PORTLAND, Ore. — A follow-up investigation by Consumer Reports published in February 2026 found heavy metals and volatile organic compounds in 29 of 30 braiding hair products tested — including human hair extensions and products marketed as nontoxic or free of heavy metals — raising new alarms about the health risks facing Black women, children and hair care professionals across the world who rely on these products daily.

Braided hairstyles are a widely practiced cultural tradition among Black communities worldwide, from the United States to Africa to the Caribbean and beyond. According to Consumer Reports, nearly 72% of Black women wear some type of hair extension at least once a year. Black women and children are the primary users of braiding hair products worldwide, and stylists who handle these products throughout the workday face repeated exposure through skin contact, inhalation and hand-to-mouth transfer. The findings carry particular significance for Oregon’s Black communities, where families and hair care professionals told KGW the issue hits close to home.

Many Oregon consumers and community stakeholders interviewed by KGW said they had not heard of the Consumer Reports findings until contacted by the news organization — a gap that advocates and lawmakers say reflects a broader failure of regulators and manufacturers to communicate risks to the most affected communities.

The February 2026 Consumer Reports report builds on the organization’s 2025 investigation, which found lead in 90% and volatile organic compounds in all 10 synthetic braiding hair products tested. The latest round of testing expanded to include human hair, plant-based products and additional synthetic brands, guided by thousands of social media comments and listening sessions with Black-led organizations.

“I think it is appalling that heavy metals and toxic chemicals are being allowed in hair products,” said state Rep. Travis Nelson, a Democrat from Portland who sponsored Senate Bill 546 during the 2023 Oregon legislative session. “Black Americans should be able to trust the government to keep us safe from companies trying to exploit us.”

Oregon lawmakers respond: ‘Environmental racism hiding in plain sight’

KGW contacted members of the Oregon Black Caucus for reaction to the Consumer Reports findings and to ask whether state-level legislative action is under consideration.

State Rep. Lamar Wise, a Democrat from Portland, spoke bluntly.

“Black communities should not be a testing ground for toxic products — our society has done that before, and we will not stand for it,” Wise said. “What we’re seeing here is environmental racism and a public health crisis hiding in plain sight. Black women and girls are being exposed to harmful chemicals just for expressing their culture and identity, and that is unacceptable.”

Wise said existing protections are not moving fast enough. “We cannot wait years for protection while people are at risk right now. We need faster action, real accountability and stronger safeguards to ensure Black Oregonians can live, work, and care for themselves without being harmed.”

State Rep. Shannon Isadore, a Democrat from Portland, pointed to Senate Bill 546 as a foundation while emphasizing that enforcement will be critical.

“Oregon has already taken steps through SB 546 to limit harmful chemicals in cosmetic products, and based on OHA’s interpretation, that includes synthetic braiding hair when those chemicals are present,” Isadore said. “The focus now needs to be on implementation and making sure those standards are enforced. As we look ahead, I’m interested in whether additional clarity or tools are needed to ensure these protections are working as intended.”

Oregon’s SB 546: What the law does — and what it doesn’t yet require

Senate Bill 546, passed during the 2023 regular legislative session, requires the Oregon Health Authority to adopt and maintain a list of designated high-priority chemicals of concern used in cosmetic products and to periodically review and revise that list. The bill was chief-sponsored by Sen. Kate Sollman and Reps. Paul Neron and Maxine Dexter, with Nelson among its regular sponsors.

Under the law, OHA must adopt rules by Jan. 1, 2027, prohibiting manufacturers from selling cosmetic products in Oregon that contain chemicals identified as harmful. According to OHA’s interpretation, synthetic braiding hair falls within the law’s scope when those chemicals are present, though implementation and enforcement are still ongoing.

Nelson said he intends to hold OHA accountable to that timeline — and push for additional action if needed.

“The Oregon Health Authority must adopt rules by Jan. 1, 2027 to ban manufacturers from selling hair products containing specific chemicals that have been identified as harmful to our health,” Nelson said. “I will work with my colleagues on legislation if we identify gaps in this policy. I would also encourage our federal delegation to support actions at the federal level.”

