This is what they, dont want YOU to know!

Workers have a right to a safe workplace. The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. OSHA provides information, training, and assistance to workers and employers. Be aware that in our industry manufacturers are deceptive. They want you to buy their products, and will customize class’s in order for you to be presented with their latest and greatest lotions, powders, soaps etc.  I was talking with a very very bright gentleman of the next film “Beautiful LieS”. He said a statement that really hit home to me. When a professional buys a ticket to a hair show such as “Premier, NAHA, Cosmoprof, etc” why should they buy the products there, if they can find the products in a commercial outlet. The major manufacturers have given up on LOYALTY TOO YOU and SELLING EXCLUSIVE products to the business professional in our industry. I would not even give a current hair show the time of day. I can see their products in a store. I thought our products supposed are supposed to be exclusive, and only sold in salons. Come on! And do you really know what ARE the ingredients you are using in your salon products? And most of you products you use in the salon for Hair coloring, Keratin treatments, Permanent waves can be purchased by the consumer. Where did our exclusive go???? The MAJOR manufacturers have sold us out. In this months edition of Brokenchair.com 90% of the products advertised in this magazine are found in the commercial sector or on the internet. Available to the consumer at their finger tips. Basically its the magazine of the “Brainwashed’. And the topics of literature in the magazine are the same ol, same ol! Be responsible everyone, and be the change The Real Beauty Industry needs. Change in this industry has to come from you! Then others will see you as a role model and you will set the standard for others.

Walk the Walk everyone!

Take back your industry!

You will see the latest in industry magazines everyone,”How To” of the layered haircut with a Ombre color or join Farouk’s Dream Team, Learn client consultation. But not touching on the politics of a industry broken by Major Manufacturers. 

They dont want you to know, what they know, that you dont need to know. See this is what they want you to know, “Keep the Young Dumb, and don’t worry were looking out for you”. “We are your legal representative of the Beauty Industry as the PBA.ORG would say, REALLY?”  Take it upon yourself to know your products, and all the ingredients in the products. Your customers health and yours is very important. And I would not like to see anyone gain an illness because the greed of a manufacturer cannot be controled. If you work in a salon go to the owner and ask for the MSDS sheets of the products you use for your salon services. Know what you are using. Its your body. And you get only one go around in this lifetime! You are all very, very special people. And you cannot be replaced.

OSHA will continue to conduct inspections in response to complaints and/or referrals. Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe that their employer is not following OSHA standards or that there are serious hazards. Employees can file a complaint with OSHA by calling 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or by printing out the complaint form and mailing or faxing to your local OSHA area office. Complaints that are signed by an employee are more likely to result in an inspection. 

OSHA can help answer questions or concerns from employers and workers. Contact your local OSHA office if you have any questions about a product that you are using or its material safety data sheet (MSDS). To reach your regional or area OSHA office, go to OSHA’s Regional & Area Offices web page. 

Hair salon owners and beauty schools can contact OSHA’s free and confidential on-site consultation service to help determine if there are hazards at their salon and work with OSHA on correcting any identified hazards. On-site consultations services are separate from enforcement activities and do not result in penalties or citations. To contact OSHA’s free consultation service, go to OSHA’s On-Site Consultationweb page or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) and press number 4. 

Salon owners and workers can also request the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, at no cost, to help identify and correct any health hazard in the workplace through its Health Hazard Evaluation Program. Contact NIOSH at 1-800-CDC-INFO [1-800-232-4636].

UNILEVER! Does Mis-labeling Mean Anything To You?

Well, Well , Well, here we go again in a multi-multi billion industry of deception and mis-labeling. Another coporate big wig is getting there due. Unilever is getting taken to court by Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Esensten L.L.P. In a class action lawsuit. You can read as follows about the Lawsuit!

Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit Investigation

Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Esensten L.L.P. is currently investigating alleged false, deceptive, and misleading claims made by Unilever in connection with the company’s marketing of purported “Formaldehyde Free” Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit (“Product”).

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods. Unilever markets the Product under its wholly owned Suave brand name as a Keratin-based hair straightening product that is “an affordable at-home alternative” to professional salon treatments that’s “formaldehyde free.”

