Formaldehyde- and Lead-Free? More Salon Products to Watch Out for
Now that the dust has settled after the dustup between Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and GIB, LLC (the maker of Brazilian Blowout, the popular but controversial hair-straightening product that was found to contain cancer-causing formaldehyde), and the latter agreeing to identify formaldehyde on its warning label, are hair-salon customers finally safe?
For salons that only employ licensed cosmetologists—such as those who have already taken their cosmetology CE (whether that's a Kentucky cosmetology CE or aTexas cosmetology CE)—the answer is easily yes. But for others, maybe not.
An informal survey recently conducted by abcnews.go.com involving 16 salons revealed that all the surveyed salons still used the old Brazilian Blowout product, which didn't have the warning label and whose literature said it was "formaldehyde free." All the salons naively told the abcnews.go.com that they had no safety concerns.
In fact, they do have. Not only did they not recognize the danger of using formaldehyde-tainted Brazilian Blowout, they also were unaware that other salon products used formaldehyde but used one of the many synonyms of the substance.
According to OSHA, the following are formaldehyde's other names:
The salon products that contain formaldehyde, says OSHA, are:
Brazilian Blowout
Cadiveu
Copomon/Coppola
Marcia Teixeira
And it's not just formaldehyde that one has to look out for. It has been suspected for a long time now, but the news still came as a shock to many when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this February that it had found lead in not one or two, but in 400 brands of lipstick! Yikes!
The least contaminated lipstick was the cheapest brand, Wet 'n' Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm Bahama Mama. The report listed big-name brands Five L'Oréal and Maybelline lipsticks among the most contaminated with the carcinogenic heavy metal. Maybelline's Color Sensational Pink Petal lipstick, in fact, registered the highest lead content—7.19 parts per million.
Among the other popular brands found to have lead were Almay, Burt's Bees, Cover Girl, Estée Lauder, M.A.C., and Revlon.
However—and significantly—the FDA clarified that because the lipstick user actually ingests so little of the lipstick and so much less of the lead, there's little cause for concern. Children's products in the country, in comparison, are legally allowed to have up to 100 parts per million of lead.
Still, some groups such as the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, are skeptical and are urging health authorities for more stringent limits. In January an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized in a report the urgency of preventing lead exposure for children and pregnant women.
Cosmetologycampus.com, e-learning hub 360training.com's portal for cosmetologists, offers not only a fully online cosmetology CE program towards a cosmetology license but also important information and training on safety at the salon.
For salons that only employ licensed cosmetologists—such as those who have already taken their cosmetology CE (whether that's a Kentucky cosmetology CE or aTexas cosmetology CE)—the answer is easily yes. But for others, maybe not.
An informal survey recently conducted by abcnews.go.com involving 16 salons revealed that all the surveyed salons still used the old Brazilian Blowout product, which didn't have the warning label and whose literature said it was "formaldehyde free." All the salons naively told the abcnews.go.com that they had no safety concerns.
In fact, they do have. Not only did they not recognize the danger of using formaldehyde-tainted Brazilian Blowout, they also were unaware that other salon products used formaldehyde but used one of the many synonyms of the substance.
According to OSHA, the following are formaldehyde's other names:
- Formalin
- Formic aldehyde
- Methanal
- Methylene glycol
- Methylene oxide
- Oxomethane
- Oxymethylene
- Paraform
- Thiazolidinecarboxylic acid
- Timonacic acid
The salon products that contain formaldehyde, says OSHA, are:
Brazilian Blowout
- Acai Professional Smoothing Solution
- Professional Brazilian Blowout Solution
Cadiveu
- Acai Therapy
- Brasil Cacau
Copomon/Coppola
- Express Blow Out
- Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy
- Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment
- Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment Blonde
Marcia Teixeira
- Advanced Brazilian Keratin Treatment
- Brazilian Keratin Treatment
- Chocolate Extreme De-Frizzing Treatment
- Soft Chocolate Gentle Smoothing Treatment
- Soft Gentle Smoothing Treatment
And it's not just formaldehyde that one has to look out for. It has been suspected for a long time now, but the news still came as a shock to many when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this February that it had found lead in not one or two, but in 400 brands of lipstick! Yikes!
The least contaminated lipstick was the cheapest brand, Wet 'n' Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm Bahama Mama. The report listed big-name brands Five L'Oréal and Maybelline lipsticks among the most contaminated with the carcinogenic heavy metal. Maybelline's Color Sensational Pink Petal lipstick, in fact, registered the highest lead content—7.19 parts per million.
Among the other popular brands found to have lead were Almay, Burt's Bees, Cover Girl, Estée Lauder, M.A.C., and Revlon.
However—and significantly—the FDA clarified that because the lipstick user actually ingests so little of the lipstick and so much less of the lead, there's little cause for concern. Children's products in the country, in comparison, are legally allowed to have up to 100 parts per million of lead.
Still, some groups such as the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, are skeptical and are urging health authorities for more stringent limits. In January an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized in a report the urgency of preventing lead exposure for children and pregnant women.
Cosmetologycampus.com, e-learning hub 360training.com's portal for cosmetologists, offers not only a fully online cosmetology CE program towards a cosmetology license but also important information and training on safety at the salon.
Source...