Brazilian Blowout Health Issue

I ran across this picture and article in the New York Times Nov 4th titled (A SAFETY KINK IN HAIR RELAXING?)

The following are accounts taken from the article. Just like the permanent wave process that were once the height of fashion, the lucrative process of converting “frizzy kinky and wavy hair” into smooth straight locks produce a unpleasant odor that some say is a health hazard especially to the stylist who applies it repeatedly. Questions about the safety of popular Keratin Brazilian thermal hair relaxing treatment have been raised for years, most notably in a widely read 2007 article in Allure magazine.

But last month, the beauty world was rattled when the occupational health agency in Oregon found significant levels of (Formaldehyde) a common ingredient found in many Keratin "heat activated" hair straightening treatments. The agency said they conducted lab tests after receiving numerous complaints from stylist citing nose bleeds, breathing problems and eye irritation from the fumes while applying the products. The report came soon after a warning from the Canadian health board about the potential dangers from a popular process called the Brazilian Keratin Blowout treatment. Some manufactures of Keratin straightening process acknowledge that their products contain (Formalin), a substance made up in part of Formaldehyde, but say the amount is insignificant and poses no health dangers.

Many salon owners and stylists believe the health agencies may be overreacting. The warning has prompted various responses from salon owners. Some concerned with the health issue have installed costly ventilation systems to clean the air fumes or dedicated special rooms for the treatments and wear masks to filter the fumes. They say it’s worth the expense as the Keratin relaxing treatments are one of the most popular and profitable procedure salons have seen in recent years. The jury is still out and it should be interesting to see how law suits are handled in the coming years and what this may do to salon insurance costs.

World's Most Popular Hair Styles

The statuesque Greek Goddess with her sophisticated Chinon, the Eloquent French Twist and Casual Pony Tail reminds us of the staying power of these classic hairstyles. There popularity and longevity is due in large part to the styling versatility. As a result the vast majority of women world wide (75%) prefer wearing their hair long enough to pull up or back into a Chinon, French Twist or Pony Tail.

The Pony Tail is the go to hair style for many time challenged stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Beckinsale, and Angelina Jolie. When the Pony Tail style calls for an extra length many stars use a (cap hair piece)  called a Fall with a wrap around strand attached to the cap.

If you’re looking for an easy “any time” hairstyle that’s always fashionable and never out of style, pull your hair back into a Pony Tail (high or low) and your good to go. You might say the Pony Tail is the "Work Horse" of hair styles.

Michel Kazan / Creator of the Bouffont Hair Style

Michel Kazan was a hair designer to stars and society figures and the creator of a seemingly endless array of famous hairdos with a career that spanned seven decades. His magazine credits which seem to validate his claim to being the first on the scene with the Poodle Cut, French Twist, Cap Cut, and Bouffant hair styles.

Kazan was an impeccably dressed Frenchman with continental charm and an artist’s eye. Michel had the reputation for setting hairdo trends a year ahead. The hair fashion futurist observed that "nothing can make a woman look more old-fashioned” and out of step with the times than an out-of-date hairdo."  Kazan believed changing your hair style, especially as one ages (its shape, color or length) is the beauty secret for everlasting beauty. 

As the oracle of beauty and fashion his seasonal trips to Paris for inspiration and the pronouncements that would follow remained cause for fevered speculation for many years. Among Kazan's most famous creations were the French Twist, the Bouffant and Page Boy haircuts. Others included the Fluff Cut, the Cockatoo, the Frizzes, the Bubble and the Cleopatra, which rode the success of Elizabeth Taylor movie. And the whimsical Urchin, in which hair was "cropped and feathered” like a little Pixie Cap.

Kazan was also a deft entrepreneur and trend setter. In addition to offering a line of wigs, perfume and hair care products and cosmetics, he sought to capture the American woman's appetite for beauty in short order with Pocket Full of Curls, a pinned-on precursor of today's “hair extensions”. A tireless innovator, Kazan kept pace with the changing face of fashion and culture throughout the tumultuous sixties and seventies, at times adapting and at others, blazing new trails counter to a perceived trend of the time. For example, his use of long straight and wavy hair piece's called "falls" at a fashion show created a sensation that swept the world, despite the increasing popularity of the less complicated styles being pioneered by Vidal Sassoon.

At its height, Kazan's flagship salon, a luxuriously decorated five story townhouse in midtown Manhattan, was host to a parade of notables. His salon also served as a training ground for a generation of talented stylists who would go on to prestigious careers themselves. Michel Kazan will always be remembered as a voice for “American Beauty Culture” and inspiration for all to follow.