“The US federal health agency has pulled the product from shelves and issued a warning to stylists and consumers who used it. A stylist in British Columbia initiated a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. Oregon’s Department of Justice launched its own investigation, and the state’s Occupational Safety & Health Division cautioned salon owners and stylists about potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde in the product that bears a big, brassy name: Brazilian Blowout.”

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As testers debate the levels of formaldehyde present in the hair straightener, here’s what’s at stake for those using it.

Is the Brazilian Blowout hazardous to your health?

That question has been buzzing through beauty parlors since September, when a chance discussion in an Oregon salon made investigators suspicious of the popular hair-straightening treatment. Laboratory tests revealed the straightening solution contained dangerously high levels of the chemical formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory problems, skin reactions, headaches and more.

This month, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown filed a civil lawsuit against GIB maker of the Brazilian Blowout treatment. The suit contends the company failed to warn its employees and customers that the straightening product contains high levels of formaldehyde. The suit also accuses the company of false advertising by claiming that some versions of the product are “formaldehyde-free” and “salon safe.” GIB says that any formaldehyde in its products is low enough to warrant such labeling.

Here’s a closer look at the risks to salon workers and their clients if hair-straightening products do indeed contain formaldehyde.

What is formaldehyde, and why is it dangerous?

At room temperature, formaldehyde is a gas with a pungent smell. It is present in smog and cigarette smoke and can emanate from pressed wood products and textiles such as drapes and carpets.

There are two concerns with formaldehyde: breathing its vapors and getting the liquid on your skin. However, “it all depends on exposure amounts and concentrations in products,” says Dede Montgomery, an industrial hygienist at Oregon Health & Science University’s Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology.

People who are exposed to high enough levels of formaldehyde gas might feel a burning sensation in their nose and eyes. Inhalation can cause coughing, wheezing, headache and nausea.

“If you’re getting that high a dose that’s causing those kinds of effects, that’s pretty serious,” says Martyn Smith, a toxicologist at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. He noted that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified formaldehyde as a Group 1 carcinogen, which means it causes cancer in people. “It’s bad news.”

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As you may or may not have seen in the media lately, there has been major controversy regarding the safety of the Brazilian Blowout. Proven allegations revealing the hair straightener is hazardous to your health.
“The US federal health agency has pulled the product from shelves and issued a warning to stylists and consumers who used it. A stylist in British Columbia initiated a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. Oregon’s Department of Justice launched its own investigation, and the state’s Occupational Safety & Health Division cautioned salon owners and stylists about potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde in the product that bears a big, brassy name: Brazilian Blowout.”
Full Article: http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/10/after_hair_stylist_becomes_sus.html

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