Breaking News The FDA is Planning to Banned Chemical Relaxers

[WineCurls]

(CNN) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing to ban certain hair-straightening products, such as chemical relaxers and pressing products, that have been linked to health risks.

The agency has posted a proposed rule that would specifically ban hair-straightening products that contain formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals like methylene or glycol.

The FDA will now receive public comments on the proposal. After reviewing those comments, the agency decides whether further action is needed, spokesperson Courtney Rhodes said Friday.

“Based on the comments, we might decide to end the rulemaking process, to issue a new proposed rule, or to issue a final rule. If we decide to issue a final rule, we publish the final rule in the Federal Register,” the FDA says on its website.

Scientists have long identified an association between the use of hair-straightening chemical products with an increased risk of certain hormone-related cancers, including ovarian and breast cancers, and uterine cancer, particularly among Black and Latina women. Research suggests that about 50% of products advertised to Black women contain these types of chemicals, compared with about 7% that are advertised to White women, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The FDA’s proposed rule notes that these types of hair-straightening chemical products are also “linked to short-term adverse health effects, such as sensitization reactions and breathing problems” and that “these chemicals are used in certain cosmetic products that are applied to human hair as part of a combination of chemical and heating tool treatment intended to smooth or straighten the hair.”

In March, two lawmakers — U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio — wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf urging the agency to conduct a “thorough and transparent investigation” to determine whether hair-straightening chemical products on the market contain carcinogens that lead to an increased risk of uterine cancer.

Both Pressley and Brown have applauded the proposed rule and called for the agency to implement it.

“The FDA’s proposal to ban these harmful chemicals in hair straighteners and relaxers is a win for public health — especially the health of Black women who are disproportionately put at risk by these products as a result of systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment,” Pressley said in a news release.

“Regardless of how we wear our hair, we should be allowed to show up in the world without putting our health at risk. I applaud the FDA for being responsive to our calls and advancing a rule that will help prevent manufacturers from making a profit at the expense of our health,” she said. “The Administration should finalize this rule without delay.”

A study published last year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found evidence of an association between the use of straightening products and uterine cancer. Among nearly 34,000 women in the United States ages 35 to 74, the study found a higher incident uterine cancer rate for those who reported using hair-straightening chemical products in the previous 12 months relative to those who did not.

The study found that among women who frequently used hair-straightening chemical products, the risk of developing uterine cancer by age 70 was around 4%. In women who did not use hair-straightening chemical products in the previous 12 months, the study found the risk of developing uterine cancer by age 70 to be about 1.6%.

One woman in Missouri claimed in a lawsuit against L’Oreal and other entities that her uterine cancer was caused by regular and prolonged exposure to chemicals found in the companies’ hair-straightening products. The suit was filed last year in Illinois on behalf of Missouri resident Jenny Mitchell, who was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2018 and underwent a full hysterectomy.

“Our highest priority is the health, wellness and safety of all our consumers,” L’Oreal said in a statement after the filing. “We are confident in the safety of our products and believe the recent lawsuits filed against us have no legal merit. L’Oréal upholds the highest standards of safety for all its products. Our products are subject to a rigorous scientific evaluation of their safety by experts who also ensure that we follow strictly all regulations in every market in which we operate.”

CNN has reached out to L’Oreal for comment on the FDA’s proposed rule.

Mitchell said last year that she recalls getting hair relaxers around third grade, when she was about 8 years old. She continued using chemical hair-straightening products from around 2000 until March 2022.

“As most young African American girls, chemical relaxers, chemical straighteners were introduced to us at a young age,” she said. “Society has made it a norm to look a certain way, in order to feel a certain way. And I am the first voice of many voices to come that will stand, stand up to these companies, and say, ‘No more.’”

Reference: https://news.wttw.com/2023/10/13/fd...htening-chemical-products-linked-health-risks

 

[Everything Zen]

Ummm this is really interesting because FDA does not regulate cosmetics except hair dyes so I don’t know how this would even be legal. I think the scope of their organization should be expanded but this would open the door to regulating a LOT of other things and on its face I don’t see that being a bad thing.

Cosmetics Q&A: Why are cosmetics not FDA-approved?

