Many women have been taking serious measures to achieve straight, smooth hair. You have probably heard of the Brazilian Blowout – a chemical hair treatment that straightens strands for several months at a time.
Even though you may not consider going to these lengths for straightened hair, the whole Brazilian Blowout/FDA situation leads us to other questions. Mainly, if a product containing a hefty helping of an ingredient as toxic as formaldehyde can remain on the market, what other toxic ingredient-containing products are on salon shelves that manufacturers deem “safe”.
Here is the Brazilian Blowout backstory:
Oregon Health and Science University's Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology along with Oregon OSHA called out Brazilian Blowout last year after a salon worker came forward, suffering from nosebleeds and breathing problems after using the treatment. Testing was done and BB was found to contain 10.4 % formaldehyde. OSHA requires any product containing over 0.1 % formaldehyde to list so on their product safety materials. Ooooops!
BB fired back at Oregon OSHA with their own lawsuit for “damages arising out of misconduct for manipulating test results". The suit was later dropped.
Lawsuits continue to pile up against Brazilian Blowout as women continue to get the treatment done. In the US, that is. Canada and other countries pulled the product from shelves a year ago.
So what’s up with the US letting this product remain on salon shelves for use? Get this…due to outdated laws the FDA has no power to enforce a mandatory recall of the product. Yes, lame but true. They can ask for a voluntary recall and did send a letter to the company last month, stating that testing shows up to 10% of the product to be methylene glycol (a liquid form of formaldehyde).
I know that the FDA probably has to go through millions of hoops and loopholes just to get that letter sent alone. But isn’t that the problem? If other countries can do it, we can too. I know we can!
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is rallying to get the product banned from US store shelves. You can donate to the campaign and/or join them in sending a message to the Director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors.
You know what all of this means. If a widely used product manufacturer can use plenty of something as nasty as formaldehyde and not have to tell you about, others are for sure doing it too.
The best way to protect yourself from harmful chemicals in cosmetics is to read your labels and follow brands you trust. I have a long list in the right hand column of brands dedicated to safety in cosmetics, and still many that I need to add. If you have a question about a particular product or company, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
One of my all time favorite brands is Lavera. Their products are safe AND perform the way they should. No compromising great products for health. Now through September 23rd receive 15% off of Lavera Mango and Wild Rose hair care products with promo code HAIR15MW (sale excludes kits and clearance).
Image: LatinaPower2009 at Flickr.com, Creative Commons license.
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4 comments:
Valuable information, thank you very much, I will follow.
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Dependable keratin hair-smoothing/straightening companies will state "use proper salon ventilation during the entire hair smoothing service" in their manufacturer’s instructions and training manuals. Many salon owners are unaware that to fully protect the stylist, client & salon environment, they need a “chemical source capture system” to provide proper ventilation. I've asked numerous salon owners and stylists what type of ventilation they provide for their keratin hair straightening services, and they usually report using fans & opening windows/doors. Some report only doing these services at night so their other clients aren’t subject to the fumes/vapors. New ventilation technologies and systems have been developed specifically for salons that offer keratin hair smoothing/straightening services. These systems will help salon owners to comply with current and potentially more restrictive OSHA requirements. A salon "chemical source capture system” protects the stylist and client's breathing zone. An effective salon air purifier will cleanse the air in the stylist's workstation area & circulate fresh air throughout the salon. Special filters are available which are designed to remove salon vapors/odors & dusts from the buildings’ HVAC system. The bonus is that salons using these innovative salon ventilation control measures and systems will also benefit from the reduction of vapors/odors & dusts created from providing a range of chemical services, including color, bleach, artificial nail services and hair removal. http://ow.ly/6M12q
While proper ventilation is better than none at all, the chemicals are still being applied to hair and scalp. It just seems that if you are using a hair treatment that requires high tech ventilation, it is too toxic.
I genuinely enjoyed studying it, keep up all the good thoughts.
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