However, Unilever may not be able to substantiate its claims. In addition, Unilever may have failed to inform consumers that the Product contains a chemical known as “Tetrasodium EDTA,” which is mainly synthesized from formaldehyde. Unilever also may have failed to inform consumers that the Product contains a chemical preservative known as “DMDM Hydantoin,” which is an antimicrobial formaldehyde releaser with the trade name Glydant. Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. An investigation is underway regarding Unilever’s marketing and advertising practices under the Suave brand name. Unilever states on there website that 160 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product. From feeding your family to keeping your home clean and fresh, our brands are part of everyday life.

List of Unilever brands

  • Alberto-Culver
  • Axe
  • Becel
  • Blue Band
  • Domestos
  • Dove
  • Flora
  • Heartbrand
  • Hellmann’s
  • Knorr
  • Lifebuoy
  • Lipton
  • Lux (soap)
  • Lynx
  • Omo
  • Rexona
  • Simple
  • Sure
  • Surf
  • Sunsilk
  • TIGI (haircare)
  • Wall’s
  • Vaseline – This should be very interesting on the outcome of this lawsuit! I thought everyone would learn from this with the outcome of Brazialian Blowout!

Suave Keratin Infusion Treatment Has Some Consumers Pulling Their Hair Out!

Dear Joseph Kellner

I bought the treatment on 3/23/12 from wal-mart and I used it a week later.  I have previously used Sallys brand about 8 months prior so I knew what I was doing and I read the directions correctly.  Not even a week after I used the Suave brand, my hair got considerably lighter, which has never happened and my hair started to fall out.  Even now, every time I was my hair, more of it breaks and I am losing it by the handfuls.  I only use the treatments because after I had my daughter, my hair got wavy and thicker only in the back and I wanted an easier way to maintain my hair.  The treatment I used before worked wonders and seeing as Suave’s was a whole lot cheaper, I took a chance.  I know it is not supposed to make it straight, but it is supposed to make it easier to straighten, and this did not do as it was supposed to.  I saw the recall at my local CVS and wanted to know what I am supposed to do from here?  Thanks for your time.
Ashley Mier

In the hair styling business, people are willing to pay big bucks for long-lasting, silky smooth locks. Keratin hair treatments now seem to be the preferred method of attaining a head-turning hairdo.

Once available only from pricy professional stylists, keratin hair treatments are now available over-the-counter in affordable do-it-yourself kits, as if do it yourself  hair color is not enough. As it turns out, these at-home treatments have left some customers with more than just extra money on their hands. Suave Keratin Infusion Treatment will give you 30 days of soft, smooth, shiny hair, though it claims. This situation brings back memory’s of the Brazilian Blowout, remember they lied about the not FORMALDHYDE. See where it got them, and it seems Suave is in a boat they created by themselves just like Brazilian Blowout.

“The Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion30-Day Smoothing Kit transforms Frizz like a salon keratin treatment-  at home! In just three easy steps, hair is sleeker, smoother and easier to style.”

A sizeable number of Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion users have taken to the internet with claims that the product has made their hair fall out. Other consumers claim to have been left with badly damaged hair requiring drastic intervention in the form of aggressive hairstyle modification (read: getting their hair chopped off). Suave has discontinued the product and provided resources to customers who have questions about the product’s safety and effectiveness. I have called Suave repeatedly to ask them information on there  recall and not to my suprise I get no answers!

This dustup “highlights” (please forgive the pun) a truly important issue in consumer product safety. That’s a key concept that consumers should remember in order to keep themselves safe: Follow the directions! Too many people are injured when they fail to heed (or even read) the manufacturer’s guidance. In some cases, of course, the product in question cannot be rendered safe or the manufacturer should anticipate consumer misuse or confusion. In those cases, the manufacturer has a greater burden to ensure the safety of their customers. Keratin treatments should not be sold to the consumer. Keratin treatments should be banned. Manufacturers should not be selling (kits) to the consumer that is a service in the salon. The salon community or beauty professional has no clue to the amount of keratin treatments that are sold on the internet. If they did and hopefully they will open there eye’s up to the problem they may join together to get something done in there industry. But I have a better chance of turning into a afro-america than to see the professional make a stand for there industry. Here are some reviews about the product made by Suave.

