0:00

If the product that you're purchasing does

0:02

not have a clear label , do not buy

0:04

it or use it . End

0:06

of story . You need to know

0:08

what you are putting on your body . Welcome

0:11

to All About Hair , the go-to

0:14

podcast for stylists , salon

0:16

owners and anyone passionate about

0:18

hairstyling . Whether you're a seasoned

0:20

stylist refining your skills or

0:22

a curious listener looking to enhance your

0:24

hair knowledge , we've got you covered . I'm

0:26

your host , denise Kylitz , a former

0:29

stylist and salon owner with four

0:31

award-winning salons under my belt

0:33

, with over 30 years of experience

0:35

, I've dedicated myself to helping stylists

0:37

excel in foundational haircutting , color

0:40

theory , client communication and more

0:42

, enabling them to build six-figure

0:44

careers they can be proud of . My

0:47

mission is to uplift our industry

0:49

by sharing valuable insights gathered

0:51

along my journey . Get ready for enlightening

0:54

discussions , captivating interviews

0:56

and practical advice on marketing

0:58

, sales and technical skills

1:00

. This is the podcast

1:02

all about hair skills

1:09

. This is the podcast all about hair . Today , we're going to talk about the proposed

1:11

formaldehyde ban . It is spring , the

1:13

humidity is upon us and

1:15

everybody probably

1:17

is thinking about Brazilian blowouts

1:19

, their smoothing treatments . But did

1:22

you know that the

1:24

Food and Drug Administration , the FDA

1:26

in the spring of 2023

1:29

, they actually proposed a ban

1:31

on hair smoothing and hair straightening

1:33

products that contain formaldehyde or

1:36

formaldehyde releasing chemicals

1:38

, and this ban is set to

1:40

be put into effect at the end of this month

1:42

, april 2024 . We're nearing

1:44

the end of April 2024

1:47

, and we haven't seen anything yet

1:49

. But let's just prepare

1:51

ourselves . In case there is a

1:53

ban on formaldehyde , that means a

1:56

lot of our smoothing services

1:58

. We might have to think differently

2:00

. And if you receive smoothing

2:02

services cause I know I love

2:04

a good Brazilian blowout love it

2:07

, um . But if you

2:09

receive one , you might have to have

2:11

a fallback position . So let's

2:13

talk about this First and foremost

2:15

. This ban only affects

2:17

smoothing products and treatments . They

2:20

don't affect relaxers . So

2:22

a lot of the news media they

2:24

say straightening

2:27

and smoothing products and relaxers

2:29

are the same thing . You and I know that

2:31

they're not , so that's a little misleading

2:33

. So relaxers are

2:35

not in question . So hair smoothers

2:37

typically require a file-based

2:40

reaction in combination

2:43

with formaldehyde . Hair

2:45

relaxers , on the other hand , traditionally

2:48

straighten the hair using a hydroxide-based

2:50

technology . You know when you see

2:52

on the news that they say hair

2:54

relaxers instead of hair straighteners , just

2:57

keep that in mind . Relaxers are defined

2:59

and they work without

3:01

formaldehyde and to my knowledge

3:03

, that ingredient was not

3:05

and is not

3:07

commonly used

3:10

with relaxer formulations

3:12

. Therefore , only

3:14

the smoothing , straightening products and services

3:16

are under scrutiny . Keep that

3:19

in mind . So there's

3:21

two main considerations

3:23

with this FDA proposed ban . The first

3:25

one is short-term health

3:27

consequences and the second

3:29

is long-term health consequences

3:32

. So when you use heat

3:34

styling tools , after

3:37

you apply this chemical straightening solution

3:39

and if you have it on

3:41

too high of a heat , you can release formaldehyde

3:44

gas into the air . That's the

3:46

main concern here , and I

3:48

know a lot of my stylists in

3:50

the past . If they're not following the

3:52

directions to a T and

3:55

they're just trying to quickly get through the service

3:57

, yeah , their flat iron can be up

3:59

too high and they're releasing this gas

4:01

into the air . Or you see

4:03

this smoke in the air and it does , and it does

4:05

it . You can feel it . The

4:08

smell sometimes

4:10

burns your throat or your chest

4:12

. Yeah , in short term , these

4:15

chemicals can cause skin

4:17

sensitivity and , like I

4:19

said , they can irritate your lungs

4:21

. Your eyes might burn

4:24

. Your nose might burn

4:26

when these gases are released

4:28

into the air . As hair professionals

4:30

, this is something to take note of . Yeah

4:33

, you have these short-term effects that you

4:36

can notice . There's

4:38

times that I've done a Brazilian

4:40

blowout and I haven't noticed this , and it's probably

4:42

because I'm not putting too

4:44

much product on the hair and

4:47

I'm not using tons of heat . So

4:49

there are proper ways of doing it . It's just

4:51

