Hair-smoothing products are on the firing line again, with the most recent report by an independent panel finding that many of these products’ active ingredients, including formaldehyde and methylene glycol, are unsafe in the present practices of use in hair-smoothing products.
The report, filed Sept. 30 by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, has stated this “is a final amended safety assessment” and follows an Aug. 22 warning issued by the Food & Drug Administration to hair-smoothing manufacturer Brazilian Blowout for being an adulterated and misbranded product. The product was found to contain methylene glycol.
CIR’s decision follows months of review on the topic of hair-smoothing safety, one that was sparked in October 2010 when a stylist in Oregon complained of eye, nose and throat irritation after administering certain smoothing treatments in the salon where she worked.
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According to the report filed by Alan Anderson, director of CIR: “The panel remained concerned about sensory irritation adverse reports consistent with measured air levels of formaldehyde in salons using hair-smoothing products (aka hair-straightening products) containing formaldehyde/methylene glycol. Additional use studies were done to demonstrate that exposure to formaldehyde could be minimized with proper procedures and use of personal ventilation devices.”
The popularity of hair-smoothing treatments, which cost as much as $300 to $500 per service, has even triggered the formation of a Professional Keratin Smoothing Council, a group made up of manufacturers of smoothing treatments. PKSC submitted to CIR in June a 200-page document attesting to product safety.
While CIR’s ruling carries no regulatory weight (CIR’s scientific and medical experts only assess the safety of cosmetics ingredients), a continued investigation by federal and state Occupational Safety and Health Administration programs could ultimately propel a ban on these treatments by the FDA.