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| SUNDAY, January 16, 2011
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B
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Straight talk
about keratin
hair treatments
Co-owner Gabriel
Abrams brushes in
the product used for
a Brazilian Blowout
hair treatment on
Rachael Lynch of
Armonk at Numi &
Co. in Scarsdale.
Photos by Xavier Mascareñas/The Journal News
Smoothing procedure
is popular, but is it safe?
BEFORE
AFTER
Linda Lombroso
[email protected]
Celebrities swear by them. Ordinary women tout
their transformative powers. But keratin treatments,
those coveted hair-smoothing procedures that eliminate frizz and make unmanageable
BEYOND
locks effortlessly sleek, are under
KERATIN
TREATMENTS:
scrutiny — and it’s not just the $300-plus
Salons offer
price tags that are attracting attention. great
services
At issue is the amount of formalde- in your area,
5B
hyde in the keratin solutions — even
those that claim to be all-natural and
formaldehyde-free.
The treatments, which originated in Brazil, have
SEE KERATIN, 4B
Rachael Lynch prior to her Brazilian Blowout
treatment at Numi & Co.
Lynch after her Brazilian Blowout hair treatment.
The smoothing effects last about three months.
ROCK STAR RESIDENT
10 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT CROTON-ON-HUDSON’S NED RUST
Bill Cary
[email protected]
Submitted by Ned Rust
Since getting his first novel published in 1976, über-author James
Patterson has sold more than 170
million books worldwide. In 2007,
one of every fifteen hardcover fiction
books sold was a Patterson title.
To maintain such a ferocious writing pace, in recent years, this sometime-Scarborough resident has been
turning to co-authors to help him
write his page-turning thrillers. The
characters are still Patterson’s —
and he usually starts the ball rolling
with detailed outlines and plot
points — then he continues to write
and rewrite with his co-authors as
INSIDE
Travel: Offbeat Miami
The MiMo district just north of downtown offers a chance to
see the real Miami — and enjoy some delicious local
bistros and independent boutiques.
the book is shaped into its final
form.
Ned Rust, who also works full
time as a sales and marketing director for Patterson’s publisher, the Hachette Book Group within Little,
Brown, has now written two books
with Patterson.
Both are in Patterson’s newish
young-adult series, his fastest growing franchise. The first, “Daniel X:
Watch the Skies,” was published in
2009, and their most recent collaboration, “The Gift,” is just hitting
stores now.
“It took about a year to do, with
plenty of back and forth” between
the two authors, says Rust, who lives
in Croton-on-Hudson and is now
writing a third book with Patterson.
“The Gift” is the second book in
Patterson’s “Witch and Wizard” series of books for young adults (age
10 and up). It features teen siblings
Wisty and Whit Allgood as they try
to survive in a totalitarian regime
that has banned books, movies, art
and music.
More than just writing partners,
Rust has also teamed with Patterson
on children’s literacy, working to get
kids interested in books and reading at a very young age, then making them readers for life. Patterson
has also developed a website devoted to just this topic, www.readkiddoread.com.
Here are 10 things that you prob-
Books
Jay Kirk’s
“Kingdom Under
Glass:
A Tale of
Obsession,
Adventure, and
One Man’s
Quest to
Preserve the
World’s Great
Animals”
chronicles the
adventures of
Carl Akeley, a
taxidermist and
conservationist
who envisioned
the lifelike
dioramas in the
Hall of African
Mammals at the
American
Museum of
Natural History.
ably don’t know about Ned Rust.
He’s already got a best-seller
on his hands. “The Gift” is debuting today as No. 1 on the New
York Times best-seller list for children’s chapter books.
He’s a local boy — he grew up
in Briarcliff Manor and graduated from Briarcliff High School in
1987. “Having grown up here made
it easier to come back to the suburbs.”
The daily commute to the city
from the Croton-Harmon station creates lots of much-needed
writing time. In fact, most of his writ-
1.
2.
3.
SEE RUST, 5B
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4B Sunday, January 16, 2011 The Journal News YC
SUNDAY LIFE
LoHud.com
Photos by Xavier Mascareñas/The Journal News
Owners Gabriel Abrams, left, and Nuriel Abramov flat-iron Rachael Lynch’s hair during the final phase of a Brazilian Blowout hair treatment at Numi & Co. in Scarsdale.