FDA-regulated does not mean FDA-approved. FDA does not have the legal authority to approve cosmetics before they go on the market, although we do approve color additives used in them (except coal tar hair dyes).

www.fda.gov

 

[Everything Zen]

This pisses me off so much because of the anxiety and all encompassing stress that revolves around our hair.

I’ve been so busy and overwhelmed lately I’ve left my faux locs in a couple of weeks longer and my scalp is scaled to hell and back regardless of how much I try to wash (I’m not nasty or unhygienic- the change of seasons and stress causes it to flare up regardless of how many washes or dermatologist I see) that I should have to finally call my hair dresser yesterday and find out she has one day listed for the rest of the year (this Wednesday) on her calendar to take clients because I know she’s struggling trying to make ends meet herself.

So I gotta drop everything to make that appointment work because of all the politics that surround our hair and nobody really understands that except black women. I have to plan my entire existence around my hair.

This is the we’re talking about because it’s hard as hell to find AND KEEP someone that you like and trust to do your hair and I treat her and my braider good and tip like 50% bc I don’t go in that often and appreciate them so much. We’ve become friends over the years.

We have been putting carcinogens in our systems just to comply with societal acceptance of our hair to survive, get a job, get an education, find a man, just exist, hell some of us won’t exercise because of it and I’m tired of it because it’s just one more thing with EVERYTHING ELSE that we have to deal with to attempt to maintain a sense of sanity.

 

[Chicoro]

Formaldehyde is in many shampoos. It’s a chemical component in shampoo formulations that breaks down into formaldehyde. Baby shampoos routinely do not have this ingredient.

The only straighteners that I’m aware of that use formaldehyde are keratin treatments. Those are popular in Afro Brazilian and Afro Latina communities.

But, my understanding is that chemical relaxers used by African American women can cause reproductive issues. But formaldehyde is not the offending chemical in relaxers used by most black women in America.

My understanding is that hair dyes are not regulated by the FDA.

Relaxer use had decreased dramatically over the last 20 years and 4% of women have issues? Nobody cares about black women but black women. Thus, why put out a law originating from a government related law, now? I think there may be some other issues or things at play here.

My response is based upon reading the post. I have not checked beyond the info posted here, at this time, nor have I read the proposed law.

 

[Everything Zen]

@Chicoro FDA does regulate hair dyes. It’s literally the only thing they regulate in cosmetics and I’ll never understand this.

Also if you’re interested you can drop the “the” when speaking about FDA and refer to them as “FDA” or the “agency” in the same writing. Not just directed to you but what I picked up in my Masters program in terms of referring to them. Notice how they refer to themselves in the link I shared.

Not that you even asked. Please don’t put me in the Jada pile for oversharing!!!

Cosmetics Q&A: Why are cosmetics not FDA-approved?

FDA-regulated does not mean FDA-approved. FDA does not have the legal authority to approve cosmetics before they go on the market, although we do approve color additives used in them (except coal tar hair dyes).

www.fda.gov

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro FDA does regulate hair dyes. It’s literally the only thing they regulate in cosmetics and I’ll never understand this.

Also if you’re interested you can drop the “the” when speaking about FDA and refer to them as “FDA” or the “agency” in the same writing. Not just directed to you but what I picked up in my Masters program in terms of referring to them. Notice how they refer to themselves in the link I shared.

Not that you even asked. Please don’t put me in the Jada pile for oversharing!!!

Cosmetics Q&A: Why are cosmetics not FDA-approved?

FDA-regulated does not mean FDA-approved. FDA does not have the legal authority to approve cosmetics before they go on the market, although we do approve color additives used in them (except coal tar hair dyes).

www.fda.gov

I love what you bring to this board! I hope you will always continue to share and guide and clarify.

 

[Theresamonet]

Formaldehyde is in many shampoos. It’s a chemical component in shampoo formulations that breaks down into formaldehyde. Baby shampoos routinely do not have this ingredient.

The only straighteners that I’m aware of that use formaldehyde are keratin treatments. Those are popular in Afro Brazilian and Afro Latina communities.

But, my understanding is that chemical relaxers used by African American women can cause reproductive issues. But formaldehyde is not the offending chemical in relaxers used by most black women in America.

My understanding is that hair dyes are not regulated by the FDA.

