Sales of Brazilian Blowout original hair-smoothing formula will not be permitted in California after Dec. 29, under a Nov. 29 order enforcing consent judgment from the office of the state’s Attorney General Kamala Harris.

The National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance called the order enforcing the consent judgment “a victory for women’s health.”

Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the order also mandates that Brazilian Blowout parent company [GIB LLC] test its new reformulated Brazilian Blowout products to ensure they do not exceed standards for volatile organic compounds.

The move was expected after Harris filed an October motion claiming the firm was not honoring a January 2012 consent judgment, which required the smoothing products to meet state air quality regulations Also see "Brazilian Blowout Sales May Be Squashed In California By Year-End" - HBW Insight, 29 October, 2012..

Earlier testing of Brazilian Blowout products by two independent labs and the California Air Resource Board found VOCs in excess of 6%, the maximum permitted for pump-spray hair-styling products.

The CARB will conduct VOC testing on the reformulated Brazilian Blowout by Dec. 11.

If the products meet the state’s standards, they will be permitted to be sold on the market, but if the VOCs exceed the 6% limit, they cannot be sold until compliance has been reached.

Also as part of the order, GIB will be required to detail to the state the steps it has taken to ensure that its original formula is no longer being sold in or into California.

NGOs Praise Action

The National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance called the order enforcing the consent judgment “a victory for women’s health.”

“We applaud the attorney general for vigorously pursuing an action against this manufacturer who evidently believes it can ignore the law without repercussion,” alliance rep Catherine Porter says in a release. “A cosmetic product should never contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and respiratory irritant. It’s reassuring that the original formula of Brazilian Blowout, due to violating air quality laws, will no longer be around to harm consumers and hair salon workers in California.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics suggested that Brazilian Blowout would not have been allowed on the market at all if the Safe Cosmetics Act were enacted.

Introduced in June 2011 by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the Safe Cosmetics Act would prohibit use of a number of ingredients in cosmetic products, require all ingredients to be listed on product labeling and mandate adverse event reporting Also see "Lawmakers Introduce Revamped Safe Cosmetics Act" - HBW Insight, 27 June, 2011..

Stakeholders hope that the next Congress takes up legislation to overhaul federal cosmetics regulation Also see "Stakeholders Hopeful New Congress Addresses Cosmetics Legislation" - HBW Insight, 19 November, 2012..

State Acts In Absence Of Federal Regs

Brazilian Blowout Smoothing Solution has attracted California’s attention for the formaldehyde gas released into the air when the product is applied to hair and heated in salons. Stylists and consumers have complained of adverse effects resulting from product application, including eye, nose and throat irritation.

Formaldehyde is listed on the National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens as a “known human carcinogen,” and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has deemed formaldehyde and methylene glycol – which converts to formaldehyde when heated – as unsafe for use in heated hair-smoothing products.

Formaldehyde’s listing on the RoC and its assessment by the CIR Expert Panel carry no regulatory weight, which has led California to act to limit what it sees as a health and occupational risk to its citizens.

The state has made an example out of Brazilian Blowout, exercising its regulatory authority under its state Safe Cosmetics Act and Proposition 65 to limit sales and require reformulation.

In January, as part of the settlement with the state, GIB was ordered to pay $600,000, put “caution” labels on its products containing methylene glycol/formaldehyde, stop “deceptive advertising practices” and communicate to salon workers and consumers the hazards associated with formaldehyde exposure resulting from use of its heated hair-smoothing products Also see "California AG Slaps Brazilian Blowout With Fees, “CAUTION” Labels" - HBW Insight, 6 February, 2012..

At the time, GIB said it welcomed the settlement “because it allows us to finally put this issue behind us.”

GIB did not return a request for comment on the Nov. 29 order of consent judgment.

California Orders Original Brazilian Blowout Formulation Off Market

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