Five months ago, the federal government put out a hazard alert about the hair-smoothing treatment, Brazilian Blowout, warning that it contains liquid formaldehyde that can turn into formaldehyde gas when heated during a treatment.
So we wanted to know whether salons are up-to-date on the news that the product does, indeed, contain a form of formaldehyde and whether they would share that information with us.
We visited 16 salons. Every salon told us they had no safety concerns. Twelve salons said the product contains very little formaldehyde. And four were not aware that it contained formaldehyde.
The salons all had outdated versions of Brazilian Blowout's literature and bottles, which said "formaldehyde free."
Brazilian Blowout
Acai Professional Smoothing Solution
Professional Brazilian Blowout Solution
Cadiveu
Brasil Cacau
Acai Therapy
Copomon/Coppola
Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy
Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment
Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment Blonde
Express Blow Out
Marcia Teixeira
Brazilian Keratin Treatment
Advanced Brazilian Keratin Treatment
Chocolate Extreme De-Frizzing Treatment
Soft Gentle Smoothing Treatment
Soft Chocolate Gentle Smoothing Treatment
The hair-smoothing products above are probably not the only ones that contain formaldehyde. Some manufacturers list synonyms for formaldehyde on their labels. They sometimes do this because the formaldehyde is dissolved in water or another substance and that changes its chemical composition slightly, giving the chemical a new name.
All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's formaldehyde standard or can release formaldehyde when subjected to certain conditions, such as the heat involved in a hair smoothing treatment. OSHA has provided a list of what it calls "synonyms" for formaldehyde, printed here, and listed below.
Methylene glycol
Formalin
Methylene oxide
Paraform
Formic aldehyde
Methanal
Oxomethane
Oxymethylene
Timonacic acid
Thiazolidinecarboxylic acid
So we wanted to know whether salons are up-to-date on the news that the product does, indeed, contain a form of formaldehyde and whether they would share that information with us.
We visited 16 salons. Every salon told us they had no safety concerns. Twelve salons said the product contains very little formaldehyde. And four were not aware that it contained formaldehyde.
The salons all had outdated versions of Brazilian Blowout's literature and bottles, which said "formaldehyde free."
Brazilian Blowout
Acai Professional Smoothing Solution
Professional Brazilian Blowout Solution
Cadiveu
Brasil Cacau
Acai Therapy
Copomon/Coppola
Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy
Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment
Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment Blonde
Express Blow Out
Marcia Teixeira
Brazilian Keratin Treatment
Advanced Brazilian Keratin Treatment
Chocolate Extreme De-Frizzing Treatment
Soft Gentle Smoothing Treatment
Soft Chocolate Gentle Smoothing Treatment
The hair-smoothing products above are probably not the only ones that contain formaldehyde. Some manufacturers list synonyms for formaldehyde on their labels. They sometimes do this because the formaldehyde is dissolved in water or another substance and that changes its chemical composition slightly, giving the chemical a new name.
All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's formaldehyde standard or can release formaldehyde when subjected to certain conditions, such as the heat involved in a hair smoothing treatment. OSHA has provided a list of what it calls "synonyms" for formaldehyde, printed here, and listed below.
Methylene glycol
Formalin
Methylene oxide
Paraform
Formic aldehyde
Methanal
Oxomethane
Oxymethylene
Timonacic acid
Thiazolidinecarboxylic acid
