REGION: Hair stylist warns against hair-straightening product
07.05.11
A North County hair stylist is among those helping state
attorneys in a lawsuit against the maker of the immensely popular
Brazilian Blowout.
The suit from the California attorney general's office alleges
the hair-straightening formula, made by GIB LLC, contains high
levels of formaldehyde, despite the company's claims to the
contrary.
State and federal agencies also are looking into the product. In
April, the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration
issued a hazard alert warning that such hair-smoothing products
could contain formaldehyde, which state officials say is a known
carcinogen.
Jennifer Goeres-Arce, 36, knew nothing of carcinogens last fall
when she decided to try out the product her clients were asking
for. But after a test run of the product made her sick for weeks,
Goeres-Arce went looking for answers.
Her quest eventually led her to file complaints with state and
federal health and product safety officials last fall.
A few months later, she said, the government came looking for
her: The state attorney general's office asked her to be a witness
for them in a lawsuit targeting California-based GIB LLC, the
company behind Brazilian Blowout. Goeres-Arce agreed.
Source: North County Times