Relaxer use had decreased dramatically over the last 20 years and 4% of women have issues? Nobody cares about black women but black women. Thus, why put out a law originating from a government related law, now? I think there may be some other issues or things at play here.

My response is based upon reading the post. I have not checked beyond the info posted here, at this time, nor have I read the proposed law.

The article mentions chemicals that could create formaldehyde. My Affirm relaxer has propylene glycol. I’d like to know under what conditions and how much formaldehyde this can produce.

A warning label seems more reasonable than banning straighteners while other cancer causing or formaldehyde producing products aren't banned (cigarettes, vapes, nitrates in processed meats). I share your feelings— they don’t care about black women this much. So why are they targeting straighteners, if it’s clearly not out of concern for our health? There may be more to this.

 

[Chicoro]

@Chicoro FDA does regulate hair dyes. It’s literally the only thing they regulate in cosmetics and I’ll never understand this.

Also if you’re interested you can drop the “the” when speaking about FDA and refer to them as “FDA” or the “agency” in the same writing. Not just directed to you but what I picked up in my Masters program in terms of referring to them. Notice how they refer to themselves in the link I shared.

Not that you even asked. Please don’t put me in the Jada pile for oversharing!!!

Cosmetics Q&A: Why are cosmetics not FDA-approved?

FDA-regulated does not mean FDA-approved. FDA does not have the legal authority to approve cosmetics before they go on the market, although we do approve color additives used in them (except coal tar hair dyes).

www.fda.gov

Not to split hairs, but I think they regulate additives to color, not necessarily the dyes themselves, not necessarily the same thing.

 

[Chicoro]

The article mentions chemicals that could create formaldehyde. My Affirm relaxer has propylene glycol. I’d like to know under what conditions and how much formaldehyde this can produce.

A warning label seems more reasonable than banning straighteners while other cancer causing or formaldehyde producing products aren't banned (cigarettes, vapes, nitrates in processed meats). I share your feelings— they don’t care about black women this much. So why are they targeting straighteners, if it’s clearly not out of concern for our health? There may be more to this.

I always say find and follow the money.

 

[Chicoro]

Hair Products Targeted Towards Women is Causing Multiple Cancers by
Ring of Fire on YouTube

I agree that relaxers are problematic and present dangers such as cancer. But so does plastic and the chemicals in our food.
If so, present the facts fairly and accurately. Why this sudden interest in the health and safety of Black American Women?


At 5 minutes and 50 seconds @5:50 The black lawyer says, "Relaxers have been used since slavery because that's when all the issues with black hair came out. When black women weren't seen as beautiful or their hair wasn't seen as professional. "She goes on to say, "That TYPICALLY relaxer use begins at age five (5)." She then says, "It's used from adolescence to adulthood for decades". Adolescence begins at age 10, NOT age 5, and it continues until age 19.















She specifically mentions Revlon and we all know Revlon is NOT the only relaxer manufacturer. She says they gave Revelon a certain amount of time to respond. There were 300 plaintiffs, now it has expanded to 7,000.

Revlon filed for bankruptcy, Chapter 11 in June 2022:

Case Background​

On June 15 and June 16, 2022, Revlon, Inc., and 50 affiliated debtors (collectively, the "Debtors"), each filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
link: https://cases.ra.kroll.com/Revlon/


Then she states that L'Oreal has the largest market share of relaxers with the brand Dark and Lovely. Loreal is the Number 1 cosmetic company in the world.


Wikipedia:
The first documented history of the relaxer began with Garrett Augustus Morgan in 1909.

Commercial Sale of Relaxers
Early in the 1900s hair relaxing products emerged, such as "G.A. brandi's hair Cream." Sale of "lye relaxers" began in 1917 by companies such as Proline. They also produced the first commercial "no lye relaxer" using potassium hydroxide in 1919.

Hair lanthiozation is not just what happens to relaxed hair, it includes getting hair permed curly which is what white women usually get done. Sooooooo, how come THEIR products are not part of this discussion? Their health is just as precious as the health of black women's, right?

Relaxer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Don't drink the Kool-Aid.


There is something else major afoot, and it AIN'T the concern for the health of Black women, I assure you. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out black women are just pawns literally and figuratively, in a high stakes chess game. The plaintiffs will get pennies compared to what the real players will win.

