OSHA: Brazilian Blowout Contains Formaldehyde
Difficulty breathing, nosebleeds, and eye irritation. These are the symptoms being reported by hairdressers across the country after giving clients a Brazilian Blowout. The popular hair treatment has had incredible success in the past couple years, promising straight and manegeable hair for up to twelve weeks.
According to OSHA, Brazilian Blowout contains formaldehye -- a chemical compound that can cause all of the symptoms described above, and more. Occupational exposure to formaldehyde is most common in construction, but the use of the compound is certainly not limited to that industry. Because of the potential toxicity of formaldehyde, it has become regulated by OSHA and banned from use in many products. Formaldehyde has also been linked to cancer.
ABC News quotes a statement North Hollywood based Brazilian Blowout released to Good Morning America: "At Brazilian Blowout, the safety of our product, stylist, and consumers is our number one priority. We stand behind the integrity of our product and affirm that our professional solution is indeed formaldehyde free." Brazilian blowouts cost anywhere between $500 and $1500.
The test results uncovered close to 10% formaldehyde in a Brazilian Blowout solution that came from an Oregon salon. In addition to the potential federal health and safety violations that Brazilian Blowout may be subject to, every state also regulates cosmetics and beauty products and usually requires companies to report the presence of chemicals in a given product. Brazilian Blowout's defense rests on the fact that every professional product that comes from then does not contain formaldehyde, but the company cannot control counterfeit products or how their product is compromised during second hand sales on sites like eBay.
Related Resources:
- Brazilian Blowout Contains Formaldehyde (Huffington Post)
- OSHA (FindLaw)
- Dangerous and Defective Products (FindLaw)
- OSHA and Employee Workplace Rights (provided by Christiansen Law Offices)
- FELA and Workplace Safety Regulations (provided by Bohrer Law Firm, A Limited Liability Company)