ANSES is warning about styling products that contain a dangerous acid, which can cause kidney failure.
The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) sounded the alarm this Wednesday, October 16. The health authority warns, in a press releaseagainst a danger present in styling products, which can cause kidney failure. In France, four cases have already been recorded this year, three of which led to hospitalizations.
This alert is due to the presence of glyoxylic acid detected in these hair products. “Glyoxylic acid will cause, when it passes into the blood, the formation of small crystals in the kidneys and it is these crystals which will block the kidney,” explained to theAFP Doctor Juliette Bloch, director of alerts at Anses.
Additional cases might have gone under the radar if people drank a lot of water right afterward, washing away the crystals. These deficiencies are, in fact, often treated by hyperhydration but this can also lead to chronic kidney failure in the long term.
The products concerned are those used for Brazilian straightening. This technique involves injecting keratin into the hair, then passing it under heating plates. The goal is to make hair soft and shiny. ANSES assures that almost all of these straightening products contain this dangerous acid, which allows hair to be straightened in particular.
In the event of symptoms, which may appear in the hours following straightening, you should quickly consult a doctor or call a poison control center. This can manifest as nausea, abdominal or lower back pain.
ANSES advises against the use of these products and has issued a warning with the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression and the General Directorate for Health aimed at hairdressers, traders but also those who use such products in their home.
Today, the presence of glyoxylic acid is not restricted in cosmetic products. The expertise undertaken by ANSES aims to support a proposal for changes to these regulations to regulate the use of such a substance.