Ironing your hair damages your life

• May 2, 2024

A popular product for straightening hair can pose a health hazard to stylists and their customers, researchers report.

The product, called Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Hair Solution, could expose people to potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogenic chemical, according to the study that appears in the August issue of the journal Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.

"Our study found that using Brazilian Blowout without adequate engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation could expose stylists and their clients to formaldehyde levels that exceed short-term occupational exposure limits," said the study's author. , Michelle Stewart, in a press release from the University of California, Berkeley.

Stewart conducted the study while he was a graduate student at the university's public health faculty. Together with his colleagues, Stewart found that the concentrations of formaldehyde in the air surrounding the stylists and customers exceed the limits set by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration UU., The US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. UU., And the Occupational Safety and Health Division of California.

"While installing a local exhaust ventilation system is a traditional exposure control, that solution may not be feasible in small classrooms because of the cost of ventilation systems, permits, facilities, ongoing maintenance and revisions. efficiency, "Stewart noted.

"The recommendation is that the salons use products that do not contain more than 0.1 percent formaldehyde, but the product we investigated contained twelve percent of the substance," he added.

Stylists who use hair straightening treatments such as Brazilian Blowout have reported symptoms that include tearing of the eyes, runny nose, irritation of the upper respiratory tract and bleeding from the nose.

The product is available in more than 6 thousand salons in the USA. UU., According to the press release.

Video Medicine: How to straighten your hair perfectly with a cloth iron| Must Watch| Works 100% (May 2024).