Black women die 3-4x more than other women during childbirth and their babies die at a higher rate, too. That's related to reproductive health of black women. Where's the law and outcry regarding that. Somebody want to discuss and file a lawsuit about racially motivated micro-aggressions? Killing of us by systems that are supposed to protect and sustain us?

Always follow the money...


No matter WHAT happens, black women will pivot beautifully and masterfully and will come to the professional environment looking MORE FABULOUS than ever. We've been going in and out of natural to relaxed and back to natural hair and back again, for 20+ years.

 

[Aggie]

Formaldehyde is in many shampoos. It’s a chemical component in shampoo formulations that breaks down into formaldehyde. Baby shampoos routinely do not have this ingredient.

The only straighteners that I’m aware of that use formaldehyde are keratin treatments. Those are popular in Afro Brazilian and Afro Latina communities.

But, my understanding is that chemical relaxers used by African American women can cause reproductive issues. But formaldehyde is not the offending chemical in relaxers used by most black women in America.

My understanding is that hair dyes are not regulated by the FDA.

Relaxer use had decreased dramatically over the last 20 years and 4% of women have issues? Nobody cares about black women but black women. Thus, why put out a law originating from a government related law, now? I think there may be some other issues or things at play here.

My response is based upon reading the post. I have not checked beyond the info posted here, at this time, nor have I read the proposed law.

In response to the bolded - I live in the Bahamas and for the majority of women here (95% are black) and 80% of those relax their hair here. We do NOT have reproductive issues AT ALL here. A man breath on us, BOOM, we're pregnant with big, beautiful, healthy babies. By the way, I'm not saying that your research is wrong.

We relax our hair every 5-6 weeks instead of every 6-8 weeks. Don't ask! I don't know why most of the women here subject their scalps to this kind of abuse. Personally, when I relaxed my hair, I did it every 11-12 weeks, sometimes even longer.

Also, what is FDA going to do - ban every product that has formaldehyde in them? It is also found in nail polishes and strengtheners. I agree with you that there must be some other reason why FDA is banning relaxers. This is going to break a lot of women's hearts here.

 

[secretdiamond]

Glad this came up. For some reason, many in the media and also in politics are conflating the traditional relaxers black women historically used with BKT/Keratin/“Amino Acid” smoothing treatments, which are the ones being hinted at being banned, due to their formaldehyde exposure.
While some hair products may have ingredients related to formaldehyde, the actual exposure or release is minimal and usually limited to helping with preservation of a product.

BKT (marketed as a safer alternative to lye/no lye) is well-known to release strong formaldehyde fumes that can cause lung irritation in the middle of use.

So, now, companies have come up with “Formaldehyde-free” Keratin or “amino acid” based smoothing treatments. Deceptive marketing, I realized after my research. I almost fell for it, but knew something had to be up.

I have been doing a long transition and looking for an alternative to relaxers.
Design Essentials STS Amino Acid Smoothing treatment seemed legit, as it’s a well-regarded company. For some reason, it’s so hard finding the full ingredient list of all these Amino Acid, Formaldehyde-Free treatments. I mean, like almost all of them. Only to say the key ingredient is an amino acid, which fuses to the hair with heat and helps to straighten it? Knowledge of chemistry alone, told me that didn’t totally add up.

The amino acid listed as the key ingredient is often ‘Cysteine’. When I finally found the full ingredients list of the DE smoothing mousse, the version of cysteine used is: Glyoxyloyl Carbocisteine.

I did a quick Google search and found:

“Formaldehyde-free hair straighteners do not technically contain formaldehyde; however, they contain other chemicals such as glyoxyloyl carbocysteine which releases formaldehyde upon contact with heat.”

And not to get too technical, but I also found that cysteinic acid (which I’m assuming can be formed from the above compound) can be damaging to hair.

I say all that to say, like someone said above, I believe it’s the BKT and their alternatives that likely will be banned.

 

[Napp]

Glad this came up. For some reason, many in the media and also in politics are conflating the traditional relaxers black women historically used with BKT/Keratin/“Amino Acid” smoothing treatments, which are the ones being hinted at being banned, due to their formaldehyde exposure.
While some hair products may have ingredients related to formaldehyde, the actual exposure or release is minimal and usually limited to helping with preservation of a product.

