FDA plans to propose ban on formaldehyde in hair smoothing, straightening products — here's what to know.
The Food and Drug Administration is looking to ban chemical hair smoothing and straightening products that contain formaldehyde due to potential health impacts.
"Use of hair smoothing products containing (formaldehyde) and (formaldehyde)-releasing chemicals is linked to short-term adverse health effects, such as sensitization reactions and breathing problems, and long-term adverse health effects, including an increased risk of certain cancers," the FDA notes.
In a video posted Wednesday on social media, the FDA's top cosmetics official Namandjé Bumpus makes clear the action has not yet happened.
"When we do propose this rule, it will be specifically focused on removing potentially cancer-causing fromaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from these products, so we can protect the health of all us consumers using them," she says. "If finalized, this proposed rule will help to address this disparity by really setting a standard for safety in promoting safer alternatives."
Earlier this month, Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Shontel Brown applauded the FDA's step toward regulating these products, which are marketed to and commonly used by Black consumers, after they previously called for the proposal to ban them.
"The FDA's proposal to ban these harmful chemicals in hair straighteners and relaxers is a win for public health — especially the health of Black women who are disproportionately put at risk by these products as a result of systemic racism and anti-Black hair sentiment," Pressley said in a statement. "Regardless of how we wear our hair, we should be allowed to show up in the world without putting our health at risk."
What is formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is a "colorless, flammable gas that has a distinct, pungent smell," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Small amounts of formaldehyde are naturally produced by plants, animals, and humans," the CDC adds, which means everyone is exposed to small amounts of it in the air. But people may also come in contact with it in foods and other products like cosmetics where it is often used as a preservative.
Exposure can cause eye, nose and throat irritation as well as neurological effects.
How can chemical hair straighteners with formaldehyde affect your health?
Research has shown regular use of chemical hair straighteners or relaxers containing certain ingredients can lead to health problems.
Earlier this month, for example, researchers at Boston University found those who used these products frequently or over the long term were significantly more likely to develop uterine cancer compared to those who never or only rarely used them.
"In addition, there are major racial disparities in uterine cancer. Compared to non-Hispanic white women, Black women have higher rates of aggressive subtypes of uterine cancer and are nearly twice as likely to die from their disease," author Kimberly Bertrand, associate professor of medicine at Boston University, said in a news release at the time.
Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting women in the United States, Dr. Elizabeth Nichols, a radiation oncologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, told CBS News Baltimore earlier this year.
"When we actually look at the rates of uterine cancer in Black women compared to White women, Black patients are often diagnosed at a later stage of uterine cancer compared to White patients," she said. "And when we look at patients and compare them stage by stage, what we find is Black patients have decreased survival rates or lower cure rates compared to their White counterparts."
And though it's taken until this year for the FDA to propose a ban on products containing formaldehyde specifically, the cancer link with this substance has been long known.
In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services determined formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen based on sufficient human and animal inhalation studies.
When will the ban become official?
Before a ban is put into place, the FDA receives and reviews public comments on the proposed ruling.
"Based on the comments, we might decide to end the rulemaking process, to issue a new proposed rule, or to issue a final rule," the agency states.
For the plans around formaldehyde, the next update is scheduled for April, but this could change or be delayed, so exact timing is unknown.
How and when products will be updated to exclude any prohibited ingredients or taken off shelves if companies don't comply is also unknown, but timelines may become clearer in the FDA's official proposal.