Really? Do we even need to go here? Well, with the recent buzz about town over the unlawful levels of formaldehyde seeping in to the beauty crazed-world of chemical hair-straightening solutions, we feel we’ve got to put our two cents in. You may have heard that Health Canada has issued a warning about a very popular hair treatment offered by countless salons. The distressing thing is that the company that developed the 'blow-out' allegedly failed or refused to disclose the ingredient list for the product used during the treatment itself, citing the need for secrecy as part of their patent application. That's very distressing and it underscores the need for a 3rd party entity to ensure full disclosure and truthfulness in all ingredient lists. The Europeans do this so much better than we do in North America, at the moment. Hopefully, incidents like this will spark an outcry and lead to the realization that we need to be able to trust the integrity of every ingredient list we look at. No more leaving stuff out...no more hiding behind 'trade secrets' or vague ingredients like 'parfum/fragrance'.
Here’s what the Health Canada website has to say: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2010/2010_167-eng.php)
“Health Canada is warning Canadians that Brazilian Blowout Solution manufactured by Brazilian Blowout of California has been found to contain unacceptable levels of formaldehyde. The Brazilian Blowout hair smoothing treatment is known to be available at salons across Canada. Health Canada has received complaints of burning eyes, nose, and throat, breathing difficulties, and one report of hair loss associated with use of the product. Testing conducted by Health Canada found that the Brazilian Blowout Solution contains 12% formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is permitted in cosmetics at less than 0.2% when used as a preservative. Formaldehyde is a known irritant, sensitizer, and is linked to cancer in humans when inhaled chronically over a long period of time. Health Canada believes that the reactions are being caused by formaldehyde becoming aerosolized during the blow drying and flat ironing stages of the treatment. Any procedure containing formaldehyde above the allowable limits places clients and stylists at increased risk.”
Not convinced? Here is what the U.S. National Cancer Institute has on their website about exposure to formaldehyde: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/formaldehyde
"In 1980, laboratory studies showed that exposure to formaldehyde could cause nasal cancer in rats. This finding raised the question of whether formaldehyde exposure could also cause cancer in humans. In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under conditions of unusually high or prolonged exposure. Since that time, some studies of humans have suggested that formaldehyde exposure is associated with certain types of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen.”
Conclusion? Reading labels and knowing what to look for is tremendously important for the safety and well-being of everyone but we need to require companies to be honest; we need an entity that ensures truthfulness. At Coco & Tini, everything that goes in the bottle is right there on the back to read. Let's make that a necessity so consumers are never unknowingly exposed to ingredients that can be harmful.
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