FDA once again pushes back proposal to ban cancer-linked formaldehyde in hair relaxers

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July 19, 2024

By Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Zinhle Essamuah, NBC News

The agency’s self-imposed target date for a ban proposal was pushed to July and will be pushed again to September.

A decadeslong study of more than 33,000 Black women showed an increase in uterine cancer among those who regularly used hair relaxers (Vystekimages/Photononstop RF via Getty Images).

The Food and Drug Administration’s proposal to ban formaldehyde in hair care products has been pushed back once again, and the timeline for its release remains undetermined.

The FDA said in October that it planned to propose a ban on formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair-smoothing or hair-straightening products, often called relaxers, which are mainly marketed to Black women.

Removing the chemical from hair relaxers has been a long-standing goal for advocates. A wide range of studies have linked formaldehyde to certain cancers, including uterine cancer and blood cancer. Some companies have responded by developing formaldehyde-free formulas or by clearly labeling products that contain the chemical. Not all chemical hair relaxers include formaldehyde, but many do include components that, once heated, can release it, according to the FDA.

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