Keratin is the protein that the hair is made up of, consisting of eight amino acids. It plays an important role in our hair growth and hair regeneration. So adding more keratin to hair logically makes the hair stronger and improves the quality of damaged hair.
Traditional keratin treatments used to contain formaldehyde, the chemical that is commonly used in building materials and in the production of household products. The lawsuit alleges that the FDA has done too little to protect people from this chemical, as it has been aware for years that keratin treatments can cause severe symptoms like difficulty breathing, eye irritation and nosebleeds in the stylist that is frequently exposed to it.
So to try making keratin treatments popular again, stylists started promoting theirs as a “formaldehyde-free” treatment. Instead they used methylene glycol. However, that is not much better. It is simply diluted with water. “The use of methylene glycol is a ploy to avoid the use of formaldehyde,” said David Andrews, a senior scientist from EWG in a recent interview.
And as the formaldehyde gets released in the air with heat, using the methylene glycol has the exact same effect as the traditional one. Once the stylist blow-dries the hair or uses any other heat tool, the chemicals are out in the open. Even clients, who are not as frequently in contact with the mixture as the stylists, have reported symptoms.