KERATIN: Blow out makes life easy, but is it safe?
CONTINUED FROM 1B
been popular here for several
years. American salons tend
to offer two types, both of
which promise hair that doesn’t require blow-drying to stay
straight and smooth.
“Express” services, often
referred to as “Brazilian,” take
about 90 minutes, allow for
immediate shampooing and
last up to three months.
Traditional keratin treatments require a longer salon
visit — often upward of three
hours — prohibit styling or
washing for several days afterward, and keep hair
smooth for four to six
months.
Although different products are used in both treatments, each requires flat-ironing at high heat to seal in the
chemicals that keep hair
straight. And that’s where
health concerns start to arise.
Federal guidelines stipulate that products contain no
more than .2 percent
formaldehyde. But making
sure that manufacturers adhere to government standards is difficult, because
there is no pre-approval
process before these products hit the market, says
Scarsdale dermatologist Dr.
Amy Newburger.
“They can completely lie,
and the public is vulnerable,’’
she says.
Good chemistry?
According to California
chemist Doug Schoon, formalin, also called methylene
glycol, is the active ingredient
in most smoothing treatments — a fact that allows
companies to claim their
products are formaldehydefree. When hair is flat-ironed
at 450 degrees, however, a
chemical change causes
formaldehyde to be released
into the air.
Although formaldehyde is
a naturally occurring gas, it is
also a known carcinogen. But
is the formaldehyde emitted
during keratin treatments
enough to be dangerous?
For a stylist who applies
these products on a regular
basis, there are concerns,
since chronic inhalation can
lead to respiratory problems.
Even for clients, short-term
exposure to formaldehyde
can cause eye and nose irritation, breathing problems and
headaches.
In Ireland, they’ve stopped
distributing many products
still used in American salons
— including solutions made
by Peter Coppola, Marcia
Teixeira
and
Brazilian
Blowout — due to concerns
about excessive formaldehyde. The Canadian health
department has confined its
warning to Brazilian Blowout,
which was analyzed last fall
and found to have unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde.
In the United States, the
FDA has received numerous
complaints about salon prod-
ucts containing formaldehyde
and is currently working with
state and local organizations,
and the Occupational Safety
& Health Administration, to
reassess the products’ safety.
But not every state is waiting for the FDA’s recommendations. In recent months,
Connecticut, Washington and
California have issued health
alerts warning salon workers
about the potential risks of
these hair-straightening products.
What’s troubling, say salon
owners, is that it’s not always
clear what ingredients are in
hair-smoothing products. Information is rarely on the bottles — in fact, it often appears
only on Material Safety Data
Sheets, which are mandated
by OSHA.
Bottles
of
Brazilian
Blowout solution, for exam- Products used for keratin
ple, do not list ingredients at smoothing hair treatments at
Numi & Co.
all.
Brazilian Blowout is among
the products that have received the most scrutiny in
the U.S. Last fall, after complaints from a Portland salon,
Oregon OSHA conducted its
own tests and found that
many products, including
Brazilian Blowout, contained
significant levels of formaldehyde.
The company has since
filed a lawsuit against Oregon
OSHA, alleging improper
testing of the product and inaccurate laboratory results.
Safe styling
For women like Rachael
Lynch of Armonk, a Brazilian
Blowout devotee who’s had
the treatment twice at Numi
& Company salon in Scarsdale — and suffered no ill effects either time — it’s all a bit
confusing. She loves the way
her hair looks, she adores the
salon, but she’s not crazy
about using something that
might contain formaldehyde.
Chemist Schoon’s recommendations for safe use of
hair-smoothing products include proper ventilation in salons to minimize exposure. A
well-ventilated salon performing two or three treatments a
day is not likely to exceed federal OSHA’s safe levels for
formaldehyde gas, he says.
But at the Mark Garrison
salon in Manhattan, where
they offer Brazilian treatments made by Lasio and
Marcia Teixeira, they’re taking no chances: Treatments
are done in a specially ventilated room, and both clients
and stylists are outfitted with
professional-grade respirators.
