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Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a hazard warning about hair smoothing and straightening products in hair salons. The hazard warning tells hair salon owners and workers about potential exposure to formaldehyde from the dangerous product.
The formaldehyde in hair products such as the Brazilian Blowout brand helps bind keratin to the hair during the straightening process. The products come listed as “formaldehyde free,” but hair stylists and customers reported allergic reactions, including eye irritation, difficulty breathing and nosebleeds. The complaints to OSHA prompted the hazard warning.
Despite the OSHA warning, one hair customer commented that she never experienced any problems when stylists applied the Brazilian Blowout brand to her hair. Nonetheless, some stylists are not using the product in their salons.
Some countries classify formaldehyde as a human carcinogen, but the U.S. Federal Government has not categorized it as such. In the meantime, OSHA urged salon owners to refrain from hair products that do not contain formaldehyde, methylene, glycol, formalin, methylene oxide, paraform, formic aldehyde, methanol, oxomethane, or oxymethylene.
If you suffer injuries from a dangerous or defective product, contact a Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis for a free consultation. Roger Johnson is an experienced Washington, D.C. personal injury lawyer who can represent you in a product liability suit against the responsible parties.