Blogs and Stories
My Illegal, Flammable, Fabulous Hair Treatment
Juli Balla / Getty Images
Our fearless, crimson-coiffed correspondent risks a toxic cocktail of keratin and formaldehyde that, when applied with heat, makes the most unruly head of hair silky, straight, and smooth—if it doesn't kill you first.
They had me at Brazilian. It’s really all I needed to know. Brazil, the home of facelifts, Gisele Bündchen, and pubic topiary—clearly they know beauty.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s formaldehyde involved. If a chemical can make you look good when you are dead, imagine the possibilities when you have a pulse. And lastly, it’s illicit: Because of the high percentage of formaldehyde in this product, the FDA does not approve.
Like parents who lock the liquor cabinet, everyone knows the FDA’s main purpose is to keep us from the good stuff.
Because a cloud of hot formaldehyde already surrounded me, I didn’t see how a bit of secondhand smoke would do any harm, as long as it didn’t ignite the fumes.
I’ve been suffering the horrors of humidity all my life. Just a forecast of rain makes my hair retract into ringlets. Due to my fear of frizz I don’t swim, shower, or even drink water. I’d looked into Japanese straightening, but heard it could damage color-treated hair, and this mane of red I’m known for comes from a box of L'Oreal (because I’m worth it). But Brazilian straightening, they say, actually works better on color-treated hair. And don’t the Japanese have naturally straight hair anyway?
Determined to get the treatment, I called several salons. They offered keratin treatments, but not the Brazilian. The solution apparently has to be smuggled in from Brazil, and I was told to beware of American impostors. So I went where any woman would go to find an underground source for luxurious black-market locks: the park.
“Has anyone had Brazilian hair-straightening?” I asked the other mothers sitting on the bench in the fenced-off toddler section.
“Sure, I’ve had it done,” replied a gorgeous mom with a full head of gleaming brunette. She looked healthy to me. I asked for the name of her hairdresser.
When I got home I emailed her source, a Brazilian stylist named Dayler Chagas who gets his supplies straight from his sister in Brazil. He told me there are solutions available in America, but the formaldehyde percentage is lower, and they don’t work as well. This one would last from four to six months, depending on how often I wash my hair. He normally charges $400 for the two-hour procedure, but he would do it for $300, presumably the toddler-park discount.
We made an appointment and I met him a few days later at his salon on 65th Street near Madison. Just around the corner from stores like Chanel, Valentino, and Hermès—not exactly a back alley.
I gave my name at the front desk and was led through the salon to the back garden where I was introduced to Dayler. He had a makeshift station set up outside under a tarp of canvas strung from a tree. “The blow dryer causes the formaldehyde to produce fumes so we do the treatment outside,” he explained. This must be where the FDA comes in. After being brought back inside for a clarifying shampoo and an amazing head massage (thank you, Iris) I went back to the garden to get started. Dayler sectioned off my hair and painted on the South American solution. I felt a small tingle on my scalp when he applied it, but no more than when applying hair color, and frankly I would have been disappointed had I not felt anything. I like my gain to come with a bit of pain.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
Why I'm Thrilled Baseball Is Over
Laura Bennett was trained as an architect but has since established her career as a fashion designer by becoming a finalist on Season 3 of Bravo's Project Runway. Bennett lives amid complete chaos in New York City with her husband and six children, Cleo, 20, Peik, 13, Truman, 10, Pierson, 6, Larson, 5, and Finn, 2.
Sandwiches That Kill
Laura Bennett was trained as an architect but has since established her career as a fashion designer by becoming a finalist on Season 3 of Bravo's Project Runway. Bennett lives amid complete chaos in New York City with her husband and six children, Cleo, 20, Peik, 13, Truman, 10, Pierson, 6, Larson, 5, and Finn, 2.
Real Moms of New York
Laura Bennett was trained as an architect but has since established her career as a fashion designer by becoming a finalist on Season 3 of Bravo's Project Runway. Bennett lives amid complete chaos in New York City with her husband and six children, Cleo, 20, Peik, 13, Truman, 10, Pierson, 6, Larson, 5, and Finn, 2.
This article must be a joke.
Laura, I was a histology technician before they started warning about the dangers of formaldehyde, and practically bathed in the stuff. No kidding, I had my hands in it all the time, AND breathed fumes. Plus, when dissecting dead animals in high school and college back in the sixties, our specimens were preserved in formaldehyde, and stored in it, and we breathed tons of it. And I am quite healthy at 63. It really is genes rather than chemicals, you know. So I must believe you are in very little danger from this straightening.
I have very curly hair, and spent the sixties straightening it one way or another. However, these days I recommend Ouidad, whose salon happens to be in New York. Her special technique is truly wonderful, and releases you from the fear of water. I use the frizz control gel all the time, and it works even in Louisiana! You would have to embrace your inner curl, though.
We did research on formaldehyde years ago, because our company used fabrics for childrens' products. If I remember correctly, formaldehyde is a known carcinogen; the colorless gas from it causes what is called Undertaker Eye Syndrome. How attractive!
