Keratin Treatments Part II: the formaldehyde controversy

Moving away from straightening and smoothing treatments with harmful levels of formaldehyde.
For clients with wavy, curly, frizzy or dull hair who want it straight or smooth, Keratin treatments have been miracle services. With these treatments, unruly hair becomes manageable. As side perks,  hair also becomes shinier and softer, and the results generally last about 3 months.

"Before and After" from Brazilian Blowout's site

However, one of the ingredients which drives the success of these treatments has also been a source of controversial debate. That ingredient is formaldehyde.

According to the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “formaldehyde presents a health hazard if stylists are exposed. It can irritate the eyes and nose, cause allergic reactions of the skin, eyes and lungs; and is linked to nose and lung cancer.”

What is formaldehyde? How is it released during some of the straightening/smoothing treatment? If it affects stylists, what are the effects on clients? If it’s found in so many other products, why is it a big deal here? Are there good alternatives to the treatments that release formaldehyde?

That’s what we are going to explore in this article.

"Formaldehyde is everywhere"

The first thing we have to establish, is that formaldehyde is found in many more places than just some hair straightening systems. If you are ever near cars, particleboards, glue or industrial cleansers, you are encountering formaldehyde. Those are just a few examples! In fact if you've ever been around yourself, you been exposed to formaldehyde: it is produced in small amounts during normal metabolic processes. This doesn't necessarily make it safe. But it does give us a context for addressing its use in hair straightening systems.

There are 3 issues to consider: 

1. How transparent are companies about their use of formaldehyde, and in the amounts their products contain. 

2. The amount of formaldehyde that it is safe to be exposed to

3. What type of exposure is unsafe 

As we mentioned in Part I, it isn't keratin which straightens hair. This common misunderstanding happens because straightening treatments are so often called "Keratin Straightening Treatments".

It is another step in the treatment that creates the straightening effect. A cocktail of chemicals is added to hair, which semi-permanently alters the hair’s structure making it straighter.

When formaldehyde is an ingredient, it does double duty: It helps with the keratin infusion, and it is part of the straightening cocktail. Not only does it have a dual purpose, but it is really good at both of them! Studies and tests show that of all the ingredients that have the property of opening the cuticle (to allow keratin into the hair shaft), formaldehyde gives the best results. 

Lack of information

A few years ago Brazilian Blowout was the lead keratin straightening system. High profile usage by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston pushed its popularity, and the straightening trend took over the styling world. In some salons, stylists began complaining of odd health concerns such as nosebleeds and upper respiratory infections. Some stylists were doing 3 or 4 treatments a day with little to no ventilation, and a poor understanding of proper application. 

Responding to complaints, OSHA Oregon investigated. It was soon revealed that (a) these products contained formaldehyde, (b) with heat application the formaldehyde was being released as toxic fumes, and (c) some products contained 10 or more times the legally permitted amounts of formaldehyde.

The presence of formaldehyde in itself might not be a problem. As we mentioned above, we are commonly exposed to it in our daily lives. Most of the time this happens through passive diffusion, so that the quantities inhaled are relatively mild. It is further thought to be relatively harmless in liquid form. This is open to debate. 

But straightening systems seemed to offer a perfect storm for formaldehyde related health risks. The quantities in the products were high; exposed to high heat flat-ironing, the products was released as toxic fumes; stylists and clients were not informed about the risks involved, and did not know to take precautions to limit exposure (poor ventilation; over-saturation with product; offering multiple treatments in one day).

In August 22, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to the importer and distributor of Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution (GIB LLC dba Brazilian Blowout). You can read it here. OSHA identifies Brazilian Blowout products as adulterated and misbranded, because it contains methylene glycol, which can release formaldehyde during the normal conditions of use, and because the label makes misleading statements ("Formaldehyde Free" or "No Formaldehyde").

Federal OSHA and State OSHA programs have been investigating complaints from stylists and hair salon owners about exposure to formaldehyde while using products such as:
• Brazilian Blowout
• Brasil Cacau Cadiveu
• Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy
• Marcia Teixeira

During Federal OSHA investigations, air tests showed formaldehyde at levels above OSHA's limits in salons using:
• Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution, labeled "formaldehyde free,"
• Brasil Cacau Cadiveu. 

Misleading Stylists and Clients

Some treatments do not list formaldehyde. Some have had levels much higher than is permissible by law. This was the case with the Brazilian Blowout at the beginning of the controversy. Other “formaldehyde-free” products actually contain formaldehyde derivatives with the same set of risks.

