FDA delays ban on formaldehyde in hair products linked to cancer; timeline uncertain
The agency's self-imposed target date for proposing a ban on formaldehyde in hair products was pushed to July and will be pushed again to September.
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.
The FDA initially set a target date to publish its proposed ban in April, according to a document published in the Unified Agenda, a government website that provides information on regulations under development by federal agencies. The date was moved to July, and more recently, to September.
The target dates published in the Unified Agenda are only estimates, not firm deadlines, the agency has previously said. It’s possible the proposal is released before September or further extended to another date.
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