Gabriel Abrams, co-owner
of Numi, doesn’t use a mask
or respirator. But he has no
worries about any of the keratin treatments, and stands
behind the safety of Brazilian
Blowout.
He’s done close to 1,000
keratin treatments since last
March — using products
made by Peter Coppola and
Brazilian Blowout — and says
there are no noxious fumes
when done properly.
“I’m a very green guy, and
it’s important,’’ says Abrams.
“But I’ll tell you this: Customers love it and they won’t
stop. If you think about it, we
go tanning, we color our hair,
we talk on the phone. The
bigger stuff could be killing
us.”
Potential health concerns,
however, prompted Aveda —
the hair-industry giant known
for its environmentally friendly products — to send a letter
to its concept salons, suggesting they look into the
safety of keratin treatments,
says Patricia Carano, co-owner of Just Imagine U in Croton-on-Hudson, who received
such a letter last fall.
At the time, the salon was
offering
the
Rejuvenol
formaldehyde-free Brazilian
keratin treatment, and Carano was already uneasy about
the flat-ironing part of the
process, which requires multiple pressings of the solutionsoaked hair at very high temperatures. “You are literally
cooking it,’’ says Carano. “So
not only am I leery of the
product, it’s the procedure
I’m leery of.”
Carano knew it was time to
stop offering the treatment
during one of the company’s
training sessions, which included in its class a pregnant
stylist. “You’re not going to be
giving these treatments, are
you?” the instructor asked the
mother-to-be.
At Changing Heads hair salon in Tappan, artistic director Bob Press offers the Peter
Coppola keratin treatment —
which does have an “aldehyde” in it, he says — but has
steered clear of what he calls
the “Brazilian keratins.”
While Brazilian Blowout is
among the most popular of
the express treatments, there
are numerous other products
used by local salons, including La-Brasiliana. Most claim
to be formaldehyde-free. At
training sessions, however,
Press found the fumes overpowering.
“If I have to wear a mask
and risk my health just to
make a few bucks, I mean to
me that’s getting desperate,”
says Press. “What’s the message you’re sending to your
client if you’re coming out
with a filtration mask and
they have to wear one too?”
Although the Coppola
treatment is generally regarded as less odorous than
Brazilian Blowout, the fact
that it contains aldehydes was
made clear to Michelle Cirillo, owner of Vision of Tomorrow in Larchmont, when she
asked the company for its ingredient list. “The way it was
explained to me is that it’s a
very small percentage of aldehyde, similar to what’s in nail
polish or cleaning solution,
not a dangerous amount,’’ she
says. “That’s what allows the
product to adhere to the hair
but not actually penetrate the
cuticle.”
Cirillo, who considered using Brazilian Blowout, decided not to offer the product
due to concerns about its
formaldehyde content. The
Coppola treatment, she says,
has been extremely popular
at her salon, with most
women coming back for
more.
But while many are thrilled
with keratin treatments,
Newburger was not. She had
it done a year and a half ago,
and watched in horror as her
hair broke off over subsequent months.
Newburger, who has long,
color-treated hair, is a daily
swimmer who was looking for
a way to beat frizz during the
summer months. After the
keratin treatment, she says,
her hair became limp, dull
and fragile, and she had to
keep cutting it until it finally
grew out. She says keratin
treatments contain an ingredient similar to that used in
permanent wave solution,
which chemically weakened
her hair.
“It wasn’t that I had a toxic
reaction; I had an unpleasant
Get the facts first
Thinking about a keratin
treatment? Keep these tips in
mind:
1. Book an appointment for a
consultation before getting any
sort of keratin treatment.
2. Ask the salon for the name
of the product being used, and
demand to see the bottle and
the MSDS (Material Safety
Data Sheet), which lists
ingredients and potential side
effects. If the salon does not
have the MSDS, call the
manufacturer.
3. Be aware that even if a
product claims to be
formaldehyde-free, it likely
contains ingredients that create
formaldehyde gas when heated.
4. Be honest with your stylist.
Certain treatments work well
with recently colored hair.
