When you think of formaldehyde, you probably picture building materials or embalming fluid, not your body lotion or hair conditioner. But this toxic chemical, long linked to cancer, also lurks in everyday personal care products. Since these products go directly on our skin, the health risks get personal, fast.
A new study by the Silent Spring Institute — a research organization investigating environmental links to breast cancer — highlights where formaldehyde is found, who is most affected, and why we need better consumer protections against exposure.
Facts on Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRPs) are often added to beauty products to prevent bacterial growth and extend shelf life. But these chemicals aren’t harmless. They’re classified as known human carcinogens, with studies linking them to breast, uterine, blood, and nasal cancers. They can also cause allergic contact dermatitis, affecting roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population.
Despite this, they remain widespread. A recent analysis of 546 personal care products found that 13 percent contained FRPs, especially hair and skin products. Hair relaxers have drawn growing concern, particularly for Black and Latina women. In one study focused on South Los Angeles, more than half of Black and Latina women reported using products with FRPs. Because of societal pressures to meet Eurocentric beauty norms, these communities often face higher exposure and thus, greater health risks.
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Tracking the Chemicals We Use
To better understand real-world exposure, researchers asked 70 Black and Latina women to log every personal care product they used over a week, using a smartphone app.
Previous studies just asked things like, “Did you use lotion today?” But lotions vary wildly. Some have shea butter, others are packed with formaldehyde releasers and other harmful chemicals, explained Elissia Franklin, an analytical chemist at Silent Spring, in a press statement. “We wanted a much more detailed picture — an accurate reading of all the chemicals in that lotion, and in any other products the women were using.”
Researchers reviewed over 1,100 products and found FRPs in everything from shampoo to eyelash glue. “This isn’t just about hair straighteners,” said lead author Robin Dodson. “These chemicals are in products we use all the time, all over our bodies. Repeated exposures like these can add up and cause serious harm.”
More than half of participants used at least one product with a formaldehyde releaser — often daily. The chemical compound DMDM hydantoin was the most common, found in nearly half of skin products and 58 percent of hair products containing FRPs. And Dodson warns, “Those are just the ones we knew to look for. There could be more.”
Pushing for Policy Change
The research is part of the Taking Stock Study, a collaboration between Silent Spring, Columbia University, Occidental College, and advocacy group Black Women for Wellness. The project explores how beauty product chemicals fuel racial health disparities.
Janette Robinson Flint, executive director at Black Women for Wellness, noted that Black women use many different products — often full of toxic ingredients — and that while consumers may know to avoid products labeled with formaldehyde, most don’t recognize the hidden chemicals that release it. In calling for more government oversight of these products and their labeling, she added, “We shouldn’t have to be chemists to figure out what kinds of products will make us sick.”
Spotting FRPs isn’t easy. They go by names like quaternium-15 and imidazolidinyl urea, and don’t include the word “formaldehyde.” While the EU and some U.S. states have restricted or banned these chemicals, the U.S. still lags behind. The FDA suggested a national ban on FRPs in hair straighteners in 2023 — but it hasn’t taken effect.
Dodson says the ultimate goal is straightforward: “Ideally, companies shouldn’t be putting these chemicals in products in the first place.”
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Read More: Deadly Beauty: The Poisons Used in Makeup Through the Ages
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Having worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.
