Richard Perry/The New York TimesMarita Selmani gets a hair straightening treatment at a Manhattan salon.A popular hair-straightening product called Brazilian Blowout, which has received scrutiny in recent months after tests found it contains significant amounts of the harmful chemical formaldehyde, has come under new government pressure. The United States Food and Drug Administration has stepped into the fray by warning the company that its product contains a “poisonous or deleterious substance” and that it was falsely labeled as formaldehyde-free.
In a letter last month to Brazilan Blowout officials, the agency said that tests showed that up to 10 percent of the straightening formula is a liquid form of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has been linked to myeloid leukemia and rare cancers of the nose and upper mouth in embalmers and was officially added to the list of known carcinogens in June.
Officials from Brazilian Blowout, based in North Hollywood, Calif., have denied the straightener contains or emits more than trace levels of formaldehyde.
Hundreds of beauty salons offer the Brazilian Blowout treatment, which is remarkably popular despite a price that can run up to $500.
The recent F.D.A. action comes nearly a year after occupational health officials in Oregon tested Brazilian Blowout, after receiving complaints from Portland-area salon workers that they suffered from breathing problems, eye irritation and nosebleeds while using the product. At the time, the company disputed the findings, saying tests it commissioned from a private lab found only trace levels of formaldehyde.
According to the F.D.A., Brazilian Blowout contains methylene glycol, a liquid form of formaldehyde that, when used as instructed – applied to the hair and then heated with a blow dryer and then a flat iron – releases formaldehyde into the air. Inhalation is the primary route of exposure.
Formaldehyde reacts with the mucous membranes lining the respiratory tract and the eyes, causing many symptoms, including blurred vision and eye irritation, headaches, dizziness and a burning sensation, cough, wheezing and sore throat. It can also cause nausea, chest pain, rashes and vomiting, the F.D.A. letter says.
Some environmental advocates have criticized the F.D.A. for taking so long to take action. But others said the agency had generally not been very aggressive about enforcing regulations of cosmetics, so they were pleased to see a warning issued.
“Unfortunately, there has been no recall, and women are still using this product,” said Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research for Women’s Voices for the Earth, a nonprofit environmental health advocacy organization based in Pullman, Wash.
Many salons still use the product, she said, because the treatment is so lucrative, while others limit it to days with low traffic, or do the treatment outside.
“Many of our clients say, ‘I’d rather not do it,’ and you can get good results with other products, but they aren’t quite the same,” said David Groshen, owner of the FaceStation salon in Manhattan. On the other hand, he said of the product, “we have some clients who love it, and then we do it in the back room, with masks on and the windows open.”