Federal action stalled; Oregon delegation yet to respond

At the federal level, the FDA has again missed a deadline to propose a rule banning formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from hair-straightening products. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, alongside Congresswomen Shontel Brown and Nydia Velázquez, has introduced the Healthy Hair Act, which seeks to effectively ban formaldehyde from hair products.

KGW reached out to the FDA directly for comment on the updated Consumer Reports braiding hair findings and to ask what steps, if any, the agency is taking to address the lack of federal oversight of these products. The FDA had not responded as of publication.

That silence is consistent with what Consumer Reports encountered in its own reporting. When Consumer Reports contacted the FDA about its braiding hair findings, the agency acknowledged that synthetic hair falls under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as a cosmetic — but offered no specific consumer guidance, according to the February 2026 report.

RELATED: Oregon beauty supply owners, consumers react to cancer-linked chemicals in braiding hair brands

Speaking to KGW in June 2025 about the initial Consumer Reports investigation, Rogers said the regulatory gap was a central concern.

“There is no federal regulation to ensure the safety of this product by our own Food and Drug Administration and we believe it should be under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act,” Rogers told KGW at the time.

He also flagged the absence of any labeling requirements. “There are no rules as to what the packaging can say,” Rogers said in June 2025. “There’s no requirement for those ingredients to be listed on the outside.”

There is currently no federal requirement for braiding hair manufacturers to test their products or disclose ingredients on packaging — a gap that remained unaddressed as of Consumer Reports’ February 2026 follow-up report.

KGW contacted Oregon Congresswoman Janelle Bynum for comment on the Consumer Reports findings. Given her previous advocacy on women’s health and past comments to KGW about protecting Black women from harmful beauty products, KGW sought her perspective on the latest findings and the broader issue of federal oversight. As of publication, Bynum’s office had not responded. KGW also reached out to most of Oregon’s congressional delegation for comment on the findings and potential federal action; none had responded as of publication.

Bynum previously told KGW in December 2023, when she was serving as an Oregon state representative, that federal protections for women’s health were urgently needed.

“It’s absolutely imperative that our federal government and our state government protect women’s reproductive health,” Bynum said at the time.

RELATED: Oregon women, lawmakers weigh the impact of FDA’s proposed move to ban cancer-linked formaldehyde in hair relaxers

Alexandra Grose, senior counsel for sustainability policy at Consumer Reports, noted in the February 2026 report that the European Union has banned more than 1,300 toxic ingredients from cosmetics and personal care products, compared with 11 in the United States.

“Since manufacturers are already making products that comply with European regulations, when they say it can’t be done in the U.S., we just don’t buy it — literally and figuratively,” Grose said in the Consumer Reports report.

Consumer Reports: Human hair carried the highest lead levels

Among the follow-up report’s most surprising findings: all nine human hair products tested contained lead concentrations well above Consumer Reports’ level of concern — significantly higher than any synthetic product in the study.

According to Consumer Reports, Ywigs Water Wave Bulk registered the highest lead level of all 30 products tested, at 81,833% of the organization’s level of concern, along with the highest cadmium readings.

“I was surprised that there was so much lead in all nine samples of human hair because we had no indication that that was ever an issue,” Rogers said in the February 2026 report.

Consumer Reports cited a study in the journal, “Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances,” noting that lead is easily absorbed into hair through both blood and external contamination. Much of the human hair sold at retail comes from Brazil, China, India, Peru and Southeast Asia — regions where lead exposure can occur through food, water, cookware and cosmetics, Consumer Reports said.

The risks are especially acute for children, Consumer Reports noted. Lead exposure has been linked to developmental problems, loss of IQ points and delayed brain development. Because younger children are increasingly having their hair braided with these products — and because children often put objects in their mouths — Consumer Reports said ensuring cleaner ingredients is of particular importance for families around the world.

Volatile organic compounds detected across all 30 products tested

According to Consumer Reports, every product tested contained volatile organic compounds, including acetone, a respiratory irritant; benzene, a known carcinogen; and dichloromethane, a likely carcinogen. Consumer Reports tested for 65 VOCs and detected 50 across all products.

