JoJo Siwa Says Her Mom Began Bleaching Her Hair At Age 2, And People Are Disturbed
A resurfaced clip of JoJo Siwa may cause you to see her in a completely different hue.
Over the weekend, a social media user on X, formerly Twitter, shared a revelation they had just discovered about the polarizing pop star.
“I found out today that jojo siwa isn’t a natural blonde and her mother has been bleaching her hair since she was 2 years old,” they tweeted.
When other X users questioned whether or not this was misinformation, other users were quick to offer receipts in the form of a 2013 clip from Lifetime’s “Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.”
In Season 2, Episode 7 of the reality show — which is a spinoff of “Dance Moms” — a very young Siwa is shown having her hair dyed by her mother, Jessalyn Siwa.
“Nothing’s off limits when it comes to doing what I think will benefit JoJo,” Jessalyn can be heard saying in the episode right before she begins to bleach her daughter’s roots.
“I have been dying my hair since I was like 2, maybe 1 and a half,” JoJo says. “I’m not a natural blonde, I’m actually a natural brown. I get brown roots, so I have to dye it so it looks like I’m a natural blonde.”
Many social media users were disturbed by the information that JoJo, now 20, has been dying her hair since such a young age.
Most experts agree that dying a child’s hair isn’t a great idea.
James G. Wagner, Ph.D., an associate professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation at Michigan State University, pointed out to Self in 2017 that the research pertaining to the health risks associated with using hair dye has yielded inconclusive results or has been conducted by industry sponsors. Yet, when it is tested for safety, it’s used on animals and adult humans — not children.
“We generally consider children as more sensitive to toxicant exposure — lower body volume means higher doses,” he told the magazine. “Growth and development of some body systems, especially those responsible for endocrine, metabolic, neurocognitive, and reproductive functions, can be sensitive to DNA-altering chemicals, and host-defense systems may not be fully mature to detoxify foreign substances.”
Essentially, he believes that it may be harder for a child to handle the chemicals than a fully grown adult.
Daniel Ganjian, M.D., a board certified pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, agreed.
“I don’t recommend it because a child’s hair, scalp, and brain are still developing and are sensitive to the ammonia and other harsh chemicals that can be found in hair dye,” he told Self. “I don’t consider it completely safe.”
