Corresponding Author: Onyekwere, I. L
E-mail: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
The
prevalence of cosmetic usage for skin, hair, and nails has significantly
increased across different backgrounds, ages, and genders. People are
increasingly seeking ways to enhance their beauty, often disregarding the
potential negative effects of these actions (Durosaro et al., 2012). There exists a misconception among the population
that the cosmetics used in salons are relatively harmless. However, a study
conducted by Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRA
Dev Nigeria) under the auspices of US-based Developing World Outreach
initiatives (DWO) reveals that toxic chemicals are widely used in beauty salons
nationwide, posing significant health risks. The beauty care market in Nigeria
is experiencing remarkable growth, providing lucrative opportunities in the
beauty industry. The cosmetic retail rate has increased by an average of 14.5%
in 2021 (Voora et al., 2019). Salons serve as workstations offering various
cosmetological services such as manicures, pedicures, braiding, hairstyling,
and weaving. The cosmetic products used in these salons may contain Volatile
Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are chemical compounds with high vapor pressure
and low water solubility. These VOCs are found in a wide range of salon
cosmetic products, including methacrylate, phthalate, ozone, and carbon
monoxide (Hadei et al., 2018).
Chemicals are
commonly added to cosmetics as preservatives and fragrances to extend their
shelf life and enhance their appeal to customers. While many European countries
have banned the use of toxic compounds like Toluene, Formaldehyde, and dibutyl
phthalate, these substances still find their way into salons. The salon
environment is filled with a myriad of chemicals released from sprays,
permanent waves, acrylic nail applications, and other sources. These chemicals
are associated with numerous health problems, including asthma, dermatitis,
neurological symptoms, and even cancer. They accumulate as fumes in the salon
and can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled by both salon operators and
clients (Adepoju-Bello et al., 2012), (Oyedeji et al., 2011). Despite legislation aimed at reducing the use of
these harmful compounds, they continue to be present in cosmetics. They are components
of primary raw materials used in cosmetic production or intentionally included
by unscrupulous manufacturers (Adepoju-Bello et al., 2012), (Oyedeji et al., 2011).
In Nigeria,
the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) does not
conduct clinical trials or laboratory tests before allowing cosmetics into the
market. Instead, NAFDAC relies on post-market surveillance and requires a
comprehensive certificate of analysis. The guidelines also prohibit the use of
mercury, corticosteroids, and other prohibited substances in cosmetic products.
However, these substances often find their way into the market (Nduka et al., 2016). Empirical studies have shown that the salon
environment is filled with harmful chemical substances released from cosmetics,
with concentrations exceeding safety limits (Asare-Donkor et al., 2020); (Tran & Kannan, 2015). Salons have been identified as potential breeding
grounds for infections. A study conducted around Kogi State University,
Anyigba, revealed heavy bacterial and fungal growth on combs, brushes, hair
stretchers, rollers, and hairpins. These findings indicate that salons
contribute to the spread of infections, particularly when equipment is reused
on different clients without adequate sterilization procedures (Enemuor et al., 2013). Similar scenarios were observed at the University
of Port Harcourt, where combs, brushes, and other tools showed significant
bacterial and fungal growth. Additionally, many salons lacked proper
ventilation, and workers often did not have access to or were reluctant to use
personal protective equipment such as nose masks (Stanley et al., 2019). Against this background, this study aims to
investigate the demographic patterns of unhealthy cosmetic application among
female salon operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.
Statement
of the Problem
There is an erroneous belief that
cosmetics used in salons are relatively safe and do not contain hazardous
chemicals.� This is contrary to what is
observed in reality, as many salon operators use cosmetics with hazardous
chemicals.
Aim and Objectives of the
Study
This study aimed to investigate demographic
patterns of unhealthy application of cosmetics by female salon operators in
tertiary institutions in Rivers State.�
Specifically, the objectives were to:
1. Ascertain
the unhealthy cosmetics applications among salon operators in tertiary
institutions in Rivers State.
2. Determine
the relationships between demographic variables of age, years of experience,
education level and unhealthy application of cosmetics among salon operators in
tertiary institutions in Rivers State.
METHOD
The study
employed a cross-sectional survey design.�
This design was chosen because it permits one to collect data from a
large sample drawn from a given population and describes specific features of
the sample that interest the researcher�the population for the study comprised
1200 female salon operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers state.� A representative sample size of 1200 female
salon operators was used for the study, which represents the total number of
salon operators.� Ten tertiary
institutions in Rivers State were used for the study.
