Clean Beauty Action Network Urges FDA to Take Action on Hair Relaxers

Daphne Nguyen, founder and president of the Clean Beauty Action Network (CBAN)—a grassroots youth-based nonprofit—has issued an open letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf urging the Agency to take action on “its promise to ban hair relaxers.”

The letter states:

“Dear Commissioner Califf,

I’m writing to ask you to immediately prioritize the FDA rule-making process on the use of formaldehyde in hair relaxers. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, and there is supposed to be a proposed rule in the works to ban this chemical from these products.

The title and abstract for the intended rule are listed on Reginfo.gov under Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) #0910-AI83, “Use of Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-Releasing Chemicals as an Ingredient in Hair Smoothing Products or Hair Straightening Products”. 

In October 2023, the New York Times reported that the text of the proposed rule would be forthcoming this spring. There was a lot of good press about this impending development, but for some reason, the proposed rule is languishing. In fact, the draft rule was supposed to be published in April with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “(NPRM for 04/00/24)”. This would have begun a process of public comment that would then lead to a timeline for further review leading to publication of a final rule. However, April has now come and gone, and apparently the rulemaking process is going nowhere. Legal experts in the FDA field say that it’s unlikely to even happen this calendar year.

The big picture here is that most consumers don’t know that the cosmetics and beauty products we use don’t have to be verified as safe. People are rightly shocked and appalled that our personal care products contain formaldehyde, asbestos and other toxic chemicals and carcinogens. It makes no sense that products we trust to apply to our bodies do not need to be tested and verified as safe. Instead, they go through protracted proceedings like this.

I’m writing to you as the founder and president of the Clean Beauty Action Network. CBAN is a grassroots, youth-led, nonprofit organization that empowers our generation to lead the charge in transforming the cosmetics industry into a safer, greener, and more ethical landscape through scientific research, public education, and advocacy. Our mission is to promote clean beauty –  safe for people, and safe for the planet.

Commissioner Califf, as a medical doctor, we expect that you are aware of the health risks of formaldehyde exposure, but you might be unaware of the delays in this rulemaking. Unfortunately, there’s no pause button on cancer, so please would you use your position now to unpause this bureaucratic delay. 

Your leadership can reshape the future of beauty products for generations to come.”

Professor Claudia Polsky, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UC Berkeley Law School, and a CBAN advisor, applauded CBAN for renewing the issue with the Agency.

“When, as a state Deputy Attorney General, I filed suit against the manufacturer of Brazilian Blowout in 2010 for the acute harm its products were causing to hair stylists and product users, the hazards of formaldehyde-releasing hair straighteners became national news and the subject of a congressional oversight hearing. I am dismayed that a dozen years later, the FDA has still not banned this toxic  chemistry. I commend CBAN for advancing the issue anew; we need new voices and a new generation of leadership to mobilize around the imperative of safe cosmetics,” said Polsky in a statement.