Brazilian Blowout Class Action Lawsuit

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Perhaps you remember in the news several months ago the hubbub surrounding the fact that a popular hair straightening treatment known as the “Brazilian Blowout” was discovered to contain formaldehyde – even though it’s not supposed to. Now we’ve discovered at least one of several class action lawsuit documents filed on behalf of customers and hair stylists who were exposed to the carcinogenic chemical.

Brazilian Blowouts have become a popular – and pricey – way for women to straighten and smooth their hair, mainly because they are supposedly less harsh than other straightening solutions that contain high levels of formaldehyde and other chemicals. Brazilian Blowouts are marketed as “all-natural” and “formaldehyde-free,” yet tests showed many still contain the toxic chemical formaldehyde in amounts well above what the FDA recommends. Customers who received the Brazilian Blowouts were understandably upset, as were hair stylists who repeatedly applied the solution and had to breathe in its fumes and touch the solution. Some salon staffers have reported side effects such as eye irritation, nose bleeds and difficulty breathing after they used the products.

Jennifer Acitelli Meints and Diana Salinas are just two angry salon owners who have filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer and sellers of the Brazilian Blowout product they use in their salon, Brazilian Blowout Solution. The San Diego salon owners claim in their class action lawsuit that before they purchased Brazilian Blowout Solution they reviewed and considered the product package’s statements that it “CONTAINS NO FORMALDEHYDE!!,” has “NO HARSH CHEMICALS” and is “FORMALDEHYDE FREE.” They say they purchased the product because they believed these statements to be true and thought it was safe to use without the protection of gloves and masks and on persons who were sensitive to formaldehyde.

On October 7, 2010, however, the Federal Health Department of Canada issued a health advisory informing consumers that testing of Brazilian Blowout Solution found that it contains approximately 12% formaldehyde – 42 times the acceptable limit when used in cosmetic products and well above the amount known to cause injury. If a hair treatment solution contains more than 0.1 percent formaldehyde, the manufacturer is required to alert the stylist.

The women claim in the Brazilian Blowout class action lawsuit that not only were their stylists exposed to formaldehyde, but they had to inform customers that received the Brazilian Blowout treatment that they had been exposed to formaldehyde, which has damaged their business reputation. This coupled with the fact that the solution is a whopping $250 — two to three times more expensive than other similar hair treatment products – means they have suffered significant financial damages, says the class action.

The Brazilian Blowout Solution class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons in California who purchased Brazilian Blowout Solution for personal use or use on customers at any time in the past four years. It is seeking class certification, restitution, and other relief.

UPDATE 1: Details on how to file a claim for the Brazilian Blowout Class Action Settlement are up!

UPDATE 2: A California judge granted final approval to the Brazilian Blowout class action settlement on Dec. 24, 2013. Settlement checks will be mailed within 30 days after the Effective Date.

UPDATE 3: Multiple Class Members are reporting to Top Class Actions that they received settlement checks from the Brazilian Blowout class action settlement, starting the last week of March 2014. As of April 1, no update confirming the distribution of payments was posted to the Settlement Administrator website. Payments are reportedly ranging from $70 to over $1,000. Congratulations to our viewers who submitted a valid claim and got PAID!