Consumer Reports found that Gyal Braids Apple Cider Vinegar Braiding Hair and Slayyy Hair Pre-Stretched Braids had the highest total VOC levels, driven primarily by acetone. Gyal Braids’ website had claimed the product was lead-free; testing by Consumer Reports found it contained lead, along with trace amounts of arsenic and cadmium. In response, the company said the claim referred to no lead being intentionally added and has since updated its product labeling. The company attributed the elevated acetone levels to its apple cider vinegar pre-wash process.

Rebundle, which markets its banana plant fiber hair as nontoxic and free of heavy metals and carcinogens, was found by Consumer Reports to contain lead — though at the 10th-lowest level among all 30 products tested, with no detectable arsenic or cadmium. CEO Ciara Imani May acknowledged the findings, saying, “lead is an environmental metal that can occur at low levels in soil and plant-derived materials,” and added that the company is investigating potential sources.

‘They don’t care about us’: Oregon community stakeholders react

The Consumer Reports findings have reverberated across Oregon’s Black communities — though for many, KGW’s outreach was their first introduction to the February 2026 report. Community members say this underscores who bears the burden of staying informed in the absence of regulation.

Hanna Steigman, an educator, mother of twins and transracial adoptee who came to Oregon from Liberia, founded HairSpiracy to create the accessible, welcoming and joyful community around textured and natural hair that her family never had. Angie Parker, HairSpiracy’s lead educator and a Portland native, said she was not surprised by the findings — but that lack of surprise is its own indictment.

“I’m not shocked,” Parker told KGW. “I don’t think this is something new. I don’t believe they just discovered this. It’s almost like Johnson and Johnson baby powder — if something is profitable and if they are letting us know, then they’ve known it for a long time.”

Parker said the findings around products marketed as safer — including those pre-washed in apple cider vinegar — deepened her distrust. She noted that she had personally emailed Gyal Braids, one of the brands Consumer Reports flagged for high VOC levels despite its nontoxic marketing claims, to ask whether it was truly a Black-owned company.

“Even with this so-called non-toxic, vinegar-rinsed hair — is it really?” Parker said. “It’s hard because this is a way of life for us. I wear braids all the time. Even with our different textures of hair, that’s a thing. I can’t just whip my hair back into a ponytail and call it a day. It takes work.”

RELATED: ‘Hair tells a story’: Portland’s HairSpiracy hosts ‘The Hair Collection’ celebrating Black hair as art and culture

Parker said she fears many in the community will feel they have no real choice but to continue using the products, regardless of what the testing shows.

“A lot of us, people might ignore it because what are we going to do?” she said. “It’s disappointing, but I just don’t believe it’s something new. I don’t believe they just found out about it. I don’t believe it wasn’t even partially intentional. And I would like for people to criminalize all the things, but what is really going to happen is really just a decision amongst ourselves.”

Steigman echoed Parker’s skepticism about who controls the Black beauty market and who ultimately profits from it.

“As Black people, we don’t really own a lot of the beauty market anyway,” Steigman said. “A lot of times, they may put a Black face on it, but it is never actually really owned by us. And so I think the conversation sometimes is — are we actually buying from people that use the same products? The people that are creating it are not using it.”

Steigman said that guiding principle is central to HairSpiracy’s mission. “I do try to bring people in that do make products themselves,” she said. “So I know that if you got hair like me, I think I can trust you.”

When KGW told Parker and Steigman that Oregon lawmakers cited Senate Bill 546 — passed in 2023 — as the state’s primary tool for addressing these chemicals, but that the Oregon Health Authority has until Jan. 1, 2027, to adopt the required rules, both women responded sharply.

“Let’s make our money until 2027,” Steigman said, describing what she sees as the calculation behind the delayed timeline. “It’s money, right? Lobbying.”

Parker was even more blunt. “And who was it affecting?” she said. “Like literally our products. The hair is for us. So what’s the rush? Is there really a sense of urgency behind it? And even a sense of transparency — like, how long have you guys known?”

She added: “They profit off of us and we suffer. We literally pay the price. So many of us are affected. So many of us, like you said, don’t even know. We’re talking about this, but a lot of communities have no clue. So it’s just disheartening.”

Despite her frustration, Parker said she appreciated KGW’s continued reporting as a necessary form of accountability.

