Warning: Read This Before Your Next Salon Trip

Cosmopolitan.com

By now, you may have read about the dangers of the Brazilian Blowout in our April issue. For those of you who haven't, here's the lowdown.

By Jessica Knoll

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The Brazilian Blowout products claimed to give you straight shiny hair for three months while at the same time being free of formaldehyde, a chemical that while common in certain beauty products (albeit in extremely low concentrations), is a recognized human carcinogen at certain levels.

It's been linked to leukemia, nose and throat cancers, and even Lou Gehrig's disease. However, when these so called "formaldehyde-free" products were tested by a government agency, it was discovered that they did contain formaldehyde, and that the levels were outrageously high.

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Now, we've just gotten wind of one more reason to shun these shady bottles. This past week, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel, which is responsible for reviewing and assessing the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics, issued an alert that they cannot conclude that formaldehyde is safe in cosmetic products intended to be aerosolized or in which gas will be produced.

That's scientist-speak for this: Because the Brazilian Blowout products need to be heated up by a blow-dryer and a flat iron in order to work, they end up releasing formaldehyde fumes into the air. Meaning you could inhale the cancer-causing fumes even if you're just sitting in the same room as a woman receiving the toxic treatment.

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For more information on these scary products (which the FDA has yet to ban!) and how to protect yourself, check out page 176 of the April issue, on stands now.

Have you noticed that more salons are offering Brazilian Blowouts? Have you ever gotten one or considered doing it?

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