BKT (marketed as a safer alternative to lye/no lye) is well-known to release strong formaldehyde fumes that can cause lung irritation in the middle of use.

So, now, companies have come up with “Formaldehyde-free” Keratin or “amino acid” based smoothing treatments. Deceptive marketing, I realized after my research. I almost fell for it, but knew something had to be up.

I have been doing a long transition and looking for an alternative to relaxers.
Design Essentials STS Amino Acid Smoothing treatment seemed legit, as it’s a well-regarded company. For some reason, it’s so hard finding the full ingredient list of all these Amino Acid, Formaldehyde-Free treatments. I mean, like almost all of them. Only to say the key ingredient is an amino acid, which fuses to the hair with heat and helps to straighten it? Knowledge of chemistry alone, told me that didn’t totally add up.

The amino acid listed as the key ingredient is often ‘Cysteine’. When I finally found the full ingredients list of the DE smoothing mousse, the version of cysteine used is: Glyoxyloyl Carbocisteine.

I did a quick Google search and found:

“Formaldehyde-free hair straighteners do not technically contain formaldehyde; however, they contain other chemicals such as glyoxyloyl carbocysteine which releases formaldehyde upon contact with heat.”

And not to get too technical, but I also found that cysteinic acid (which I’m assuming can be formed from the above compound) can be damaging to hair.

I say all that to say, like someone said above, I believe it’s the BKT and their alternatives that likely will be banned.

Thank you for this! I have some amino acid treatments in my stash and I am not going to use them because of this. I’ve tried formaldehyde and free straighteners and they work so nice and give me what I want but it’s no longer worth the health risk for me

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

Glad this came up. For some reason, many in the media and also in politics are conflating the traditional relaxers black women historically used with BKT/Keratin/“Amino Acid” smoothing treatments, which are the ones being hinted at being banned, due to their formaldehyde exposure.
While some hair products may have ingredients related to formaldehyde, the actual exposure or release is minimal and usually limited to helping with preservation of a product.

BKT (marketed as a safer alternative to lye/no lye) is well-known to release strong formaldehyde fumes that can cause lung irritation in the middle of use.

So, now, companies have come up with “Formaldehyde-free” Keratin or “amino acid” based smoothing treatments. Deceptive marketing, I realized after my research. I almost fell for it, but knew something had to be up.

I have been doing a long transition and looking for an alternative to relaxers.
Design Essentials STS Amino Acid Smoothing treatment seemed legit, as it’s a well-regarded company. For some reason, it’s so hard finding the full ingredient list of all these Amino Acid, Formaldehyde-Free treatments. I mean, like almost all of them. Only to say the key ingredient is an amino acid, which fuses to the hair with heat and helps to straighten it? Knowledge of chemistry alone, told me that didn’t totally add up.

The amino acid listed as the key ingredient is often ‘Cysteine’. When I finally found the full ingredients list of the DE smoothing mousse, the version of cysteine used is: Glyoxyloyl Carbocisteine.

I did a quick Google search and found:

“Formaldehyde-free hair straighteners do not technically contain formaldehyde; however, they contain other chemicals such as glyoxyloyl carbocysteine which releases formaldehyde upon contact with heat.”

And not to get too technical, but I also found that cysteinic acid (which I’m assuming can be formed from the above compound) can be damaging to hair.

I say all that to say, like someone said above, I believe it’s the BKT and their alternatives that likely will be banned.

I did a google search about cysteinic acid & hair. Chemical treatments cause an increase in cysteic acid, which is damage to the hair. I found this patent from 2011:

EP2436372A1 - Method of decreasing cysteic acid formation in keratin fibers - Google Patents

A method of decreasing cysteic acid formation in keratin fibers, especially human hair, during a chemical treatment such as permanent shaping and colouring or bleaching and especially oxidative colouring. A composition comprising at least one diamide compound is applied. Preferably, the diamide...

patents.google.com

Some main points:

“It has surprisingly been found out that a chemical treatment composition comprising at least one diamide compound reduces considerably formation of cysteic acid in keratin fibres.”

“Particularly preferred diamide compound is the compound F which is bis (methoxypropylamido) isodocosane and commercially available from Kao Corporation - Japan.”

