Gel, mousse, special shampoos and conditioners. Flat irons and ceramic hair dryers. At minimum, a habit costing $50 a week. My mother jokes it is like having a third child, a dependent she wishes she could claim on her income taxes. I have curly hair. Not straight, not wavy, but full luscious loops. What’s wrong with that? EVERYTHING. First off, it’s unruly. It has a mind of its own. Pulling it back in a ponytail is like wrestling a giant ungroomed poodle into a two-inch hoop. Combing it is like trying to navigate an unmarked path through a rain forest. One hot mess!

Unfortunately there are a lot of curly haired girls out there that face the same dilemma. Because of my curly hair I have tried many different techniques to try to tame the beast that lay on my head. I’m sure if you asked the ‘curly clic’ they would tell you they would try almost anything, throughout my life, I have been no exception. Over my years of trying new products and treatments the only one that seems to work is keratin. Keratin is a protein that is naturally found in your fingernails and hair, what this treatment does is adds more of this protein back into your hair. Sounds simple right? Well the truth is after a lot of research it has been found that one of the key ingredients in the formulation is formaldehyde. You have probably heard the word formaldehyde because that is what they put inside dead bodies to preserve them. Ok so what’s the problem?

Over the years formaldehyde has been linked to many different health problems.

Who is most at risk? More than likely it’s the hair dressers themselves, not necessarily the clients. The salon workers are exposed to the toxin much more consistently, than the individual client. After this became news, some manufacturers thought they had the solution, in creating formaldehyde free versions of the products. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently did investigations of many different salons to find out the health hazards of these hair treatments. “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,” and Brasil Cacau Cadiveu.” Even when products are labeled “formaldehyde free” when the chemicals combine with heat the create formaldehyde.

Specifically, among the health risks OSHA found many salon workers were complaining of nosebleeds, burning itchy eyes, and in some severe respiratory issues. In some rare causes salon workers who use to apply this treatment have formed cancer. My own hairdresser found many of these issues when she applied the treatment. It became so serious in the salon, that the salon owner no longer permits this application in the salon. Some salons have had to get out of this business.

OSHA has set out to try to fix this problem by setting certain guidelines on how to use and apply the keratin treatments The guidelines that were listed on the OSHA website can be seen below:

• Test the air periodically to make sure that formaldehyde levels are below OSHA’s limits.
• Give employees appropriate gloves and other personal protective equipment (e.g., face shield, chemical splash goggles, chemical-resistant aprons) and train them on how to use this equipment while mixing and applying the products.
• Explain to workers how to read and understand the information on a product’s label and MSDS;
• Make sure the workplace has eye and skin washing equipment if products that contain formaldehyde could be splashed onto the workers’ skin or into their eyes.
• Train workers how to safely clean up spills and properly throw products out.
• Get workers the right medical attention (e.g., doctor exams) if they develop signs and symptoms of an exposure to formaldehyde or are exposed to large amounts of formaldehyde during an emergency (e.g., a large spill).

In conclusion, I will still be getting my keratin treatments regularly but this is definitely something that every curly hair girl should be aware of before getting keratin treatments.