The
instrument for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire titled
"Questionnaire on Demographic Pattern of Unhealthy Cosmetics Application
(QDPUCA)".� It was presented to 3
research experts in the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education to
determine its validity.� The instrument's
reliability was determined using the test-retest method, and a coefficient
value of 0.92 was obtained.� Data
collected were analysed using descriptive statistic tools of percentage, mean,
standard deviation, and Inferential statistics of one-way ANOVA at a .05
significance level.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Research Question 1: What are the unhealthy applications of
cosmetics among salon operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State?
Table 1: Unhealthy Application of Cosmetics
|
Items
|
Mean
|
SD
|
|
Apply cosmetic products with dibutyl phthalate (nail
polish)
|
3.05
|
0.89
|
|
Apply cosmetic products�
with formaldehyde (nail hardener)
|
2.81
|
1.00
|
|
Apply cosmetic products with lead
|
2.91
|
0.99
|
|
Apply cosmetic products with toluene (nail glue, hair
dye)
|
3.01
|
0.97
|
|
Check the active ingredients and expiry date before
buying the products
|
2.14
|
1.14
|
|
Apply the same cosmetic tools on several clients
|
2.34
|
1.11
|
|
Apply cosmetic products without protective equipment
(e.g. nose mask, gloves)
|
2.62
|
1.01
|
|
Grand mean
|
2.69
|
1.01
|
Table 1 indicated that there was
unhealthy application of cosmetics by the salon operators with a grand mean of
2.69�1.01.� The toxic trio was
predominant; dibutyl phthalate (3.05�1.00).�
Other unhealthy cosmetic applications observed were the application of
cosmetic products with lead (2.91�0.99) and the application of cosmetics
without personal protective equipment.
Research
Question 2: What are the relationships
between demographic variables of age, years of experience, education level and
unhealthy application of cosmetics?
Table 2: Age and
Unhealthy Application of Cosmetics
|
Items
|
Age
|
|
|
16-19 yrs
|
20-23 yrs
|
24-27 yrs
|
28 yrs>
|
|
|
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Grand Mean
|
|
Salon operators between the ages (16-19) years apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose
masks.
|
2.94
|
0.91
|
2.87
|
0.85
|
3.55
|
0.77
|
3.18
|
0.70
|
3.14
|
|
Salon operators between the ages (of 20-23) years apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose
masks.
|
2.98
|
0.95
|
2.88
|
0.84
|
2.60
|
1.29
|
3.10
|
0.75
|
2.89
|
|
Salon operators between the ages (of 24-27) years apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose
masks.
|
2.95
|
1.08
|
2.60
|
0.96
|
3.32
|
0.94
|
2.58
|
0.73
|
2.86
|
|
Salon operators between ages (28years and above) apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose
masks.
|
3.07
|
1.02
|
2.58
|
0.97
|
3.60
|
0.78
|
2.47
|
0.74
|
2.93
|
Table 2 revealed that salon
operators in the age bracket of 16-19 years are more predisposed to the
unhealthy application of cosmetics, with a grand means of 3.14, closely
followed by those 28 years and above (2.93).�
The unhealthy application also includes those between the ages of 20-23
(2.89) and those in the 24-27 age range (2.86).
Table 3: Years of work experience
and unhealthy application of cosmetics
|
Items
|
Year of
Work Experience
|
|
|
12 >
years
|
8-11yrs
|
4-7yrs
|
1-3yrs
|
|
|
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Grand
Mean
|
|
Salon operators with 1-3 years' work experience apply expired,
toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose masks.
|
3.08
|
0.88
|
3.12
|
0.69
|
1.42
|
0.50
|
2.08
|
0.88
|
2.45
|
|
Salon operators with 4-7years'work experience apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose
masks.
|
2.78
|
1.02
|
3.30
|
0.51
|
2.85
|
1.01
|
2.78
|
1.02
|
2.93
|
|
Salon operators with 8-11 years of work experience
apply expired and toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work
without nose masks.
|
2.96
|
0.99
|
2.34
|
0.74
|
2.42
|
0.50
|
2.96
|
0.99
|
2.67
|
|
�Salon operators
with 12 and above years of work experience apply expired, toxic cosmetics,
use unsterilised equipment and work without nose masks.
|
3.04
|
0.97
|
2.74
|
0.93
|
2.57
|
0.50
|
2.04
|
0.97
|
2.60
|
Table 3 showed that salon operators with 4-7years of work experience
were more prone to unhealthy application, with a mean value of 2.93, followed
by those with 8-11years of work experience, with a grand mean value of 2.67,
and salon operators with 12 years and above years of experience had a grand
mean value of 2.60.