I wonder if this was the precursor to Olaplex, K18, & other bond treatments on the market now.

 

[dancinstallion]

To my understanding GLYOXYLOYL CARBOCYSTEINE only releases formaldehyde at temperatures 400-450 and above.

I use it on DDs hair. I don't go above 375 and it straightens fine.

I don't know what's an alternative to this.
Dds hair is waist length and her shrinkage is too much. detangling takes days
Who has time for that when she's off to college in 2 yrs.

 

[Everything Zen]

What’s Meghan Markle going to do?

 

[Theresamonet]

Glad this came up. For some reason, many in the media and also in politics are conflating the traditional relaxers black women historically used with BKT/Keratin/“Amino Acid” smoothing treatments, which are the ones being hinted at being banned, due to their formaldehyde exposure.
While some hair products may have ingredients related to formaldehyde, the actual exposure or release is minimal and usually limited to helping with preservation of a product.

BKT (marketed as a safer alternative to lye/no lye) is well-known to release strong formaldehyde fumes that can cause lung irritation in the middle of use.

So, now, companies have come up with “Formaldehyde-free” Keratin or “amino acid” based smoothing treatments. Deceptive marketing, I realized after my research. I almost fell for it, but knew something had to be up.

I have been doing a long transition and looking for an alternative to relaxers.
Design Essentials STS Amino Acid Smoothing treatment seemed legit, as it’s a well-regarded company. For some reason, it’s so hard finding the full ingredient list of all these Amino Acid, Formaldehyde-Free treatments. I mean, like almost all of them. Only to say the key ingredient is an amino acid, which fuses to the hair with heat and helps to straighten it? Knowledge of chemistry alone, told me that didn’t totally add up.

The amino acid listed as the key ingredient is often ‘Cysteine’. When I finally found the full ingredients list of the DE smoothing mousse, the version of cysteine used is: Glyoxyloyl Carbocisteine.

I did a quick Google search and found:

“Formaldehyde-free hair straighteners do not technically contain formaldehyde; however, they contain other chemicals such as glyoxyloyl carbocysteine which releases formaldehyde upon contact with heat.”

And not to get too technical, but I also found that cysteinic acid (which I’m assuming can be formed from the above compound) can be damaging to hair.

I say all that to say, like someone said above, I believe it’s the BKT and their alternatives that likely will be banned.

Thanks for posting this. I was just coming in here to comment about people not realizing that this ban is coming for BKTs first and foremost. I see a lot of black people online rejoicing about the FDA banning “creamy crack”, talking about get a BKT instead…



But as I stated in a previous post, my relaxer, Affirm, has an ingredient that could produce formaldehyde. From my very base level research it would be a minuscule amount and would require conditions outside of a normal relaxer service. No one (hopefully) heats up their relaxers. So I’d like to know the exact parameters of this ban.

 

[VinDieselsWifey]

This article talks about changing the shape of hair using keratin peptides, but not using dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde, thio, lye, etc. I wonder will the technology ever hit the market.

Changing the shape of hair with keratin peptides - RSC Advances (RSC Publishing) DOI:10.1039/C7RA10461H

 

[TLC1020]

I read it's only banning those that containing formaldehyde, which are Keratin Treatments.

 

[DVAntDany]

This is the most asinine thing I've heard in a long time. I was trying to explain this to my mom who has shown me the many articles related to this subject recently. I first laughed when I received a flyer advertisement for a class action lawsuit calling themselves perm cancer lawyers. This was in May of this year. I honestly can't believe this is a real issue. It is being presented so stupidly that it's insulting to my intelligence.


We here on these boards know that technically there are no hair products containing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a gas. The steps for hydroxide relaxers which are the main ones Black women use do no involve the steps required to release formaldehyde. The product is thoroughly rinsed from the hair and then neutralized before using any type of heat that could release formaldehyde on the hair. There are so many other common everyday products that contain formaldehyde releasing products that do not use heat. I know nail polish and the likes often contain formalin. As long as the many layers of the nail plate are still intact, this product is deemed safe. Even if it seeps through thin layers of nail plates is not said to cause cancer. It causes other issues and a person may develop an allergy to monomers in nail polish.

