What My Mom Confusing Me With My Cousin Taught Me About Hormone Disruptors
There’s this story my family will never let go — and it honestly turned out to be one of the best ways I’ve ever found to explain how hormone-disrupting chemicals work.
When I was little, my cousin and I looked exactly alike. So much so that my mom once picked her up, carried her out to the car, buckled her in, and started to drive off — fully convinced she had me in the back seat.
She only realized what happened when she looked in the rearview mirror and was like, “Wait a minute… that’s not my child.”
Now let’s talk about your endocrine system.
What Are Hormone Disruptors?
Hormone-disrupting chemicals — also known as endocrine disruptors — are ingredients that mimic or interfere with your body’s natural hormones. They can send the wrong signals, block real ones, or just confuse the whole system.
It’s kind of like what happened with my mom.
These chemicals “look” close enough to a real hormone (say, a natural thyroid hormone), that your body picks them up and says, “Cool, let’s go!” — not realizing it just grabbed the wrong one.
And like my mom, your body carries on like everything’s normal… even though it’s working with something that doesn’t belong.
Why Is That a Problem?
Your hormones control everything from development and mood to metabolism and fertility. So when the wrong signals are being picked up — constantly, subtly, over time — it can lead to:
Fibroids
Reproductive issues
Thyroid imbalances
Developmental delays
Immune and metabolic dysfunction
And more…
Now imagine these chemicals being present in the products marketed specifically to Black girls — hair oils, lotions, detanglers, relaxers — and many of them containing some of the worst ingredients I’ve ever seen.
This isn’t just an ingredient issue.
This is an equity issue.
So What Can You Do?
Start by learning to recognize what hormone-disrupting ingredients might look like on a label. These can include:
Parabens
Phthalates
Triclosan
Fragrance (often a catch-all for dozens of unknown chemicals)
And if you’re using apps to scan your products or asking brands for full transparency — good. Keep doing that.
Because once you realize what your body might be mistaking for a hormone, you’ll understand why this matters so much.
Final Thoughts
So… do me and my little cousin really look alike?
Enough to fool my mom, clearly 😂
But not enough for it to not cause some problems.
And that’s exactly how hormone disruptors work — close enough to slip through, but different enough to cause real damage.
