Avoid Formaldehyde Please
There are Straighteners after straighteners after straighteners, Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian, Peruvian, they change the name to change you from thinking there is anything bad in them. I know there are some that are not made with formaldehyde. PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Calif. Announces Brazilian Blowout Settlement
Calif. Announces Brazilian Blowout Settlement"This is welcome news for consumers in California, but companies can still use the cancer-causing chemical in their products that are sold throughout the country," said Heather White, Chief of Staff and General Counsel for EWG. "Today's action was directed only at the makers of Brazilian Blowout for products sold in California, but our investigation found 16 companies include formaldehyde in their hair smoothing products. The federal FDA needs to ban formaldehyde as an ingredient in these popular products so consumers and salon workers are not inhaling a known human carcinogen. Period."
An April 2011 survey by EWG found dozens of top salons still promoting formaldehyde-laced hair straighteners despite the mounting evidence of the risks to stylists and clients.
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Settlement Requiring Honest Advertising over Brazilian Blowout Products
Monday, January 30, 2012
Contact: (415) 703-5837
The settlement requires GIB, LLC, which does business under the name Brazilian Blowout, to cease deceptive advertising that describes two of its popular products as formaldehyde-free and safe. The company must also make significant changes to its website and pay $600,000 in fees, penalties and costs.
“California laws protect consumers and workers and give them fair notice about the health risks associated with the products they use,” said Attorney General Harris. “This settlement requires the company to disclose any hazard so that Californians can make more informed decisions.”
Today’s settlement is the first government enforceable action in the United States to address the exposures to formaldehyde gas associated with Brazilian Blowout products. It is also the first law enforcement action under California’s Safe Cosmetics Act, a right-to-know law enacted in 2005.
In November 2010, the Attorney General’s office filed suit against GIB, LLC for violating five state laws, including deceptive advertising and failure to provide consumers with warnings about the presence of a carcinogen in its products.
The settlement covers two products used in a popular salon hair straightening process, the “Brazilian Blowout Acai Smoothing Solution” and the “Brazilian Blowout Professional Smoothing Solution”.
The complaint alleged the two products contained formaldehyde but were labeled “formaldehyde free.”
Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about certain exposures to chemicals in the products they purchase. Formaldehyde is on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer.
The complaint alleged that that GIB – the manufacturer of the Brazilian Blowout products – did not inform customers or workers that formaldehyde gas was being released during a Brazilian Blowout treatment, and therefore product users did not take steps to reduce their exposure, such as increasing ventilation. Under the terms of the settlement, GIB is required to:
- Produce a complete and accurate safety information sheet on the two products that includes a Proposition 65 cancer warning; distribute this information to recent product purchasers who may still have product on hand; and distribute it with all future product shipments. The revised safety information sheet -- known as a “Material Safety Data Sheet,” or MSDS -- will be posted on the company’s web site.
- Affix “CAUTION” stickers to the bottles of the two products to inform stylists of the emission of formaldehyde gas and the need for precautionary measures, including adequate ventilation.
- Cease deceptive advertising of the products as formaldehyde-free and safe; engage in substantial corrective advertising, including honest communications to sales staff regarding product risks; and change numerous aspects of Brazilian Blowout’s web site content.
- Retest the two products for total smog-forming chemicals (volatile organic compounds) at two Department of Justice-approved laboratories, and work with DOJ and the Air Resources Board to ensure that those products comply with state air quality regulations.
- Report the presence of formaldehyde in its products to the Safe Cosmetics Program at the Department of Public Health.
- Disclose refund policies to consumers before the products are purchased.
- Require proof of professional licensing before selling “salon use only” products to stylists.
GIB will also pay $300,000 in Proposition 65 civil penalties, and $300,000 to reimburse the Attorney General’s office fees and costs.
A copy of the settlement is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov
I am going to show you the EPA's small note on health problems from formaldehyde. The link is directly from the FDA's web sight.
ReplyDeleteHealth Effects
Formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas, can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes and throat, nausea, and difficulty in breathing in some humans exposed at elevated levels (above 0.1 parts per million). High concentrations may trigger attacks in people with asthma. There is evidence that some people can develop a sensitivity to formaldehyde. It has also been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; severe allergic reactions. May cause cancer. May also cause other effects listed under "organic gases."
Because we heated up the solution, and it was a vapor, everyone noticed the breathing issues right away. Hair dressers acted right away, and we still had to fight further because we were duped by companies using synonyms, or solutions that don't turn to a formalyn until they become a vapor. The problem is it still makes you die. PERIOD. If we want to survive, we need to find a better way. Follow my blog.
I LOVE yours!!
Gina