that there is a fine line

4:53

between the proper way of doing it and

4:55

how we do it in the salon . Yeah

4:58

, the long-term

5:00

effects are much more

5:02

costly . The more you do

5:05

smoothing services , the

5:07

products that contain these formaldehyde-related

5:09

ingredients and the gas that's released

5:12

in the air , you

5:14

have a higher risk of hurting

5:17

your long-term health . Some

5:19

of these possible reactions include

5:21

eye problems or irritation . Nervous

5:24

system problems that means

5:26

like headaches and dizziness . Respiratory

5:30

tract problems like sore , scratchy

5:32

throat , coughing , wheezing

5:34

, nausea , chest pain , vomiting

5:37

and rash . I keep saying Brazilian Blowout

5:39

. There's other companies that actually

5:42

have the same ingredients . I'm

5:44

just saying Brazilian Blowout because people tend

5:46

to know that brand . That's what we used

5:48

. We did use a couple of other brands in

5:52

the salon but , to tell you the truth

5:54

, they just didn't perform the same

5:56

, and they either had

5:58

a strange smell to them or they just

6:00

didn't perform the same . So we

6:02

ended up going back with Brazilian Blowout

6:05

. But hey , I don't know . I

6:07

don't know if this , this

6:10

podcast and our conversation today

6:12

, might be changing your mind on even

6:14

offering this service , which is sad

6:16

because it's a wonderful thing

6:18

to be able to defreeze your

6:20

hair , but the FDA

6:22

says that exposure to

6:24

these chemicals for

6:26

the duration and over time

6:28

that it actually could lead to cancer

6:31

. We should all be concerned

6:33

with right , whether you're the client

6:35

or the stylist . But , stylist , if

6:37

you're doing one , two

6:39

, three every week of

6:41

these services , that is something to

6:44

be concerned with . Yes , now

6:46

the companies used to always tell us

6:48

that the amount of formaldehyde that is released

6:51

in these gases is the

6:53

same amount of formaldehyde that

6:55

is released in a brand new car . When

6:58

you get in a brand new car , that car smell

7:00

, that you're smelling , they would tell us that

7:02

that what you're smelling is

7:04

a form of formaldehyde . I

7:07

don't know if that is true or not . I

7:09

am not a chemist , I'm not a scientist . I'm just

7:11

telling you what they used to tell us . And

7:13

so when we would educate

7:15

our stylists , that's what we would say

7:17

you know , as long as you're

7:20

doing the service correctly , there should

7:22

not be a problem . And we had Brazilian Blowout

7:24

. The company come into our salon

7:26

many , many , many times

7:28

to give us education

7:31

, to give us the best education , and I know that

7:33

they were updating formulas all the time

7:35

, and I do know that Brazilian

7:37

Blowout was one of the first companies

7:39

to come up with a smoothing solution

7:42

that worked , so I do believe that

7:44

they were the ones that really came

7:46

into the news of this formaldehyde

7:49

thing . So research

7:51

the product that you're using . Just

7:53

research it and make sure that it's credible

7:56

that it's not releasing formaldehyde

7:58

. And that leads me to the conversation

8:00

that this has been a problem

8:02

for a long time . Right , In

8:05

fact , we've seen this coming

8:07

. We have , we've seen it coming

8:09

. So in 2011

8:12

, the environmental working

8:14

group , the EWG they

8:17

actually filed a formal request

8:19

to the FDA to investigate formaldehyde-releasing

8:22

hair smoothing products . So this started the

8:24

whole thing . But the

8:26

FDA knew of their dangers

8:28

since 2008 , and

8:31

they actually had many

8:33

, many complaints from stylists of

8:36

these adverse reactions that they were having

8:38

and , in fact , the PBA

8:40

, the Professional Beauty Association they

8:42

published a article

8:44

to the industry on

8:47

formaldehyde and straightening products in 2008

8:49

. And this is probably where we

8:51

all got that information of

8:54

how dangerous this can be to

8:56

ourselves as hairstylists

8:58

and maybe even to our guests . I don't know

9:01

, because guests aren't . They're only getting it

9:03

. What every 12 weeks , if they're getting it

9:05

. So in 2011

9:07

, the FDA actually joined OSHA

9:09

, the ICMAD and the

9:11

PCPC to conduct

9:13

a cosmetic ingredient review of

9:16

the ingredient in smoothing products

9:18

, and this review found

9:20

that the ingredient and its related ingredients

9:22

are safe up to a 0.2%

9:26

in formulations , and they did

9:28

not make determinations as to

9:30

how the

9:32

chemical is released in the air with

9:34

heat . Nothing at that time was banned

9:36

, and that was in 2011

9:38

. And I remember that there

9:40

was a big hoop law , if

9:44

you will , back then , because

9:46

