Abstract:
Braiding hair extensions are widely used consumer beauty products often worn for extended periods and handled frequently during installation and daily styling. Use is particularly widespread among Black women and girls, which promotes the
importance of assessing product safety and communicates some environmental- justice relevance. Extensions are often in close contact with the face and hands and
may be handled by stylists and end users for hours at a time. Potential for toxicant residue to transfer and incidental ingestion, particularly in children, has recently garnered more attention in Black beauty communities. Lead (Pb) is a well-characterized toxicant with no known safe exposure threshold for neurodevelopmental effects (EPA, 2025). Although regulatory actions have significantly reduced Pb in fuels, paint, and plumbing, low-level Pb still appears in some consumer products through pigments/dyes, plastic stabilizers, and recycled content streams (EPA, 2025). In matrices such as synthetic fibers and blended
materials, trace Pb can originate from colorants, processing additives, or supply- chain variability (CDC et al., 2024). For products that are frequently touched, potential
exposure routes include hand-to-mouth transfer, indirect dust contamination, and residue transfer during styling. Dermal uptake of inorganic Pb is limited, but repeated handling remains a practical concern (Leigh-Ann Jackson, 2025; Niemeier et al., 2022). For communities with high usage of these products, even small, repeated exposures are important to characterize so that risk communication and safer-product guidance can be grounded in evidence (Gruenstein et al., 2021; Thomas, 2023) . Despite growing interest within recent years, data specific to braiding hair extension toxicants remains limited. Existing testing is not comprehensive and estimates of both frequency (how often Pb is present) and magnitude (typical concentrations) vary. Further, it is unclear whether product characteristics, such as fiber type (Natural vs. Synthetic), synthetic subtype (e.g., Kanekalon vs. Non-Kanekalon), hair color (Natural vs. Non-natural), price tier (Budget, Core, Premium), or child-directed marketing, are meaningfully associated with measured Pb at the low levels reported to date. Finally, while handheld X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer (XRF) for screening consumer products is growing (Ceballos et al., 2025; Fellows et al., 2022; Mokashi et al., 2025), its performance on braiding hair matrices at low concentrations relative to laboratory methods has not been established to our knowledge. To address these gaps, we conducted a study of commercial braiding hair products with the following aims:
Aim 1: Quantify lead Pb concentration in braiding hair products using established laboratory methods (GFAA). Characterize the presence and concentration of Pb in ppm (parts per million) in 34 commercial braiding hair products using the laboratory gold standard, Graphite
Furnace Atomic Absorption (GFAA). Summarize detection frequency and product- level central tendencies and explore associations with product characteristics
(product type, hair color, synthetic subtype, price tier, child marketing), recognizing that concentrations may be low and frequently fall below the laboratory reporting limit.
Aim 2: Compare handheld XRF lead measurements to GFAA lab analysis Evaluate handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as a screening approach in this matrix by comparing XRF detection flags and concentrations to laboratory results for a paired analysis and calculate detection-agreement metrics appropriate for low Pb concentrations.