Posted by Brenda Nasalroad
June 20, 2012 12:44 PM
I used the Suave Keratin 30 day treatment, my hair is ruined. It has been 60 days since I used the product purchased at walgreens. Myhair is straight lifeless and loooks awful. I had thick natural curly hair, now I’m embarrassed at the way I look when I have to go anywhere. Suave has no answers except cut it off or let it grow out. This is ridiculous. Can anything be done?
 
Posted by Carole anne
June 23, 2012 6:52 PM
I’m having to chop my hair off as well- they were totally deceptive in their marketing of their product- no where did it say it was a straightner and 3 months later my hair is totally ruined. My naturally curly hair is destroyed. How can a company do this to someone? Do not use this product!!!
 
Posted by Deborah
June 26, 2012 9:26 AM
I used the Suave Keratin Infusion kit on my hair and it is ruined…f-r-i-e-d. I did this about 2 weeks ago and everyday my hair is a little shorter in certain area’s. All the way around my face my hair is breaking off. I didn’t have bangs but now I do and they are getting shorter by the day. I’ve tried heavy conditioners to help but nothing seems to help. It took me about 5 years to grow my hair out this long and now it is gone. Oh how I wish I could go back in time and rethink my decision.
 
 
If you have had any health issues from the usage of this product Suave Keratin Infusion Treatment Please email me at  joseph@josephkellner.com And let us know how we can help you with your problems from using this treatment.

Brazilian Blowout You Really Screwed Up! Hair treatment ruled carcinogenic!

 
The makers of the popular Brazilian Blowout line of hair-straightening products — which can cost up to $500 per salon treatment — have agreed to change their labeling to warn consumers that the treatments can release formaldehyde gas, which is considered a carcinogen and can cause irritation of the eyes and skin, according to a report from USA Today.
The move by GIB LLC comes following a lawsuit from the California state attorney general’s office. The products are labeled as formaldehyde-free, but last September the FDA warned that Brazilian Blowout contains “dangerously high levels” of the gas. According to a report from WebMD, the FDA found that Brazilian Blowout products contained between 8.7 percent and 10.4 percent formaldehyde. Levels about 0.1 percent required an occupational hazard alert under guidelines from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

At the time, GIB CEO Mike Brady denied that his company’s products contained formaldehyde.
The FDA and OSHA issued their first health hazard about Brazilian Blowout in April 2011 to let salon workers and owners know about the potential for formaldehyde exposure from these products.
The FDA issued a warning letter to GIB on Aug. 22, 2011, saying “Brazilian Blowout contains methylene glycol, the liquid form of formaldehyde, which, under the conditions of use prescribed in the labeling, releases formaldehyde when hair treated with the product is heated with a blow dryer and then with a hot flat iron.” The agency reported a wide range of health problems that had been reported by users of the products: “Adverse events have reported the following injuries associated with Brazilian Blowout: eye disorders (irritation, increased lacrimation, blurred vision, hyperaemia); nervous system disorders (headache, burning sensation, dizziness, syncope), and respiratory tract (dyspnea, cough, nasal discomfort, epistaxis, wheezing, rhinorrhea, throat irritation, nasopharyngitis). Other reported symptoms included nausea hypotrichosis, chest pain, chest discomfort, vomiting, and rash.”
The FDA has authority over product packaging, but has none over the operation of salons. OSHA, on the other hand, governs workplace safety, including air conditions.
 
 
The FDA’s warning letter presented CEO Brady with an ultimatum: “You should take prompt action to correct the violations cited in this letter. Failure to do so may result in enforcement action without further notice, including, but not limited to, seizure and/or injunction.”
 
The state of California, where GIB is located, followed the FDA’s letter with its lawsuit, charging deceptive practices.
 
Health concerns over Brazilian Blowout had been voiced for some time before the FDA letter was sent. Oregon Health & Science University issued a report about the products in September 2010 after complaints from stylists at one of that state’s salons.
 According to a March 2011 report from Fox News, Brazilian Blowout treatments can cost between $200 and $500 and last several months. Despite the growing health concerns, the products have been popular in Hollywood, where celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry have used the treatment.
GIB has agreed to pay $600,000 in penalties and fines and provide salons with a product safety brochure. The company has already changed the labeling of its products. The saddest thing about this whole situation it took a organization outside of our industry to do something about the proble. Way to go pba.org it’s all about manufacturer dollars in my industry. You all suck!