The Brazilian Blowout is a hair straightening and hair smoothing treatment that promises to leave your hair looking shiny, frizz-free, and beautiful. While it may do all of that, there are also some Brazilian Blowout dangers you should be aware of before getting one done.
Today, we’re going to talk about why some specialists consider the Brazilian blowout dangerous for your hair, safety and health.
See also: Top 10 Salon Hair Botox Therapy Options: The Ultimate Guide to Silky, Youthful Hair >
5 Brazilian Blowout Dangers You Should Keep in Mind
1. It Contains a Lot of Formaldehyde
One of the main ingredients used to do a Brazilian Blowout is formaldehyde, which is also the ingredient used for embalmment.
When people inhale this ingredient over a long period of time, it can cause cancer.
That’s why the cosmetic brands that use it as a preservative only use a small amount.
On the other hand, a Brazilian Blowout uses a more substantial amount, which makes it more dangerous.
Furthermore, an ingredient called methylene glycol is created as a result of water mixed with formaldehyde, which is a dangerous natural chemical ingredient.
2. It Can Have Unpleasant Short-Term Symptoms
If you’re thinking of getting a Brazilian Blowout, you should know some people experience negative symptoms afterwards, even if they’re only short term.
Among these symptoms, the most common are irritated skin and eyes, nosebleeds, difficulty breathing, and headaches.
While this doesn’t happen to everyone, it can happen to people who are more sensitive to the substance used in brazilian blowouts.
3. It Can Lead to Long-Term Effects
While the short-term symptoms of this brazilian hair straightening treatment that contains formaldehyde aren’t very severe, its long-term effects are a much more significant concern for people who are against it.
First, you should know that what causes formaldehyde to become an issue is its contact with heat.
Exposure to heat occurs when you get a Brazilian Blowout, and this contact releases some chemicals that can lead to long-term effects such as leukemia and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Even if this is only a risk for a small percentage of people (i.e. those who get a Brazilian Blowout done every day), it’s still something you should take into account.
4. It Can Also Be Harmful at Room Temperature
As we’ve already mentioned, formaldehyde is at its most potent and most dangerous when heated. That’s because that is the moment when it releases gas into the air.
However, some experts claim that the chemicals found in formaldehyde are also dangerous at room temperature.
The chemicals in room temperature formaldehyde don’t only have the possibility of harming you, but they put your stylist at an occupational safety risk as well as other people in the room.
5. It’s a Potent Sensitizer
The last danger you should be aware of when it comes to the Brazilian Blowout is that its main ingredient, formaldehyde, is a potent sensitizer.
What does this mean, you ask?
Well, it means that continuous exposure to it can cause allergic reactions like blisters, hives, and asthma.
Once you become sensitized to it, you run the risk of suffering an allergic reaction every time you encounter it, even if it’s from a different source such as plastics, fabrics, plywood, or products designed for personal care.
This includes the occupational safety and health of all salon workers who are constantly exposed and sensitized to this chemical.
With these five Brazilian Blowout dangers in mind, you should take your time before deciding whether this treatment is something you want to get done or not. Now that we have covered these various brazilian blowout dangers, we are going to answer some commonly asked questions about this procedure and its effects on hair.
Is the Brazilian Blowout Good or Bad for Your Hair?
Above, we covered the dangers of getting a Brazilian Blowout. This is a hard and loaded question to answer because the blowout has good effects on your hair as well.
If you have less than desirable hair that is damaged or frizzy, this is a treatment that will reverse these effects and last you a decent amount of time.
This treatment leaves your hair feeling brand new and gives it a shine that cannot be downplayed.
The spray used by your hairstylist seals your hair’s cuticles, and that helps to reverse and revitalize the damage done to your hair, whether that be a result of dying it, using constant heat from a flat iron or blow dryer, not getting consistent trims, or simply fundamental unwanted issues such as frizzy and dry hair.
But on the other side of the coin, the Brazilian Blowout is not good for your health and wellbeing.
As we have listed above in five points above, the formaldehyde ingredient in this treatment is cancer causing, and large amounts of it are found in this product.
Not only is this chemical used, but other compounds live in this treatment that do contain smaller amounts of formaldehyde hidden in them.
Once you get this treatment done, the formaldehyde will be seeping into your lungs daily as you maintain it at home using heat from one of your hair straighteners.
In a short answer, we would say yes. Brazilian Blowouts are good for your hair on the outside. But they are not suitable for your health, so you will need to determine how that impacts your decision moving forward. The only hope for a healthy treatment is if you get a brazilian blowout that is formaldehyde free.
Do Chemical Blowouts Damage Hair?
We know that excessive chemical blowouts can damage your hair. The constant heat manipulation done to your hair will cause long-term damage as your hair was not created to be able to sustain this.
Chemicals are another culprit that damage your hair in the long term. These frequent blowout sessions may seem desirable because they keep your hair looking brand new all the time, but in the long run, they will be doing more harm than good.
One long term damaging effect consists of sucking the moisture from the cuticles of your hair and causing it to break easily because of how dry it is.
If you want to have more manageable hair, look into treatments that are restorative and use natural ingredients.
One of the good hair straightening treatments of this kind is the collagen hair treatment which can be done at home or in a salon.
This treatment uses collagen, an ingredient already produced in your body, to keep your hair healthy. This treatment restores your hair, offering hope for long term healthy hair as well as short term beauty results.
Another good option is the keratin hair treatment which takes a naturally-produced compound as well and applies it to the hair to seal the hair cuticles.
Be sure to look for formaldehyde-free products when researching a Keratin treatment.
Both of these do require some heat, but the temperature is not mounted upon chemicals that will damage your hair in the long term. This heat will also not cause a release of a cancer-causing chemical as chemical blowouts do.
Research and Decide What’s Right for You
All in all, Brazilian Blowouts are a good option for your hair. But when it comes to your health, not so much.
The only way this treatment would be healthy is if you get Brazilian blowout that’s formaldehyde free as well as free of the chemicals that formaldehyde hides in.
It is best to do your research beforehand to determine the best decision for you.
