Warnings About Hair Products

The maker of Brazilian Blowout products will warn consumers and hairstylists that two of its hair-straightening products release formaldehyde, as part of a settlement in legal action brought by California. The state alleged that GIB LLC falsely advertised two of its Brazilian Blowout products—its Açai Smoothing Solution and Professional Smoothing Solution—as being free of formaldehyde. Available in salons, Brazilian Blowout products are used in combination with heat to straighten curly or frizzy hair for a few months. GIB LLC, based in North Hollywood, Calif., agreed to change its advertisements and pay $600,000 in fees and penalties. The settlement announced last week also calls for the company to retest the two products for emissions of volatile organic compounds, which can form ground-level ozone or smog. The company calls the settlement “a fair and equitable resolution.” This is the first U.S. enforcement action against Brazilian Blowout products and marks the first time California has used its Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 against a company, according to the state’s attorney general.