2011 is when brought in Brazilian

9:48

blowout and there was conversation about that , but

9:50

nothing was banned at that time . In 2016

9:54

, the EWG , which is the Environmental

9:56

Working Group , and the Women's

9:58

Voices for the Earth sued

10:00

the FDA , claiming that the

10:02

agency did not protect the public from

10:04

these products , so that's why they opened

10:06

the book again . So

10:08

in March of 2021 , the

10:11

FDA warned consumers that

10:13

hair smoothing products containing formaldehyde

10:15

or ingredients that released formaldehyde

10:18

upon heating could be harmful to

10:20

consumers and professionals . This

10:23

, of course , has led us

10:25

to where we are now . Now I

10:27

you know , I hate that . I hate that

10:29

there there's dangerous chemicals

10:32

in the products

10:34

that we're using . I hate that , but

10:36

sometimes we don't even know

10:38

that it's formaldehyde in

10:40

there . That's why I'm saying really

10:42

investigate the product that you are using

10:44

. The first thing you can do as

10:46

a professional or as a

10:49

consumer , if you're getting these services done

10:51

is to check your labels on everything

10:53

. The label might say

10:55

formaldehyde , but it

10:58

also may say formaline

11:00

, which is formaldehyde

11:02

with water , or

11:04

it could say methylene

11:07

glycol . If

11:09

the product that you're purchasing does not

11:11

have a clear label , do not buy it or

11:14

use it . End of story

11:16

. You need to know what

11:18

you are putting on your body , and

11:21

don't be afraid to ask the manufacturer

11:24

any question about

11:26

whether they formulate with formaldehyde in

11:28

their straightening products or if those products

11:31

release formaldehyde with heat . The

11:33

manufacturer should be willing to provide

11:36

documentation , such as safety

11:38

data sheets , upon request

11:40

. In fact , in some states

11:42

you're actually required to have

11:44

those safety data sheets on file

11:46

. I think you can have them electronically

11:48

on file now , but you

11:51

need to have them on file . In case anything

11:54

happens to a guest , you can pull them

11:56

out and know what to do . Most

11:59

agencies are trusting companies

12:01

to do the right thing , but there is no

12:03

requirement to prove this compliancy

12:06

. There's no way of really knowing

12:08

if products are made with formaldehyde or

12:10

not . So make sure that you're dealing with companies

12:13

that have a history of compliance

12:15

, and it's best to use a trusted brand

12:18

which doesn't have a history of

12:20

going against the rules right

12:22

, and to ask manufacturers to provide

12:24

data to prove that done their due diligence

12:26

and having all safety testing

12:29

on all finished products . Regardless

12:32

of what brand , what product

12:34

you're using , and just because

12:36

you have a favorite product , I

12:39

do , and I'm sure you do too Remember

12:41

there's options . Smooth , straight hair

12:43

does not have to come with danger right

12:46

Clients can opt for hydroxide

12:48

based relaxers . So if you have really

12:51

super curly hair , maybe get a relaxer

12:53

and not a smoother . You can also

12:55

find some hair smoothing treatments

12:57

that don't contain formaldehyde

13:00

at all , but the results aren't

13:02

going to be the same . I can guarantee you that

13:04

it might smooth a smidge , but it's

13:06

not going to be the same . Just make sure to double check

13:08

the ingredient listing of all formaldehyde

13:11

free straighteners to ensure they

13:13

indeed do not contain those three

13:15

ingredients that I was talking about . Okay

13:17

, let me see what they were again . I have them listed

13:20

here Formaldehyde

13:22

, formaline or methylene

13:25

glycol . I hate pronouncing

13:28

scientific words

13:30

because I'm terrible at pronouncing them . All

13:33

right , remember , when

13:35

you are using a straightening treatment

13:38

, no matter what , you should

13:40

be using the proper protection

13:43

, meaning , maybe , face mask

13:45

, maybe that means safety

13:47

goggles . Make sure that you

13:49

don't get anything in your eyes . Make

13:51

sure your salon is properly ventilated

13:54

. Heck , some salons are actually only

13:56

doing their smoothing treatments , perms

13:59

, color even in

14:01

dedicated rooms that have their

14:03

own ventilation system . I

14:05

actually used to work in a salon like that . It was pretty

14:08

cool . It actually made the hair colors

14:10

feel very exclusive

14:13

, if you will . So it's

14:15

basically just a room . They had a glass

14:17

wall in it and the ventilation

14:19

system you know . It just didn't

14:21

go into the full salon , so you never

14:23

, ever , smelled any kind of chemicals . I

14:26

mean , without it being said , your salon

14:28

