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.
The FDA declined to provide a more specific time frame for the proposal's release date.
When asked about the reason behind the delay, an FDA spokesperson said in a statement that “the rulemaking process takes time.”
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“Before a proposed rule can be published in the Federal Register for public comment, it must be reviewed and approved within FDA and other parts of the Federal government,” the spokesperson said.
Publishing the proposed rule is only one step in the process and it doesn’t mean the rule will take effect. After the FDA publishes the proposed rule and reviews public comments, they might decide to either stop the rulemaking process, propose a new version, or finalize the rule, allowing it to take effect.
The news may disappoint those who are awaiting the rule.
Melanie Benesh, the vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group, a consumer product advocacy group, said in a statement that the FDA “has long been aware of the health hazards posed by formaldehyde.”
In 2011, the organization petitioned the FDA to ban hair products with formaldehyde, and again in 2021. It also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for emails pertaining to a ban on the chemical, the results of which were published in The New York Times in 2020.
”We look forward to reading a new rule that will protect salon workers and consumers from exposure to formaldehyde in hair-straightening products,” Benesh said.
An FDA fact sheet currently advises against the use of hair-straightening products containing formaldehyde and related compounds.
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