After months of debate, testing by multiple agencies, and vehement denials and protests from hair straightening company Brazilian Blowout, the FDA has finally stepped into the arena. The FDA tested the product and found a whopping 8.7-10.4% formaldehyde content in the Brazilian Blowout formula. (Remember, if a product contains > 0.1% formaldehyde, companies must clearly disclose that on the packaging.) Calling the product “adulterated”–because of the high formaldehyde content–and “misbranded”–because of the formaldehyde-free claims–the FDA gave the company until September 12 to get its act together.

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Brazilian Blowout, the beleaguered hair straightening company, is under attack yet again, this time by the US Congress. Ten members of Congress sent a letter to the FDA asking the agency to issue a voluntary recall for Brazilian Blowout products and “other brands that have high levels of formaldehyde based on testing information already available.”

In the letter, the US Congressional members point out that formaldehyde-based straightening treatments have already been banned in six countries. The letter states:

It is clear that the FDA needs to take decisive action. An investigation by the Environmental Working Group revealed that FDA has received 47 complaints from salon workers and clients who experience adverse reactions and injuries (including hair loss, blisters, burning eyes, noses and throats headaches and vomiting) as the result of giving or receiving hair straightening treatments.

An FDA spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal, “We’re still evaluating the data on these straighteners.”

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Ask someone who has had a Brazilian Blowout or other keratin straightening treatment, and more often than not you will get a giddy, breathless account of how it has changed her life. Indeed, my friend Jodi, who was an early adopter of the Japanese and then keratin straighteners said, “I would give my left arm before giving it up.” Trust me, she means it.

But there’s a chance she may have to give it up. Perhaps the frizzy, unkempt hair Marc Jacobs showed on his S/S 2011 runway is a harbinger of bad hair days to come.

The hair straightening product Brazilian Blowout is at the center of the controversy, faced with accusations that it contains dangerously high levels of formaldehyde. Health Canada, a government-based health agency, tested the product after it received multiple complaints and found that it contained 12% formaldehyde. Health Canada issued a statement on October 7th recommending that all Canadian salons stop offering the treatment.

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