Table
4: Educational level and unhealthy application of cosmetics
|
Items
|
Educational level
|
|
No formal
|
Primary
|
Secondary
|
Tertiary
|
|
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Mean
|
SD
|
Grand mean
|
|
Salon operators with no formal education apply expired,
toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without nose masks.
|
2.74
|
0.68
|
3.04
|
0.79
|
3.16
|
0.99
|
3.33
|
0.98
|
3.12
|
|
Salon operators with only primary school education
apply expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without
nose masks.
|
2.88
|
0.83
|
3.01
|
0.67
|
3.05
|
1.02
|
3.04
|
1.19
|
3.00
|
|
Salon operators with secondary school education apply
expired, toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without a nose
mask.������������������������������
|
2.39
|
0.98
|
2.53
|
0.86
|
3.20
|
0.93
|
3.57
|
0.76
|
2.92
|
|
Salon operators with tertiary education apply expired,
toxic cosmetics, use unsterilised equipment and work without a nose mask.
|
2.48
|
0.99
|
2.78
|
0.90
|
3.27
|
0.91
|
3.57
|
0.77
|
3.02
|
Table 4 displays the unhealthy
application of cosmetics among salon operators in tertiary institutions in
Rivers State based on educational level.�
The result showed that educational level makes a difference in the unhealthy
application of cosmetics among salon operators in tertiary institutions in
Rivers State.� Salon operators with no
formal education are the group that majorly applies unhealthy cosmetics, with a
grand mean value of 3.12, followed by those with tertiary level (3.02), primary
level (3.00) and secondary level (2.92).�
Hypothesis
1: Age has no significant
difference in the demographic pattern of unhealthy application of cosmetics
among salon operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.
Table 5: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showing significant
difference in the pattern
of unhealthy application of cosmetics among salon
operators
�on tertiary
institutionsin RiversState based on age.
|
Sources
|
Sum of Squares
|
df
|
Mean Square
|
F
|
Sig.
|
|
Between Groups
|
6.738
|
3
|
2.246
|
10.667
|
.000
|
|
Within Groups
|
245.515
|
1166
|
.211
|
S
|
|
|
Total
|
252.253
|
1169
|
|
|
|
Table 5 indicated that in the
findings of this study, age makes a significant difference [F(3,1166)
= 10.667; P< 0.05] in the pattern of unhealthy application of
cosmetics.� Therefore, the null
hypothesis was rejected.
Hypothesis
2: Years of experience has no
significant difference in the demographic pattern of unhealthy application of cosmetics
among salon operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.
Table 6: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showing significant
differences in the pattern of ��������������������������� unhealthy
application of cosmetics among salon operators in tertiary institutions �������������������������� in Rivers State based
on years of work experience
|
Sources
|
Sum of Squares
|
df
|
Mean
Square
|
F
|
Sig.
|
|
Between
Groups
|
1.972
|
3
|
.657
|
3.062
|
.027
|
|
Within
Groups
|
250.281
|
1166
|
.215
|
|
|
|
Total
|
252.253
|
1169
|
|
|
|
Table 6 showed that work
experience makes no significant difference [F (3, 1166) = 3.062;
P> 0.05] in the pattern of unhealthy application of cosmetics.� Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted.
Hypothesis 3: Educational level has no significant difference in the
demographic pattern of unhealthy application of cosmetics among salon operators
in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.