"Just because formaldehyde is not listed, doesn't mean it's really formaldehyde-free!"

Many keratin-based hair smoothing products contain formaldehyde dissolved (and chemically reacted) in water and other ingredients in the product. Because of the way formaldehyde reacts in these products, some manufacturers, importers, or distributors might list other names for formaldehyde on product information or might claim that the product is "formaldehyde-free” when in fact it really is not.

Formaldehyde might be listed as:

• methylene glycol,
• formalin,
• methylene oxide,
• paraform,
• formic aldehyde,
• methanal,
• oxomethane,
• oxymethylene,
• CAS Number 50-00-0.

All of these are names for formaldehyde under OSHA's Formaldehyde standard. There are also chemicals, such as timonacic acid (also called thiazolidinecarboxylic acid) that can release formaldehyde under certain conditions, such as those present during a hair straightening treatment process.

Formaldehyde is released in the form of a gas, when the sections of hair, onto which the product was applied, are flat ironed. Formaldehyde is colorless, but has a characteristic pungent, irritating odor. Until the flat-ironing step, it might technically not be present as an ingredient in the product.

OSHA requires manufacturers of products that contain or release formaldehyde to include information about formaldehyde and its hazards on the label and in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Formaldehyde must be listed if it is in the product at 0.1% or more (as a gas or in solution) or if the product releases formaldehyde above 0.1 parts of formaldehyde per million parts (ppm) of air.

The formaldehyde risks are exclusive to the keratin-based treatments. That is not to say that other types of treatments don’t carry other risks. Different chemicals are used in other hair-straightening methods such as Thermal Reconditioning (also called Japanese Straightening) and the more traditional relaxers.

Meanwhile, some brands like Brazilian Blowout have contested OSHA findings. But we won't get into that. As a team, we simply decided to avoid the most contentious brands and look for alternatives.

A Difficult Balance: Managing conflicting client desires
The fact is that, to get perfectly straight hair, there is currently no real alternative to the products using formaldehyde. Something has to be sacrificed. Either the product doesn’t straighten as much, or it doesn’t last as long, or you have to wait 3 days before washing your hair after the treatment, or it contains ingredients that causes damage to hair. 

"There are no current alternatives that are as effective"

Keratin treatments have set a benchmark of results, and not many are willing to give it up. It might be easy for a client to choose to use something that has formaldehyde because they want the effect and don't mind the risk because really they will only be minimally exposed. Or they can choose not to have the treatment done. It is not so easy for the salon or the stylist. Do we take the health risk? Do we lose the appointment and the client? Do we risk the health or ire of other clients in the salon that day? How do we teach people to accept something safer, but less effective? Choices have to be made, and there are no easy answers.

What we can do is:
• Continue to explore the best, safest treatments with the most effectiveness
• Properly use the product to minimize fumes (many salons don’t!)
• Minimize exposure to fumes with good ventilation and using an isolated station. As of July we are also using a purification station which greatly if not in fact completely eliminates fumes.
• Encourage clients to use safer alternatives and educate them on best practices to extend the effects of those treatments.

As we mentioned in Part I, we currently offer Keratin Complex by Coppola, which was the first company and brand to receive formal OSHA compliancy. In addition we are continually trying smoothing treatments to find ones with the most similar results. 

Finally, to again bring some perspective to this, we'd like to note that the greatest concern is for stylists who inhale the brunt of fumes (if there are any) and potentially face multiple exposures throughout the work week. This is the focus of organizations like OSHA. Given proper application and proper ventilation, clients should not experience any discomfort. However, if you have any misgivings, we encourage to ask to be seated away from someone getting a keratin treatment. If you are especially concerned, ask to be scheduled an appointment when no treatment is scheduled in the salon.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/formaldehyde

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/formaldehyde/hazard_alert.html
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/keratin-hair-straightening-treatments?page=2
http://www.keratintreatmentforhair.com/how-does-keratin-hair-treatment-work
http://www.keratintreatmentforhair.com/faqs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w81Kn0vmcjY
http://ms-info.hubpages.com/hub/Keratin-Hair-Treatment
http://www.beautystat.com/site/hair/how-do-keratin-treatments-work-a-review-of-safe-salon-hair-straightening-options-and-formaldehyde-free-at-home-alternatives/