US organisation the Environment Working Group has accused the manufacturer of Brazilian Blowout, GIB LLC, and makers other similar straightening treatments of defying regulators and poisoning salon workers and customers thanks to the undisclosed formaldehyde content contained in their products.

The agency claims that Brazilian Blowout contains between three and seven percent formaldehyde, despite reformulation following a warning letter issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and legal action over deceptive advertising in the State of California, and that the controversial ingredient is still not disclosed on the label in the majority of cases, preventing consumers and salon workers from taking the necessary measures to protect their health. The organisation has petitioned the FDA to take action, so far without success.

The Environment Working Group is now placing its hope in a new bill, The Personal Care Products Safety Act, that would strengthen and modernise federal regulation of personal care products, granting the FDA more powers to order mandatory recalls of unsafe products and requiring the government body to review questionable ingredients such as formaldehyde and restrict their use.