Response to Recent Reports Concerning Formaldehyde in Various Brands of Keratin Based Hair Straightening Products

MARCIA TEIXEIRA®
BRAZILIAN KERATIN TREATMENT™

There have been several recent news reports concerning keratin based hair straightening products and their safety relative to consumers and stylists. As our clients are aware, we have always had a policy of full disclosure with regard to our ingredients. We disclose all ingredients on our packages, and provide an OSHA compliant Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) with every bottle purchased. Additionally, our required education/certification program focuses on the safe and proper use of our treatment products.Formaldehyde is a naturally occuring substance detected in everything from fruits and vegetables to cosmetics and building materials. Because formaldehyde is a dry gas at room temperature, it is chemically impossible for it to be an ingredient of a liquid cosmetic product, however, it is an unavoidable by-product of numerous ingredients.

Methylene glycol, which does not appear on the FDA’s official list of prohibited cosmetic ingredients, is the ingredient in our treatments that will produce a trace level of formaldehyde vapor when high heat is applied. For that reason, we can state that formaldehyde is not an ingredient in our treatments, but, we cannot, and have never claimed that they are formaldehyde free.

Providing safe products to our professional clients, as well as consumers is of the utmost importance to M & M International. We have ample laboratory data and Safety Assessments from highly credible laboratories, and industry experts such as Doug Schoon of Schoon Scientific of Dana Point, CA, and Dr. Edward Jackson of Jackson Research Associates of Sumner, WA, to support that the level of formaldehyde detected in our treatments, as well as in the airborne vapors produced by them, are well below OSHA’s guidelines for safety.

As always, we remain available to respond to all inquires and concerns. Please feel free to contact us at your convenience.