Others require a waiting period
before application of keratin
treatments.
5. Ask about the training your
stylist has received. Proper
application is a meticulous
process that involves using a
flat iron multiple times on very
narrow strands of hair. Using
the wrong amount of product,
or flat-ironing in clumps, can
lead to a bad result, says
Matthew Yasgur of Static hair
salon in White Plains.
6. Don’t shop around by price.
If a salon charges $99, they’re
probably doing numerous
treatments every day and may
not be spending enough time
on each one, says Gabriel
Abrams of Numi.
7. Keratin treatments should
not be done on women who are
pregnant or nursing, says
Scarsdale dermatologist Dr.
Amy Newburger.
8. Call the FDA if you have a
bad reaction to a keratin
treatment, says Newburger.
The New York FDA complaint
number is 866-446-9055.
reaction,’’ she says.
Stylists agree that proper
training and technique are essential when it comes to hairsmoothing treatments. “It isn’t just a formulation, it’s the
way it’s put on, how much is
put on, how long it’s left on
and how it’s processed that
will make a difference,” says
Matthew Yasgur, a founder of
Static hair salon in White
Plains. If the product is not applied properly, or flat-ironed
correctly, problems can occur.
Abrams, of Numi, also
warns that hair-smoothing
treatments aren’t for everyone.
“I have plenty of clients
who beg me to do it, and I say
absolutely not. It may make
their hair flat,” he says, noting
that a pre-treatment consultation is essential.
At Static, where they offer
the Coppola keratin treatment, nobody is going to be
getting Brazilian Blowouts:
The salon did them for just a
few days in October. “Immediately, staff responded to the
product in a negative way.
Their noses were running,
their eyes were tearing and
we had to use a small fan to
keep the smell of it away,”
says Yasgur. “Already the
hair on the back of our necks
was standing up. If it doesn’t
smell right and it doesn’t feel
right, it’s probably not right.”
Clients, he adds, were also
uncomfortable. “People who
got the Brazilian were definitely holding towels over
their eyes saying, ‘Oh, this
burns.’ That’s not a good
sign.”
It’s unfortunate, says Yasgur, who refers to the Brazilian Blowout as the “Bentley”
of hair-smoothing procedures. “I have never seen
more beautiful hair than
when we did those treatments,” he says.
Yet despite his concerns,
Yasgur is not one for preaching. “I would not stand on a
pulpit and tell the world you
should never do it. You
should do it if you feel it’s
right for you in an environment in which you feel it’s
safe,’’ he says. “But it wouldn’t
be here, because I can’t create that safe environment.”
The problem with treatments that may contain excessive levels of formaldehyde is that the FDA cannot
act until there are complaints,
says Newburger. “All of the
ingredients that are in these
are generally regarded as
safe, and if the company says
it’s low formaldehyde, unless
there’s a problem that comes
to the FDA’s attention, they
can market it,’’ she says. “It’s
not like a drug that has to be
pre-approved.”
While Newburger believes
it should be safe for women to
have their hair done every
four to six months if a product’s formaldehyde content is
truly under .2 percent, there
is greater potential risk to
stylists.
And if any solutions are
found to have high levels of
formaldehyde, they should
absolutely be banned, Newburger says. Hair color and
cosmetic colors are batchtested by the FDA, she adds
— it should be the same for
hair-smoothing treatments.
Despite a lack of consistent
regulation, the beauty industry is thriving. And as women
clamor for more services under one roof, salons have
branched out, offering everything from facials to massages (see story on page 5B).
Hair-smoothing treatments,
says Abrams, are the biggest
thing to hit the salon industry
in years — which means it’s
likely more companies are going to jump on the bandwagon, offering an even greater
assortment of products.
Keratin treatments, in
some form or other, are likely here to stay as long as sleek
hair remains a beauty ideal.
“I call it the Botox of our industry,’’ says Yasgur. “Once
you have it, you can’t live
without it.”
(#70645) Reprinted from the January 16, 2011 issue of The Journal News. © 2011 Gannett Co., Inc.
For more information about reprints from The Journal News, contact PARS International Corp. at 212-221-9595.