California Gives Brazilian Blowout More Bad Press -- But Will It Change Anything?

Smooth locks for six months and the look of a Brazilian goddess?

Hell yes. Sign me up.

Millions of us jumped on the Brazilian Blowout bandwagon and opted for the hair treatment that promised us pure sexiness -- until last year, when we told you how the treatment was deemed unsafe due to craploads of formaldehyde.

Hair History

Back in September of 2011, the FDA got involved and sent GIB LLC, Brazilian Blowout maker, a strongly-worded letter after discovering that the company’s products were mislabeled and the formaldehyde content was not even listed. Talk about risking our lives to look hot.

The state of California went to battle with the company, attempting to sue their pants off for deceptive advertising and -- oh yeah -- putting people's lives in danger.

Order in the Court

A few weeks ago, a settlement was reached that should make any healthy bitch do a little dance. The company had to nix the deceptive advertising that describes two of its most popular products as formaldehyde-free and safe. They also had to fork out over $600,000 in penalties.

Still, health advocates, annoyed consumeristas and healthy bitches everywhere aren't sure it’s enough. Many are heavily urging the FDA to do way more to stop this kind of craziness from happening again, and the whole situation makes us wonder how many other brands out there are using shady marketing tactics and putting lethal doses of chemicals in their products.

Angry Advocates

As Alexandra Scranton of the National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance stated, “Every day, salon workers across the US are being exposed to dangerous levels of formaldehyde from hair-smoothing products that have been banned for over a year in Canada and other countries. It’s time for the FDA to take a stand against this company that has a history of deception and consumer disregard.”

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Alliance are also asking the FDA to step up, seize all the Brazilian Blowout products causing the drama and officially ban the use of formaldehyde.

Sounds like a swell plan, but just how tricky that may be to carry out is another story.

Brand Management

The beauty industry is, after all, a billion dollar beast that we all feed in one way or another. Our choices are crucial, gals. By supporting brands that are transparent, honest and care as much as we do about what we are using on our bods, we can guarantee change. It's one thing to know we're being a bit daring with our health -- like willingly sucking down a bottle of red after a bad breakup -- but it's quite another to be duped into it during a day at the spa.

Bitchworthy: Speaking of the spa, our friends at LovingEco are giving away a FREE natural beauty bag to one (1) lucky HBD reader. Here's what's included: mineral eye shadow, ginger eye cream, body butter, argon oil, aromatherapy roll-ons, mineral bronzer, anti-aging oil and hand sanitizer.

To win, just tell us what product in the beauty bag you'd be most excited about. Leave your responses in the comments below! (And for more info on switching to chemical-free beauty products, make sure to pick up a copy of Kim's latest book!)

**UPDATE: We've chosen our winner! Congrats to Kat!

Beth Doane, Contributing Writer
Beth is a fashion designer, author and environmentalist who went from launching high-end European fashion lines to creating her own philanthropic fashion collection, Rain Tees. Her line of tees funds school supplies for children in Central and South America and plants a tree in a tropical rainforest for every item sold. Beth’s consulting agency, Andira International, helps brands build sustainable ideas into products, events and campaigns. Visit raintees.com for more information.




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