"Warning: Getting Your Hair Straightened Could Endanger Your Health"

[Meritamen]

Sorry if something like this has been posted before but I hadn't seen an actual government warning for the keratin treatments that are all the rage right now. I figured it was important to share the info so here ya go...

Article from Times.com:
"Warning: Getting Your Hair Straightened Could Endanger Your Health"

The OSHA alert comes on the heels of a legal scrum in California, where the state attorney general filed a lawsuit against Brazilian Blowout, seeking to mandate health warnings on the products. That would be the first enforcement action ever taken under the California Safe Cosmetics Act. In a memorandum filed recently in court — which you can read here [PDF] — California says that state testing has shown that Brazilian Blowout Smoothing Solution contains approximately 8% formaldehyde by weight, which "is in the range typical of embalming fluid used by funeral homes." Just to put that in perspective, the conservative Cosmetics Ingredient Review Expert Panel, which includes industry representatives, has measures formaldehyde as safe only if it makes up 0.2% or less of a product.

Hazard alert issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):
HEALTH ALERT - Hair Smoothing Products That Could Release Formaldehyde

Why do some hair smoothing products expose me to formaldehyde?

Many keratin-based hair smoothing products contain formaldehyde dissolved (and chemically reacted) in water and other ingredients in the product. Because of the way the formaldehyde reacts in these products, some manufacturers, importers, or distributors might list other names for formaldehyde on product information or might claim that the product is "formaldehyde-free." Formaldehyde might be listed as methylene glycol, formalin, methylene oxide, paraform, formic aldehyde, methanal, oxomethane, oxymethylene, or CAS Number 50-00-0. All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's Formaldehyde standard. The bottom line is that formaldehyde can be released from hair smoothing products that list any of these names on the label and workers can breathe it in or absorb it through their skin. Workers can be exposed to formaldehyde during the entire hair straightening process, especially when heat is applied (e.g. blow-drying, flat ironing).

From Cancer.gov:
Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk

1. What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used in building materials and to produce many household products. It is used in pressed-wood products, such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard; glues and adhesives; permanent-press fabrics; paper product coatings; and certain insulation materials. In addition, formaldehyde is commonly used as an industrial fungicide, germicide, and disinfectant, and as a preservative in mortuaries and medical laboratories. Formaldehyde also occurs naturally in the environment. It is produced in small amounts by most living organisms as part of normal metabolic processes.

3. What are the short-term health effects of formaldehyde exposure?

When formaldehyde is present in the air at levels exceeding 0.1 ppm, some individuals may experience adverse effects such as watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation. Some people are very sensitive to formaldehyde, whereas others have no reaction to the same level of exposure.

4. Can formaldehyde cause cancer?

Although the short-term health effects of formaldehyde exposure are well known, less is known about its potential long-term health effects. In 1980, laboratory studies showed that exposure to formaldehyde could cause nasal cancer in rats. This finding raised the question of whether formaldehyde exposure could also cause cancer in humans. In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under conditions of unusually high or prolonged exposure (1). Since that time, some studies of humans have suggested that formaldehyde exposure is associated with certain types of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen (2).

 

[Mystic]

Wow, "Warning: Getting Your Hair Straightened Could Endanger Your Health" - that's a blanket statement. Not everyone who straightens their hair use formaldehyde. I was coming in here thinking, "now I can't even use a flatiron to straighten anymore."

 

[Meritamen]

^ No, it's just the title to the Times article.