Formaldehyde Ban in Hair Relaxing Products Delayed Three Times Since Initial Action Following Pressley-Brown Inquiry

In a Hearing Today, Pressley Underscored Urgent Need for Formaldehyde Ban to Protect Public Health, Advance Racial Justice

Text of Letter (PDF) | Hearing Video (YouTube)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), and Shontel Brown (OH-11) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting answers on the continued delay in implementing a ban on formaldehyde in hair products.

The FDA issued the proposed rule in October 2023 following a March letter from Reps. Pressley and Brown calling for an investigation into the health risks posed by chemical hair straighteners. The agency set an April 2024 implementation timeline but missed its own deadline. Although the proposed rule was added to the OMB Unified Agenda last fall, the target action date of March 2025 has passed with no further progress.

“Since Fall 2024, there has been no further movement or concrete next steps regarding the implementation of the ban” wrote the lawmakers.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen found in hair relaxers, keratin treatments, and other chemical straighteners. Its use has been linked to cancer, respiratory illness, and adverse reproductive outcomes. The letter notes that women of color are disproportionately at risk.

“Of particular concern is the heightened health risk to Black women, who are more likely to receive or provide formaldehyde-based hair treatments, which has a disparate impact on both workers and their customers,” the lawmakers continued.

The letter follows previous outreach from Reps. Pressley, Velázquez, and Brown in August 2024, when they again urged the FDA to finalize the proposed rule.

In the letter, the lawmakers call on the FDA to finalize the proposed rule and ask for answers to the following questions:

• Given the delay, what steps have been taken since our last inquiry to advance the formaldehyde ban?
• Are there any current or upcoming changes to federal regulations that would impact the finalization of the proposed rule?
• How is the FDA prioritizing this issue relative to other regulatory efforts? Are there specific challenges delaying the finalization of the rule?
• Beyond formaldehyde, does the FDA plan to examine other hazardous chemicals commonly found in personal care products, particularly those disproportionately affecting women and communities of color? If so, what substances are under consideration?

“It is essential to continue to highlight the gravity of formaldehyde exposure, as evidenced by both epidemiological data and laboratory research,” the letter concludes. “Ensuring that regulatory actions align with the best interests of public health remains the goal and we encourage promptly finalizing a proposed rule.”

A copy of the letter is available here.

Congresswoman Pressley has been steadfast in her advocacy for Black women’s health, ending race-based hair discrimination, and introducing policies that affirm the right of Black women to show up in the world as their full, authentic selves.

• Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, legislation with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Ilhan Omar (MN-05) that would ban discrimination based on hair textures and hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or national origin.
• In August 2024, Reps. Pressley, Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Shontel Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting an update on delays in implementation of a rule to ban formaldehyde and other formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair products.
• In June 2024, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) led their colleagues in re-introducing the Wigs as Durable Medical Equipment Act, legislation to help individuals affected by Alopecia Areata and patients with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy by allowing medical wigs and other head coverings to be covered under the Medicare program.
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) introduced the Recognition of Traction Alopecia in Service Women Act of 2023 to support servicemembers with traction alopecia.
• In April 2024, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act, a bicameral bill to declare structural racism a public health crisis and confront its public health impacts through two bold new programs within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Rep. Pressley originally introduced the bill in September 2020.
• In 2020, the House passed an amendment introduced by Congresswoman Pressley to provide $5 million dollars for the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to fund research on the causes, impacts, and possible treatments of Alopecia areata.
• In December 2019, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky seeking information on the targeted marketing and sale of the company’s talc-based baby powder and its potential to cause harm, particularly to women, teenage girls, and people of color, due to asbestos contamination. 

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