Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an alert Friday, warning hair salons about the presence of formaldehyde in many hair straightening products.
The agency tested more than 100 samples from about 50 salons. It initiated the tests after finding 10 percent formaldehyde in a bottle of Brazilian Blowout marked '"ormaldehyde free."
Oregon OSHA administrator, Michael Wood, says of a dozen products tested, nine had significant amounts of the carcinogen.
Michael Wood: "We're advising employers and salons generally that they should consider these to be formaldehyde containing products. That means they there are a number of obligations that employers then have to meet."
Like providing gloves, eye-wash stations and sturdy ventilation systems.
Days of calls and e-mails to Brazilian Blowout from OPB have been met with silence.
But on its web page, the company says its own tests show the levels of formaldehyde gas emitted when a hairdresser uses a flatiron to straighten the hair, are within permissible limits -- a fact Oregon OSHA tests confirm.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it's also investigating Brazillian Blowout.
