While most of us realize that what we feed our bodies is directly affecting our health, we often tend to ignore the fact that what we put our skin through can have just as profound effect on our health. The debate about the safety of chemicals used in manufacturing beauty and skin care products has taken the industry by storm lately. People are getting increasingly more conscious about what they’re exposing their skin to. In a world where endless new products with hard-to-pronounce ingredients are introduced in the market every other day, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with what’s safe and useful. The key to ensuring the safety of the products is knowing what’s underneath the lid. There are plenty ingredients out there that are proven to be toxic to our health. Formaldehyde is one of these controversial compounds used in many skin and hair care products. In this post, we’ll discuss formaldehyde and its risks and the reasons why you should be careful when choosing a product containing this infamous chemical.
What is Formaldehyde?Formaldehyde, also known as formalin, morbicid acid, methylene oxide, methylaldehyde, and methylene glycol, is a colorless, strong-smelling, and flammable gas. Formaldehyde is identified as a human carcinogen by The International Agency of Research on Cancer. The main ways people are exposed to it in the environment are by inhaling in gas form and by absorbing in liquid form through the skin. It can be used directly in personal care products or released from preservatives such as DMDM hydantoin, quaternium-15, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, polyoxymethylene urea, bronopol, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, and glyoxal. It is needless to say that formaldehyde poses risks to our health.
Products Containing FormaldehydeFormaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRPs) are widely used in most personal care, household, and industrial products available on the market. These chemicals are used as preservatives in water-based products to keep them from spoiling and to prevent microbial growth. These products will hardly last a few weeks or months without a preservative.
Some of the skin and hair care products that contain formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are: hair straightening treatments, keratin treatments, nail polish and nail polish remover, shampoos and conditioners, cream cleansers, eyelash glue, hair gel, shower gels, deodorants.>
Formaldehyde in Keratin TreatmentsTo make the outcome of the treatment last as long as possible, most of the salons use smoothing and keratin treatments that contain a heavy amount of formaldehyde. The misconception consumers often have is that keratin treatments are a natural option for smoothening the hair compared to many other permanent straightening treatments on the market. For many the harsh reality is revealed when they sit into the hairdresser’s chair and their eyes start burning, tearing and breathing becomes difficult as a result of the strong formaldehyde released into the air.
For us at ANSWR health comes first. First and foremost we want to educate and bring awareness to the fact that traditional smoothing and keratin treatments are extremely toxic and formaldehyde-rich, which has severe consequences for human health. Our mission is to fight against harsh and unhealthy chemicals often included in salon products by providing healthy alternatives which will deliver the same results without compromising your health and that you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Acknowledging all the side-effects of formaldehyde included in most of the smoothing treatments on the market we were extremely motivate to create a non-toxic and formaldehyde free alternative to replace the health-risky and irritating smoothing treatments. As a result we have developed ANSWR's at-home keratin treatment kit, which is the most effective formaldehyde-free hair smoothing system for fizzy, dry and damaged hair. Lacking any toxic chemicals the treatment has been developed with plenty of natural ingredients found in the Brazilian rainforest. These ingredients offers rich nutrition to the hair and deeply moisturizes and repair the hair cuticles. As a result the treatment softens the hair, restores life to lifeless hair, and increases shine for lackluster, dry hair by locking in moisture. After you complete the treatment you will have an insanely smooth and shiny hair for up to three months. To get your own ANSWR Kit, click the product picture on the right.