12.17.10
The company that does business as Brazilian Blowout,GIB, LLC, has filed a lawsuitagainst Oregon OSHA demanding that the agency stop reporting false and misleading test results about its hair smoothing product.
Brazilian Blowout contends Oregon OSHA has done irreparable harm to the company and the professional beauty industry, including tens of thousands of hair salons and stylists, by distributing inaccurate product testing results and using improper testing protocol.
According to the complaint, Oregon OSHA wrongfully issued alerts after claiming to have measured high levels of "formaldehyde" in product testing of Brazilian Blowout solution, when in fact they were measuring and reporting concentrations of a completely different substance called "methylene glycol." That, according to the company, led to widespread media coverage and created unwarranted fears about the hair straightening product among hair stylists and customers across the country.
“Leading chemists agree that methylene glycol and formaldehyde are very different, both chemically and physically. Methylene glycol is a liquid; formaldehyde is a gas that can be inhaled,” said Mike Brady, CEO of Brazilian Blowout. “Yet Oregon OSHA has inaccurately declared that these are 'synonyms' even though these two substances have very different chemical compositions and belong to different chemical families.”
The complaint also claims that OR-OSHA misrepresented results of air sample tests on Brazilian Blowout, when in fact its testing showed air quality during use of the product was safely below OSHA limits.
Brazilian Blowout is demanding an injunction that stops Oregon OSHA from disseminating any further information related to the formaldehyde content of Brazilian Blowout or from claiming that the use Brazilian Blowout exceeds air quality standards. The company also wants the court to order OR-OSHA to remove from their websites damaging press releases, the “Hair Smoothing Report” and all other references to GIB or Brazilian Blowout.
Brazilian Blowout also wants the court to order OR-OSHA to disseminate an explanation admitting to the inaccurate results and improper protocol used in the report.
The complaint states that Oregon OSHA manipulated testing that wrongly asserts that Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution is unsafe.
Brazilian Blowout contends Oregon OSHA has done irreparable harm to the company and the professional beauty industry, including tens of thousands of hair salons and stylists, by distributing inaccurate product testing results and using improper testing protocol.
According to the complaint, Oregon OSHA wrongfully issued alerts after claiming to have measured high levels of "formaldehyde" in product testing of Brazilian Blowout solution, when in fact they were measuring and reporting concentrations of a completely different substance called "methylene glycol." That, according to the company, led to widespread media coverage and created unwarranted fears about the hair straightening product among hair stylists and customers across the country.
“Leading chemists agree that methylene glycol and formaldehyde are very different, both chemically and physically. Methylene glycol is a liquid; formaldehyde is a gas that can be inhaled,” said Mike Brady, CEO of Brazilian Blowout. “Yet Oregon OSHA has inaccurately declared that these are 'synonyms' even though these two substances have very different chemical compositions and belong to different chemical families.”
The lawsuit states, “OR-OSHA has engaged in activities that are unlawful, ultra vires, defamatory, negligent,and retaliatory in nature. As a result of these activities and the inaccurate, misleading, harmful, and prejudicial press releases by OR-OSHA, as well as its improper testing methodologies, GIB has lost sales, consumer goodwill, and industry market share.”
The complaint also claims that OR-OSHA misrepresented results of air sample tests on Brazilian Blowout, when in fact its testing showed air quality during use of the product was safely below OSHA limits.
Brazilian Blowout is demanding an injunction that stops Oregon OSHA from disseminating any further information related to the formaldehyde content of Brazilian Blowout or from claiming that the use Brazilian Blowout exceeds air quality standards. The company also wants the court to order OR-OSHA to remove from their websites damaging press releases, the “Hair Smoothing Report” and all other references to GIB or Brazilian Blowout.
Brazilian Blowout also wants the court to order OR-OSHA to disseminate an explanation admitting to the inaccurate results and improper protocol used in the report.