“Thank you for putting up the fight,” she said. “Because without people like you, maybe I’ll jump on the bandwagon. And a lot of us can jump on the bandwagon and at least put up a fight. They don’t care about us. But I guess I appreciate you because we have to care enough about ourselves to at least put up a fight.”

Yolanda Priddy, co-owner of Ezalia’s Beauty Supply and Heavie’s Above The Cut in Salem, and her son Kendric, a co-owner and stylist, have followed the issue closely since KGW’s June 2025 reporting on the initial Consumer Reports investigation.

“It’s really important to me to keep the hair healthy,” Kendric Priddy told KGW in 2025. “When you do braids or extensions, it can be damaging if you don’t use the right stuff or take care of it properly. People should really look at what’s in the products they use, and not just follow trends. Your hair is your crown.”

His sister Amarea Priddy, a regular braiding hair user, said the ongoing Consumer Reports findings make hair care choices feel increasingly difficult.

“Sometimes I’m kind of like, I don’t want to get my hair done anymore because it’s like you don’t really know what products you can use and what products you can’t use,” she told KGW in 2025. “It’s kind of difficult when you want your hair done and you don’t know what to use, product wise.”

One Portland consumer, Kanika Collier, told KGW in 2025 that she and her daughter switched to pre-washed apple cider vinegar braiding hair after experiencing itching and scalp scabs with conventional synthetic products. The February 2026 Consumer Reports data adds a layer of complexity: the report found that Gyal Braids, a product pre-washed in apple cider vinegar, recorded among the highest total VOC levels in the study, largely due to acetone.

Researchers emphasize that the danger does not come from a single exposure but from chemical contact that accumulates over time — a burden disproportionately borne by Black women worldwide.

“When you’re thinking about these exposures, you have to remind yourself it’s not a one-off thing, but it’s cumulative,” said Elissia Franklin, Ph.D., a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute. Franklin conducted a separate study published in “The Journal of the American Chemical Society” that found 48 toxic chemicals in 41 of 43 commercially available hair extension products.

“We have to remind ourselves that there are health disparities that Black women in particular face,” Franklin said. “We’re disproportionately exposed to a lot of these harmful chemicals.”

Angela Lamb, MD, an associate professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in the Consumer Reports report that skin absorption is a particular concern when braids are installed too tightly, causing microtears that can compromise the skin’s protective barrier — a risk that extends to the scalp and neck where braids typically rest against the skin.

What consumers can do now

Consumer Reports and health experts recommend several steps while regulatory and industry changes remain in progress.

• Choose products with lower detected contaminant levels. Consumer Reports said stylists and consumers can consult the organization’s full testing data to identify brands with comparatively lower results.
• Avoid dipping braids in boiling water or burning the ends. Consumer Reports said both methods release VOCs. If skipping these steps is not possible, the organization recommends ensuring adequate ventilation and using an air purifier.
• Wear gloves during installation. Consumer Reports said gloves limit skin contact and reduce hand-to-mouth chemical transfer.
• Limit wear time and take breaks between installs. Consumer Reports recommends wearing braiding hair for no more than two to four weeks at a time.
• Report adverse reactions to a healthcare provider, to the FDA through MedWatch at fda.gov/safety/medwatch, and to the Consumer Product Safety Commission at saferproducts.gov.

Rogers told KGW in June 2025 that Consumer Reports planned to expand its testing to include wigs, clip-on extensions and other personal care products marketed to Black consumers, and urged the public to join efforts petitioning the FDA to take action.

“We want Black women and Black men to join us in the petition process of petitioning the FDA and petitioning local governments to make these products safer,” Rogers told KGW at the time.

Editor’s note: KGW first reported on Consumer Reports’ initial braiding hair investigation in June 2025. This report reflects new findings from Consumer Reports’ February 2026 follow-up study, as well as responses from Oregon Black Caucus members and community stakeholders gathered by KGW in March 2026. KGW reached out to Congresswoman Janelle Bynum and a majority of Oregon’s Congressional Delegation for comment; none had responded with comment as of publication. This story will be updated if responses are received.

To view Consumer Reports’ full testing data, methodology and the petition, visit consumerreports.org.