The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had scheduled the ban of formaldehyde, a cancer-linked chemical in hair straightening products, for July, but they have now postponed this decision until at least September. According to a notice on the Unified Agenda, a government website tracking federal regulations, this is the second delay for the ban on formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair straightening products.
The FDA announced the ban earlier this year but missed its own April deadline, later telling NPR that it was “still developing the proposed rule” without providing further details at that time.
Following this recent second delay, an FDA agency spokesperson cited by Medical Brief stated, “The rule-making process takes time.”
While dates on the Unified Agenda are only estimates, these delays have frustrated advocates who have been urging the FDA to take action.
“We look forward to reading a new rule that will protect salon workers and consumers from exposure to formaldehyde in hair-straightening products,” the vice president of the Environmental Working Group, Melanie Benesh, told NBC News. She also added that the FDA has “long been aware of the health hazards posed by formaldehyde.”
The advocacy group petitioned the FDA in 2011 and again in 2021 to ban hair products with formaldehyde.
Why is Formaldehyde in Chemical Hair Straighteners?
Chemical hair straightening products have been widely used and heavily marketed toward Black women for decades. Despite formaldehyde being classified as a human carcinogen over a decade ago, the FDA has yet to ban its use in hair care products.
“Most hair smoothing or straightening products release formaldehyde gas into the air during the hair straightening or smoothing process,” according to the FDA’s page on hair dye and hair relaxers.
“Formaldehyde gas is a known human carcinogen as classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and formaldehyde exposure can cause both short- and long-term health effects.”
Manufacturers include formaldehyde in hair straightening products for its ability to break and reform hair bonds, resulting in long-lasting straightening and smoothing effects. This is despite the significant health risks, including skin irritation, respiratory issues and cancer.
In 2022, a National Institutes of Health study of over 33,000 women found that frequent use of chemical hair straightening products more than doubled a woman’s cancer risk. Of the participants, 60% (around 20,000) were self-identified black women. Thousands of women allege that the hair products’ ingredients caused them to develop cancer or other health problems and have sued the manufacturers of the products.
As of July, there were nearly 8,200 hair straightener lawsuits pending in multi-district litigation in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. Defendants named in the hair straightener lawsuits include L’Oreal, Soft Sheen Carson, Strength of Nature and others.
Some companies have responded to the uproar by changing their chemical formulas. The FDA requires direct-to-consumer products that contain formaldehyde-related ingredients, like formalin, methylene glycol or formaldehyde, to list them on the label.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.