Formaldehyde in Hair Care Products

Formaldehyde was originally used a preservative agent to embalm dead body, however it eventually found its way into many consumer products including home cleaning and personal care products. Some formaldehyde may be used in products including bubble bath, cosmetics, lotions and shampoos. You may find it quite disturbing that the substance was detected in some baby products, such as wipes. Exposure to formaldehyde is linked with various diseases, such as cancer, leukemia and oral cavity.

FDA has revealed that some hair care products contain formaldehyde, while some hair straightening products, including Brazilian Blowout, may have the same substance at a dangerously high level. FDA had ordered the company to reduce the level of formaldehyde or face a quick removal of its products from the market. FDA believed that products released by Brazilian Blowouts were mislabeled and misleading, which are advertised falsely that they don’t contain any formaldehyde.

An examination showed that some products contain between 8.7% and 10.4% of liquid formaldehyde, while FDA considers that a level above 0.1% as hazardous. Some customers who use Brazilian Blowout complained that they experience skin irritation, headaches, fainting and breathing problems. A few are allergic to formaldehyde and the reactions can be quite severe. However, Brazilian Blowout denied the allegation saying that the experiment results actually correspond to the potential amounts of formaldehyde released, which never occur in real life. The company explained that their products contain only methylene glycol, a harmless form of alcohol and although it can be converted to formaldehyde during use, the amount is insignificant and below the safety levels set by OSHA.

Brazilian Blowout is popular among women, because it allows them to get frizz-free, straight and sleek hair quickly. The procedure only takes less than two hours and the hair can stay straight for about three months. However, it comes with a relatively steep price tag of $500 or more. The popularity of the treatment skyrocketed after some celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Ritchie reportedly used Brazilian Blowout products to straighten their hair.

An independent study carried out by ChemRisk showed that some “formaldehyde-free” products release formaldehyde above the standard occupational exposure limit. The exposure limit of formaldehyde also depends on the air circulation and the size of the room where the products are being used, for example, a study done in a salon, shows that Brazilian Blowout produces 11.5% of average formaldehyde concentration.

The measured level is high enough that hair stylists and consumers should be conce
ed. However, an observer argued that researchers from ChemRisk botched a very important part of any experiment; they failed to simulate the real-life use of Brazilian Blowout, by using improper amounts of the product. They tested a Brazilian Blowout product without reading the usage instruction. If this is true, then the amount of formaldehyde released by Brazilian Blowout may be grossly overstated and it is in no way simulates what a correct, real hair straightening treatment would be like.

Another hair care treatment is called keratin hair straightening and it’s already available in professional hair salon. The straightening process involves the application of active keratin to the hair and it must be fused with the flat iron. To seal and lock in the keratin solution to the hair, the flat iron must be heated to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After the treatment, the hair can look shiny, silky and smooth, because the keratin seals in the moisture. It works best on hair that has been treated chemically and the smoothness can last to four or five months.

In many keratin-based hair straightening products, formaldehyde is often chemically reacted with other substances and because formaldehyde is no longer present in its original form, manufacturers may label their keratin hair straightening products as “formaldehyde-free”. Formalin, methylene glycol, paraform, methylene oxide, oxymethylene, oxomethane and formic adelhyde have formaldehyde as one of the constituents.. Some chemicals can release formaldehyde during the treatment process, such as methylene glycol and timonacic acid.

The bottom line is, you should be aware that “formaldehyde-free” hair care products may still release formaldehyde fumes to the air. As the result, consumers and workers may absorb the substance through their skin or by simply breathing it in.