Salon workers and hair products

Some hair smoothing products give off formaldehyde gas with heat. Learn about work safety rules and records you can ask for. See how smoothing products differ from relaxers.

What is in hair smoothing products, and how are relaxers different?

Hair smoothing products go on the hair, then heat seals them in. Many contain formaldehyde. Labels may call it formalin or methylene glycol. With heat, it goes into the air as a gas.

Chemical hair relaxers also straighten hair, but FDA treats them as a separate product with its own safety advice. The hair relaxer lawsuits are about relaxers, not smoothing products.

What are the risks of formaldehyde exposure at a salon?

Stylists can breathe in the gas when these products are heated. OSHA says levels above 0.1 parts per million (ppm) in the air can irritate the nose, throat and lungs. In 2011, OSHA found high levels in three salons. They were above its 15-minute limit.

FDA warning letters noted reactions to these products, such as eye problems, headaches, dizziness, breathing problems and nausea.

Products sold only to salons may not list their ingredients, FDA says. OSHA still requires formaldehyde hazards on labels and safety data sheets when a product meets its hazard thresholds.

Who is covered by OSHA's formaldehyde rule?

OSHA's rule covers all work exposure to formaldehyde. This includes products that give off the gas. OSHA says salons and beauty schools that use them must follow it. The limits are 0.75 ppm averaged over 8 hours and 2 ppm over 15 minutes.

Employers must train exposed workers unless data show that exposure is below 0.1 ppm. They must offer health checks at or above the 0.5 ppm 8-hour level, or above the 2 ppm 15-minute limit. Workers with signs of too much exposure, or exposed in an emergency, must also be offered health checks.

FDA does not oversee how salons run. OSHA covers workplace safety, and state and local rules may add safety steps, such as good airflow.

Which records can a salon worker ask for?

Under OSHA's rule, the employer must keep air test records for at least 30 years. It must keep medical records from the rule's checkups for as long as you work there, plus 30 years. Current and former workers can ask to see and copy them.

Someone you name in writing can ask for you. For medical records, sign and date a consent form. It must name you, who may send the records and who may get them, which records to share, and why. Say when it ends if less than a year. The employer must give access in a reasonable time. If it cannot do so within 15 working days, it must tell you why and when you will get it.

For your own doctor's records, our medical records request tool helps you write the request.

Where does FDA's formaldehyde rule stand?

FDA plans to ban formaldehyde, and chemicals that give off this gas, in hair smoothing and straightening products used with heat. The plan does not cover chemical hair relaxers. As of October 6, 2026, FDA has not yet proposed the rule.

The federal rule agenda lists it at the proposed rule stage, with November 2026 as the target date for the proposal. That date has moved before. An earlier agenda gave December 2025.

A target date is a plan, not a promise.

What does research say about hair relaxers and uterine cancer?

A 2022 NIH study looked at hair straightening products and uterine cancer in about 34,000 U.S. women. Those who reported use more than four times in the past year had more than twice the risk of those who did not use them. This link does not prove that the products cause cancer.

It studied personal product use, not salon workers' job exposure. It did not collect brands or ingredients, and NIH says more research is needed to confirm the findings.

Our uterine cancer guide explains its signs, how it is diagnosed, and which records show it.

The hair relaxer lawsuits make claims, not findings. Our hair relaxer case page explains what is happening in them now. A lawyer can look at your records and tell you if you may have a claim.