This is the question people ask quietly, once they are already in the chair. It deserves a straight answer out loud.
The product contains methylene glycol. When it is heated, methylene glycol releases formaldehyde, and that is where the concern comes from. In 2023 the US Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule to ban formaldehyde and methylene glycol as ingredients in hair smoothing products. That proposal is public, and if it worries you, you are paying attention.
Here is what the safety research consistently points at: how much product is used, and how well the room is ventilated. Those two things separate a careful application from a bad one. If you have ever walked into a salon doing one of these and the smell knocked you back, somebody used too much. In keratin smoothing, less is more, and I use less of it than most.
One of my smoothing clients put it better than I can:
He does a great job and is very conservative when it comes to the chemicals and procedures necessary. We’ve both remarked that my hair has actually gotten stronger.
Colleen Chapin, Google
So the honest answer is: it depends on the hands. Come in with questions. I would rather answer them than have you sit there wondering. And if a Brazilian Blowout is not the right call for your hair, I will say so before we start.
You don’t have to book to ask. Text me a photo of your hair and I’ll tell you whether this is the right service, and what it costs, before anything starts. The full story is on the Brazilian Blowout page.