should be ventilated anyway . You should have

14:30

fresh air going through that . And

14:32

make sure , too , that if you

14:35

or your guest has

14:37

any kind of adverse reaction

14:40

to any kind of chemical straightening , make sure

14:42

you report it to the FDA . They

14:44

need to know this , because what happens is people

14:46

just don't report things

14:49

, and so how are they supposed to collect their data ? They're

14:51

just going by the manufacturer's testing

14:54

. Anyway , let's keep an eye

14:56

on the end of this month

14:58

, april 2024 . Let's

15:01

see if there's actually going to be a ban

15:03

on formaldehyde or not . If

15:05

there is a ban on formaldehyde , that's going to

15:08

change things . That's going to change some services

15:10

in your salon . That might change how you approach

15:13

hair . Thank goodness , natural curly

15:15

hair is really in fashion now

15:17

. Right ? Perms are making a huge

15:19

comeback . Maybe you go a different direction

15:21

. Perms are making a

15:23

huge comeback . Maybe you go a different direction . There are tons

15:26

of products on the market that help with frizz , that help protect

15:28

your hair against the humidity in the

15:30

air . Of course , they're not as good

15:32

as some of these smoothing

15:34

products , but there are options . Just

15:37

educate yourself on what those options

15:39

are . Maybe opt

15:41

out of services

15:44

that you don't feel safe doing

15:46

nor receiving . As

15:49

hairstylists , we have to know chemistry . We have to

15:51

know all the things . Oh well , that

15:53

makes our job so much more fun , don't

15:55

you think ? Hope this has helped you

15:57

. Hope this has educated you . If you need

15:59

more information , I'll definitely put

16:02

a link in the show notes about

16:04

where you can find more information on this and

16:07

I will put

16:09

, of course , the spell

16:11

out , the names of the

16:14

ingredients that you want to be looking for

16:16

in your systems . And remember

16:19

I'm here . I'm here to help . I'm

16:21

in the background when I'm not doing

16:23

my podcast and YouTube . I'm still working on

16:25

my classes . Maybe I should just

16:27

get one or two out . I just want them to

16:29

be perfect . There's so much information

16:32

and you know , as stylists and salon

16:34

owners , it is not just

16:36

one thing you have to be good at

16:38

. You have to be good at so

16:40

many things and everything

16:43

from branding your salon

16:45

to opening your salon , to your culture

16:47

, to your products that you have to

16:50

. Do you have a front desk or do you not have a front

16:52

desk ? Do you carry one brand of a

16:54

retailer ? Do you carry eight ? How

16:56

do you outfit your salon ? Do you do commission

16:59

team-based booth rental

17:01

, independent ? Do you have

17:03

a break room ? Do you do your

17:05

own shampooing of your towels , or a

17:07

service or biodegradable towels

17:10

? How the heck do you keep track of

17:12

all the goals ? And how do you coach

17:14

to your team ? And how do

17:16

you have huddles and how do you have one-on-ones

17:19

and what should you charge for

17:21

your service and how do you

17:23

make up for the cost of all your color

17:25

and your ? It's a lot

17:27

. It is so much and

17:29

you have to know all these things . Isn't that

17:32

crazy ? As a salon

17:34

owner , people just don't give us

17:36

enough credit . I tell you , it

17:38

takes a special , special person

17:40

to own a salon successfully

17:43

. So that's why I feel like

17:45

what I'm doing behind the scenes is so

17:47

important . I

17:50

want to get it right for you and if you'd want some one-on-one coaching

17:52

, or if you just need to hop on a phone call

17:54

with me , if you have something that's

17:57

going on that you just need to , you know , hey

17:59

, I just need to walk through , or you just need an ear

18:01

to listen to and say is anybody

18:03

else going through this ? Because I

18:06

feel so alone right now , because

18:08

salon ownership can be like that . Reach

18:10

out , I'm here . I would love to help you . I

18:13

just love our industry . I want

18:15

to make a difference . I want to help in

18:18

any way that I can . I just am

18:21

so , so thankful

18:23

that I've spent so much time

18:25

in our industry and it is provided

18:27

for our family , it's provided for

18:30

my mental health

18:32

. Believe it or not , I've made so many beautiful

18:35

friends through the industry . I

18:37

just want to pass that along . Until next

18:39

time , remember , when you

18:41

know better , you do better , and

18:44

go out and make it a great week like

19:04

us to cover . Feel free to reach out . You can find us on Instagram or our website at denisekeilitzcom

19:07

. Until next time , remember when

19:09

you know better , you do better .