Another US state prohibits cancer-causing ingredient from cosmetics… after gel nail polish product is banned
Another US state has banned a cancer-causing ingredient from being used in all cosmetics and personal care products.
The move comes as a growing number of beauty and bathroom items are facing increased scrutiny for the harm they could pose to human health.
In Europe this week, health officials banned a key ingredient used in gel nail polish (trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide) after studies linked the chemical to long-term fertility issues.
Now, Washington State is clamping down on formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers, which are commonly used to extend the shelf life of beauty products like shampoos, eyelash glue, nail polishes, and hair relaxers, even though formaldehyde is also a known carcinogen.
Formaldehyde toxins can escape from products as a gas over time, a process known as ‘off-gassing’ – especially when they come into contact with heat.
If these fumes are inhaled repeatedly, they can lead to anything from minor side effects like eye and respiratory irritation to major health issues like an increased risk of head and neck cancers.
Now, under a new rule dubbed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, all formaldehyde-releasing chemicals intentionally added to cosmetics and personal care products will be banned starting January 1, 2027.
In-state retailers will have through that year, however, to sell the existing stock of products that contain these chemicals.
Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers are commonly used to extend the shelf life of beauty products like shampoos, eyelash glue, nail polishes, and hair treatment – but formaldehyde is also a known carcinogen (stock image)
The ban came after testing in 2023 by Washington’s Department of Ecology found high levels of formaldehyde in lotions, creams, and hair products, many of which were marketed to women of color.
In one of the testing stages, they found formaldehyde in 26 out of 30 body lotions and hair products sampled.
California banned formaldehyde in all personal care and beauty products in 2020, and Maryland followed suit a year later.
Washington State’s ruling lists 25 formaldehyde-releasing chemicals and further restricts all formaldehyde releasers that are intentionally added to beauty and personal care products.
The difference between products containing formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals is that formaldehyde is the chemical itself, while formaldehyde-releasing chemicals are other substances that break down over time and release formaldehyde as a byproduct.
Dr Ami Zota, tenured associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told Toxic-Free Future: ‘This ban is a victory for science, health, and justice.
‘Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers are well-documented hazards that no one should be exposed to in the products they use every day.
‘This action especially matters for women of color and salon workers who face the highest exposures – and it should inspire policymakers across the country to take similar steps to protect their communities.’
A recent study by the Silent Spring Institute – IS THIS A WATCHDOG GROUP OR SOMETHING? revealed that formaldehyde is in far more beauty products than previously thought.
Researchers from the institute asked 70 Black women and Latinas living in the Los Angeles area to track their use of personal care products over a period of five to seven days.
Each time participants used a product, they logged the information using a smartphone app developed by Silent Spring.
The team analyzed over 1,100 products, looking for formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives in the products’ ingredient lists.
Fifty-three percent of participants reported using at least one personal care product that listed formaldehyde releasers on its label.
And many of the products with formaldehyde releasers that participants reported using were applied daily or multiple times per week.
The researchers did not divulge which products they tested.
DMDM hydantoin was the most common formaldehyde-releasing preservative.
Roughly 47 percent of skincare products and 58 percent of hair products with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives contained DMDM hydantoin.
The team also identified several others, but exposure scientists Dr Robin Dodson stresses their list is not definitive.
‘Those are just the ones we knew to look for. There could be more that we’re not aware of,’ said in a press release.
While experts have long been concerned about the presence of the substance in chemical hair-straightening and relaxing treatments, a new study has revealed it is in far more products than previously thought
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are often used as an alternative to formaldehyde itself but serve the same purpose.
The risk of inhaling these chemicals is heightened if an area like a bathroom or bedroom is poorly ventilated.
The American Cancer Society notes that in animal and human studies, formaldehyde has been linked to various forms of cancer, including in the nose, the upper throat, and the stomach, and it has also been shown to increase the risk of leukemia.
Given that formaldehyde is known to cause cancer in humans, the authors of the Silent Spring Institute study said the findings reveal both critical safety gaps in how personal care products are regulated in the US and their disproportionate health impacts on women of color, as most of the products found to contain these substances cater to Black and Latina women.
Dr Dodson explained: ‘We found that this isn’t just about hair straighteners. These chemicals are in products we use all the time, all over our bodies.
‘Repeated exposures like these can add up and cause serious harm.’
The cancer expert says one way to reduce exposure would be to require that companies add warning labels to formaldehyde-releasing products, like in Europe.
She agrees it can be hard for the average consumer to identify a formaldehyde-releasing preservative on a label.
‘They have long, weird, funny names, and they typically don’t have the word formaldehyde in them,’ she said.
While warning labels might be a good first step, Dodson says banning the use of formaldehyde releasers altogether would be the best-case scenario. ‘Ideally, companies shouldn’t be putting these chemicals in products in the first place.’
Gas can escape from these products over time – especially when in contact with heat – and it is then inhaled, causing, at best, eye and respiratory irritation and, at worst, increased risk of head and neck cancers in the long term
Another way consumers can protect themselves and their communities is to advocate for better legislation, the researchers say.
The European Union and at least 10 US states have banned or proposed to ban formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers in personal care products.
In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a national ban on formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers in hair straighteners, but it has yet to be enacted.
Janette Robinson Flint, the executive director at Black Women for Wellness, says Black consumers live in a society governed by White beauty standards.
For this reason, she claims they use many different personal care products – many of them made with toxic ingredients – to conform to that ideal.
While they might have learned to avoid beauty products with formaldehyde on the label, many Black women are not familiar with formaldehyde releasers, the experts say.
‘We’re trying to do the right thing,’ Flint said. ‘But there needs to be more government oversight. We shouldn’t have to be chemists to figure out what kinds of products will make us sick.’
