnamese women were most likely to use facial cleansing products compared to other races/ethnicities. Latina and Vietnamese women were less likely to try to avoid certain ingredients in their products. These findings can help estimate disparities in chemical exposure from personal care product use and complement future research on health inequities due to chemical exposures in the larger environmental and social context.