The study that is being used to push the agenda of Black women needing to legally ban the use of relaxers is highly flawed. Its like going back to the days when it was said that flies grow out of rotting meat because flies are always near rotting meat. It's actually no different than the study that found aluminum salts in metastasized breast tissue of breast cancer patients. Breast tissue often extends to the armpit area. So it's not hard to see why that product would be found in it. The flaw is that they weren't doing biopsies on healthy breast tissue. Whatever is causing Black women to have gynecological health issues is first and foremost not formaldehyde producing chemicals found inside of hydroxide relaxers. It is a coincidence that all of these women have developed ovarian cancers and other gynecological issues after using a hydroxide based relaxer at some point in their lives.

To be frank, this study everyone is referencing for the relaxer ban is as stupid as the one done for UV lights causing cancer for gel polish. That study used a lamp that no one can easily purchase and is often frowned upon in the industry. Then they left it on skin like tissue for a couple hundred hours straight. It was severely flawed because no one gets that type of continuous exposure to these lamps nor even use that type of wattage. They tried to push this study again this year and the media tried to scare gel polish wearers. It was a short lived panic and has pretty much become a thing of the past once again. Im currently a high risk pregnancy and not a single one of my doctors (including dermatologist) feel that gel polish is a potential threat.
Formaldehyde often causes respiratory cancers. So how the heck are they contributing gynecological issues, in relation to formaldehyde, with no other study talking about this? The funniest part is that BKT have been obsolete in Brazil for decades now. They have moved on to hair botox and other products for temporary hair relaxation. We Americans are among the few who are continuing to use them. If BKTs and the likes are cancer causing, then hairstylist would be the first people to look at rather than the consumer. These are not the women the study took into account though.

I did BKT continuously for over a year in the past. I developed a cancer nearly a decade later. I asked my oncologist and hematologist if they thought my cancer was linked to using that product. They did not. All the studies and meta analysis at the time pretty much stated that there was strong but not sufficient evidence for a causal association between lymphomas and occupational exposure to formaldehyde. The exposure I received was not deemed enough to be worried about that. I also used that product numerous times on both my mom and aunt and they suffered no issues.

Much like @dancinstallion stated, those cysteine amino acid smoothing treatments have instructions to go no higher than 400 degrees. In most cases, they are deemed safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They don't require special ventilation and gloves are recommended but not necessary. I can officially tell you that there is a vast difference in the air quality between BKTs and amino smoothing treatments.

With the exception of Beautiful Textures Texture Management System, it is quite hard to find an amino acid smoothing treatment over the counter. These are the closest thing to BKTs that are marketed to Black women. This product has been around for over a decade and still doesn't have the popularity one would expect. So, it's hard to say where many of these Black women are even potentially being exposed to formaldehyde gases.

Here is a link to the 2011 training manual of Marcia Teixeria bkts and soft aka amino acid treatments. http://braziliankeratin.com/marcia-...2015/01/EMAIL-Training-Manual-V1-Oct-2011.pdf. For the most part, the ideas and methods used back then are still being used present day.

Also, I was asked if I had allergies to proplyene glycol when given the covid vaccine. It is closely related to polyethylene glycol which can be found in it. Polyethylene glycol does contain formaldehyde impurities in PEG 400. It is hypothesized to be formed through air oxidation. PEG 400 is used in not only hair care but often present in the foods we eat. It's more so a situation of the poison is in the dosage. Overall, no common lay person is getting enough exposure to potentially formaldehyde producing products to cause harm in the way they are claiming for Black women. Someone needs to take a stand. I'm surprised hair care companies are not fighting back to correct this smear campaign.

My main concern is about why they are showing pictures of hydroxide relaxers, but talking about products that no one considers relaxers? What is the hidden agenda? I agree with @Theresamonet. They don't care about Black women that much to do all of this. If a ban does happen, the first products to go will be the ones that Black women aren't known to use. Also, why haven't they checked Black men? They were the first to use hydroxide relaxers historically. I'm pretty sure at sometime during their youth, our older population of men used them. Why hasn't anyone done a study to link prostate cancer? At max, require these products to be used by a licensed cosmetologist instead of banning them. Better yet, slap a warning label on them, and have the general public use them at their own risk. Im tired of this type of BS.