Salon Brands Roll Out Brazilian Blowout Alternatives

Salon hair care marketers are going straight to the consumer with Brazilian Blowout alternatives. Bumble and Bumble, the Estée Lauder-owned brand, and L’Oréal Professionnel are launching their own versions of hair-smoothing treatments that are formaldehyde free. The products are aimed at capturing a market that was severely shaken after the hugely popular Brazilian Blowout brand was targeted by government investigations in the fall over health concerns related to its products, which certain labs found can produce traces of formaldehyde. Brazilian Blowout’s probe pushed the market’s other entries into investigations, too.

In October, Bumble and Bumble will launch Concen-straight Pro Treatment to 1,200 of Bumble’s network salons. The launch marks Bumble’s first-ever in-salon treatment, one that is designed to last up to 30 shampoos and can be customized to allow customers to adjust the straightness level of their hair. Since Bumble now sells to retailers as part of its distribution model, at-home straightening kits will also be a component of the rollout, as will a hair care line, Bumble and Bumble Straight, consisting of a shampoo, conditioner and leave-in styler.


A number of smaller, independently owned competitors, such as Brazilian Gloss Keratin Smoothing Gloss and Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, had previously developed hair-straightening formulas containing methylene glycol, which when heated at a certain temperature is said to produce traces of formaldehyde, like Brazilian Blowout, a brand that became so popular it is commonly used as a term for the service itself.

The Cosmetic Industry Review, an independent panel group, is studying hair-straightening formulas, and a ruling is expected Sept. 26 or 27 on the question of whether the products are safe. The CIR’s decision was originally scheduled for June. But the submission of a 200-page document attesting to product safety by a Professional Keratin Smoothing Council, a group made up of manufacturers of smoothing treatments, caused CIR to postpone a ruling on the matter for 90 days.