Table 7: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showing significant
differences in the pattern ofunhealthy application of cosmetics among salon
operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State based on educational level.
|
Sources
|
Sum of Squares
|
df
|
Mean Square
|
F
|
Sig.
|
|
Between Groups
|
11.686
|
3
|
3.895
|
18.881
|
.000
|
|
Within Groups
|
240.567
|
1166
|
.206
|
|
|
|
Total
|
252.253
|
1169
|
|
|
|
Table 7 shows that the educational level of the salon
operators makes a significant difference [F(3, 1166) = 18.881; P<
0.05] in the pattern of unhealthy application of cosmetics.� Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
This study's
findings revealed an unhealthy application of cosmetics among female salon
operators in tertiary institutions in Rivers State.� This is also in line with the findings of (Muniz-Rodriguez et al., 2020)and (Kwok et al., 2014)who in their studies also reported the use of cosmetic products
with these harmful chemicals by salon operators.� The findings of this study also correspond
with the study (Bigambo & Saria, 2016). (Lillienberg et al., 2013) Moreover, (Park & Zippin, 2014)also identified the use of harmful chemicals in cosmetic products
used in salons, though with a higher value than the present result. (Skoufi et al., 2013) They also corroborated the findings of this study.� They implicate exposure to some of these
harmful chemicals in salons to attendant health challenges.� The preceding also confirms that there is
rampant use of toxic chemicals in cosmetic products used in salons by the
operators.� These harmful chemicals in
salons can be attributed to ineffective government policies regulating the
importation and local production of these cosmetic products.� Price is also a determining factor in
cosmetics used in salons.� The safer
brands with quality assurance are usually more expensive than the alternatives,
which generally contain these harmful chemicals and are usually cheap and
readily available.� However, other
factors may contribute to the unhealthy application of cosmetics by salon
operators, as reported (Bigambo & Saria, 2016).� These factors may include
poor knowledge of the ingredients used in the production of the cosmetics,
education level and inadequate training. (Ebuara et al., 2020) Moreover, (Enemuor et al., 2013) isolated lots of disease-causing pathogens in tools used in most
salons and reused them on different clients to spread infections; however, this
form of unhealthy cosmetic application was minimal in this study.
The study's
results demonstrated that age makes a difference in the unhealthy application
of cosmetics.� The salon operators in the
age range 16-19 old were more prone to the unhealthy application of cosmetics.� This is in agreement with the findings of (Doan et al., 2017).� In their study, operators
in the young age group (18-24) were more prone to unhealthy cosmetic
applications.� They inferred that
youthful exuberance might be responsible for the observation.� This finding is at variance with.� These studies discovered that unhealthy
cosmetic application was more prevalent among older salon operators; this is at
variance with (Nassaji et al., 2015), which concluded that older salon operators are more careful with
the handling of equipment and chemical components thereby, are less prone to
the unhealthy application of cosmetics.�
Most older operators are married and tend to be more careful.� The study's findings show that years of work
experience makes a difference in unhealthy cosmetic application.� Those between 4-7 years of work experience
were more prone to unhealthy cosmetic applications.� This finding was also in agreement with the
studies of (Fourie & Singh, 2022), (S. et al., 2019) and (Doan et al., 2017).
The operators
with no formal education were more prone to unhealthy application of
cosmetics.� This finding is in line with
the findings of (Nassaji et al., 2015) whose study noted that poor educational levels or improper
training can bring about challenges among salon operators which can result in
unhygienic and unhealthy application of cosmetics.� The findings of this study are also in line
with (Held et al., 2002) (Bigambo & Saria, 2016) found that risks present in salons are mitigated through
education.� In other words, those with
low levels of education are prone to unhealthy application of cosmetics.� This view is also supported by, who
discovered that college-trained hairdressers applied their knowledge to salon
work, thereby reducing unhealthy applications.�
However, (B. et al. et al., 2016) found no significant relationship between educational level and
unhealthy application of cosmetics which was contrary to the findings of this
study. (Nassaji et al., 2015) Advocated that educational intervention programmes to increase
the knowledge of salon operators, especially in the areas of dangerous
chemicals, reading of labels etc., can go a long way in effectively checkmating
the menace of unhealthy application of cosmetics and significantly decrease the
risks posed by some salons as a reservoir for the spread of infection.
CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, this study delves into the demographic trends of harmful cosmetic
application among female salon workers in tertiary institutions in Rivers
State. The results uncover a worrying frequency of unhealthy habits,
underscoring the potential health hazards linked to unregulated cosmetics. The
study urgently calls for university authorities to step forward and educate
salon operators about these dangers, stressing the importance of following safe
cosmetic practices. Through enhancing education and awareness, we can pave the
way for a safer and healthier salon industry for both operators and customers.
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