Seriously, it is very hazardous and anyone using for their hair either is uneducated about it or just nuts. We had to protect our employees from it, and we did not have the actual formaldehyde, just the residue on fabric.
hi, laura - interesting article. i'd not heard of this straightening process before. my hair is similar to yours, but most of the times i just let it curl. i would have killed for long, silky straight hair when i was teenager, but now, eh, no so much.
but this treatment - not sure about it. it looks great, but when i googled this process several sites warned of the physical dangers, including cancer. if it is applied directly to the scalp as part of the process, then i think, aside from flammability, i'd have some valid reservations about this.
no one really knows what the long term effects of the process will be - including cancer - but most advise using the one without formaldehyde.
it wasn't all that many years ago that hair dyes weren't considered safe. so, yeah, i think we can thank the FDA for making what we use now "safe."
formaldehyde? thanks but no thanks.
I was in a department store one day and a woman
had two identical style shoes in two different sizes.
She asked me which pair looked better.
I told her they were exactly alike.
She said one pair is a size bigger than the other.
I asked her, which pair is more comfortable?
She said, that's not important, which one's look better.
I said, one size up or down is not that obvious,
especially since both shoes were solid black.
I couldn't believe it, but there was the proof,
that no matter what physical calamity might
ensue down the road, present vanity trumps
any possible consequences.
Keep treating your hair with that stuff.
Maybe someday you'll grow some extra body parts . . . or
maybe the chemicals will seep into your brain.
Who cares about long term health,
when you can "preserve" short term vanity.
I have crazy curly hair, and completely get it, Laura.
For those of you born with straight hair, curly hair is either a blessing or a curse. (I have a friend that brings a flatiron to the beach for frizz emergencies.)
Many smart, fabulous women with curly hair have the internal debate ... I could get an hour back 3 times a weekno weather worries? How poisonous is it, exactly?
Hilarious. I wish more people "got" Laura, but I get it and love it! You rule!
Yeah, that's all fine, but is Pierson 6 or is he 7?
http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/9/4382
Carcinogenicity of Formaldehyde in Rats and Mice after Long-Term Inhalation Exposure
"Squamous cell carcinomas were observed in the nasal cavities of 103 rats "
Hi, Laura!
I've had this treatment done and I love it... and I am still alive.
Maybe it's being Brazilian and all... ;-)
It was quite an adventure having mine done too, but I love your adventure better. Much more dramatic! Well, your final result sounds like mine: FABULOUS hair.
I'm going for another treatment at the end of the summer.
It lasted 3 months!!!! No blow drying every other day is a gift! I saved so much time and money. Worth every penny... and fumes!
Josh says hi to Peik!
Hope you're having a great summer.
xo
Pat
That is not true about the Japanese straightening messing up the color, nor that they all have naturally straight hair.
I would worry more about the fumes in the lungs. Don't think the mask helps much. Wonder how Dayler's lungs are doing.
*sisgh*
Oh, the things women do to be 'attractive'
Are you saying people actually do this?
Yes exploora...people actually *do* this...is that surprising? In a society where people have surgery to improve their appearance? And this is just chemical straightening of hair...
I learn so much on this Beast.
I love America. :)
I like Laura's articles, I just find it hard to know what is true, and what is added for dramatic effect.
I can't believe people wear a mask to get their hair done.
I wonder if she forgot to tell us about the consent form a person has to sign.
Laura, you're fabulous and flammable,
and I'm not talking about your hair.
Brilliant as always!
Oh people "get" her. They get that she's a vapid idiot.This article just serves to remind us. It's like she's in a constant state of desperate midlife.
She's neither vapid, nor an idiot. She's a very talented designer with a beautiful family and a talent for writing engaging, light pieces of prose.
I like Laura!
May I second that emotion? You go, Laura. (I am still mad you didn't win Project Runway1)
hahahahohohohehehe, aren't we so gay and witty as we destroy ourselves in the perverse pursuit to look 'good!' oh, isn't this fun, putting ourselves through agonizing procedures in an attempt to conform to what others tell us is 'beautiful!' blech.
If she listened to other people who ooh and ahh over curly hair, she wouldn't be doing this. So, I don't accept your premise about other people telling us what is beauty. Believe me, plenty of people say "you're so lucky to have naturally curly Hair"!
Calm down, people. She got her hair straightened, she didn't kill a puppy.
She weighed the risks vs. the rewards and took the plunge and didn't die (apparently). It's sortof like Science! ::stabs finger into the air::
She did something illegal for shiny hair, then not only posted about it, but posted the name of the beautician that did it. Brilliant yes!
What a pathetic joke.
Quick. Call the authorities.
Laura/SweetPea,
You are the Bomb!
My ex had cold formaldehyde treatment and she looked great! Everyone said how natural she looked.
Your devoted minion.
GreatT commentary Laura! I have been a hairdresser/colorist for over 40 years and I am here to tell you women will not stop at death to achieve perfet hair..Thank God it keeps people like me in business.We as women hjave endured scary perms, straighteners, frosting caps,gallons of treatments, hair spray and some of the worst haircuts known to man...however there is nothing as sweet as looking in the mirror at your client and she is smiling ear to ear! Catch up with me at www.askange.com
Love this entry, Laura. Not to say that formaldehyde is safe, but it was only recently that they removed it from nail polish. Many ladies have been breathing that stuff for years.
I do highly recommend Japanese thermal straightening. I have it done every 6 months and also color my hair every 2 months. And I have the best hair of my life, I love it. The trick is to find a stylist who is experienced with the technique and knows what s/he's doing. It's probably safer than the Brazilian thing.
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.