Opinion:FDA Ban On Relaxers…

Hey my beauties, it’s been a while! I’ve been on an unintentional digital hiatus. For whatever reason I’ve been drained by all things social media and business…if I can be frank. However, there are still some things that I feel need to be addressed as far as the noise on the FDA ban on not only relaxers but smoothing products, like keratin treatments as well. So how did all of this come about? Well, awhile back I wrote a blog about if relaxers are dangerous. In that blog I mentioned the more recent controversy surrounding relaxers and a lawsuit with L’Oreal, the lawsuit addresses L’Oreal questionable use of the ingredient Phthalate. Phthalate is a preservative that has been found in over the counter products such as shampoos, conditioners, box color and of course relaxers. This was a result of a study that was testing if this ingredient was linked to cancer…not relaxers in general. I breakdown the full background in my post entitled “Are Relaxers Dangerous?” back in February. Click on that bog post for more details on relaxers.

All of this unfolded from two separate studies, which led Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio to team up with the FDA to crack down on regulations regarding ingredients used in over the counter relaxers and keratin treatments. Once I saw the headlines, much like the first headlines about relaxers, I had a ton of questions. I’ve been doing Keratin treatments since maybe 2009/2010. In 2011 OSHA (Occupational Safey and Health Administration) came in and cracked down on the formaldehyde levels used in this new service that revolutionized how we straightened hair. I’m not sure what the formaldehyde levels were before but OSHA required a 0.01% formaldehyde cap in order for you to not have share that you have formaldehyde in your formulation. If you had levels above that 0.01% it couldn’t exceed 0.02% in both your formulation and what is emitted in the air once heat is added. You also had to list on the bottle that your formulation included formaldehyde and you had to inform via certified training exactly how much. For perspective, the average amount of formaldehyde that’s found in a bottle of nail polish is 0.05%. I’m not pointing this out to absolve any company that has caused damage or taken advantage being reckless with their formulations, just pointing out the fact that the guidelines are pretty strict on regulations since 2011 for professional use.

So why the new ban on all things hair straightening? Well simply put, in my opinion, over the counter use of professional services shouldn’t be an option for consumers. When dealing with chemicals, it should be handled by a certified professional…full stop. All of this is because of over the counter use of professional style services. Notice I didn’t say professional grade chemicals. That’s because what we use in the salon is NOT the same as what they are selling to you in beauty supply stores or drug stores. More preservatives are added to over the counter products which has led to the legal boundaries being drawn. Us as professionals have a much more regulated process for handling chemicals on customers, you’d think it would be the regulated the same on both fronts. I always advocate for clients to budget for their chemical services to be done in salon and shop with their beauty professionals for shampoo, conditioner and styling products for at home use. This way they know they are protected as much as possible to ensure the healthiest hair and no serious/dangerous exposure to harmful ingredients. If your a beauty professional or a client, I heavily encourage you to ask questions about the products being used so you’ll know that what your using is good for the both of you! I hope this helps and can answer some questions you may have about the FDA ban. If not sound off in the comments. Don’t forget to comment and share. Until next time…SMOOCHES!!!!