Hair Smoothing Research Paper

A top priority for most women is beauty, but is it more important than health? It has been shown that in America, about one-third of women get their hair done unnaturally. Hair treatments that affect one’s health in the most negative way are Brazilian Blowouts, Brasil cacau cadiveu, keratin complex smoothing therapy, express blowout, and Marcia teixeira which are all types of hair smoothing treatments with the Brazilian Blowout as the most common. In Oregon, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tested over 100 samples of keratin-based hair smoothing products and they found that many of the cosmetics tested went well over the formaldehyde limit. Most keratin-based hair smoothing products include the formaldehyde, but dissolved

In Portland, Oregon last year, a hair stylist had an unfortunate experience after getting a Brazilian Blowout even though the product had stated that it was “formaldehyde-free”. A Brazilian Blowout causes frizzy hair to be straight for up to three months and uses a combination of formaldehyde and keratin. But little do these customers know that even though some bottles say “formaldehyde-free”, they still end up breathing in the formaldehyde fumes because it contains a watered down version of formaldehyde called methylene glycol. Once methylene glycol is dried under a blow dryer, it recovers back to formaldehyde which then puts out their fumes. Along with many of the side effects of formaldehyde, it may also lead into nose and throat cancer along with leukemia (Blomberg). Professional hair care products are bad for people’s health because of their high toxicity level therefore they should have a better warning

A wide range of chemicals are being exposed to hairdressers and barbers on a daily basis such as volatile organic chemicals, compounds that can easily become vapors or gases, through hair sprays or setting oils (Epidemiol). Despite having those regulations they still find a way to make it dangerous which could eventually cause a person to get myeloid leukemia. Myeloid leukemia is the cancer of a line of blood cells, which causes white blood cells to grow fast and it interferes with the production of normal blood cells. Treatment for myeloid leukemia is chemotherapy which uses drugs to destroy cancer cells and helps attack the dividing cells in hair, lining of the mouth, and intestines which causes the loss of hair, mouth sores, or nausea and vomiting. Symptoms of the chemotherapy can consist of increased bruising, bleeding, and fatigue, along with affecting a person’s fertility, anemia and infections.