FDA’s Plan to Ban Hair Relaxer Chemical Called Too Little, Too Late

Published

1 year ago

February 8, 2024

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In April, a dozen years after a federal agency classified formaldehyde a human carcinogen, the Food and Drug Administration is tentatively scheduled to unveil a proposal to consider banning the chemical in hair-straightening products.

This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free.

The move comes at a time of rising alarm among researchers over the health effects of hair straighteners, products widely used by and heavily marketed to Black women. But advocates and scientists say the proposed regulation would do far too little, in addition to being far too late.

The fact that formaldehyde is still allowed in hair care products is mind-blowing to me, said Linda Birnbaum, a former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program. I dont know what were waiting for.

Asked why its taking so long to get the issue on the FDAs agenda, Namandj Bumpus, the regulatory agencys chief scientist, told KFF Health News: I think primarily the science has progressed.

Also, she added, the agency is always balancing multiple priorities. It is a priority for us now.

The FDAs glacial response to concerns about formaldehyde and other hazardous chemicals in hair straighteners partly reflects the agencys limited powers when it comes to cosmetics and personal-care products, according to Lynn Goldman, a former assistant administrator for toxic substances at the Environmental Protection Agency. Under the law, she said, the FDA must consider all chemical ingredients innocent until proven guilty.

Critics say it also points to broader problems. Its a clear example of failure in public health protection, said David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, which first petitioned the agency to ban formaldehyde in hair straighteners in 2011 and sued over the issue in 2016. The public is still waiting for this response.

Mounting evidence linking hair straighteners to hormone-driven cancers prompted Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) last year to urge the regulatory agency to investigate straighteners and relaxers.

The FDA responded by proposing to do what many scientists say the agency should have done years ago initiate a plan to eventually outlaw chemical straighteners that contain or emit formaldehyde. Email Sign-Up

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Such a ban would be a crucial public health step but doesnt go nearly far enough, scientists who study the issue said. The elevated risk of breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers that epidemiological studies have recently associated with hair straighteners is likely due to ingredients other than formaldehyde, they said.

Formaldehyde has been linked to an increased risk of upper respiratory tract cancer and myeloid leukemia, Bumpus said in a video announcement of the proposed ban on X, formerly known as Twitter. But Kimberly Bertrand, an associate professor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and other scientists said they were unaware of any studies linking formaldehyde to the hormone-driven, or reproductive, cancers that prompted recent calls for the FDA to act.

Its hard for me to imagine that removing formaldehyde will have an impact on the incidence of these reproductive cancers, said Bertrand, an epidemiologist and lead author on a study published in December, the second linking hair relaxers to an increased risk of uterine cancer.

Hair products targeted to African Americans contain a host of hazardous chemicals, said Tamarra James-Todd, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who has studied the issue for 20 years.

Studies have shown that straightener ingredients include phthalates, parabens, and other endocrine-disrupting compounds that mimic the bodys hormones and have been linked to cancers as well as early puberty, fibroids, diabetes, and gestational high blood pressure, which is a key contributor to Black womens outsize risk of maternal mortality, James-Todd said.

We have to do a better job regulating ingredients that people are exposed to, particularly some of our most vulnerable in this country, she said. I mean, children are being exposed to these.

The first study linking hair relaxers to uterine cancer, published in 2022, found that frequent use of chemical straighteners more than doubled a womans risk. It followed studies showing women who frequently used hair relaxers doubled their ovarian cancer risk and had a 31% higher risk of breast cancer.

Bumpus praised the studies as scientifically sound and said she would leave to epidemiologists and others questions about whether straightener ingredients besides formaldehyde might be contributing to an elevated risk of hormone-driven cancers.

She could not offer a timeline for a formaldehyde ban, except to say the agency was scheduled to initiate proceedings in April. The schedule could change, she said, and she did not know how long the process of finalizing a rule would take.

Brazilian Blowouts and similar hair-smoothing treatments sometimes use formaldehyde as a glue to hold the hair straight for months. Stylists usually seal the product into the hair with a flat iron. Heat converts liquid formaldehyde into a gas that creates fumes that can sicken salon workers and patrons.

In addition to cosmetics, formaldehyde is found in embalming fluid, medicines, fabric softeners, dishwashing liquid, paints, plywood, and particleboard. It irritates the throat, nose, eyes, and skin.

If there are opponents to a ban on formaldehyde in hair straighteners, they have not raised their voices. Even the Personal Care Products Council, which represents hair straightener manufacturers, supports a formaldehyde ban, spokesperson Stefanie Harrington said in an email. More than 10 years ago, she noted, a panel of industry-paid experts deemed hair products with formaldehyde unsafe when heated.

California and Maryland will ban formaldehyde from all personal-care products starting next year. And manufacturers already have curtailed their use of formaldehyde in hair care products. Reports to the California Department of Public Healths Safe Cosmetics Program show a tenfold drop in products containing formaldehyde from 2009 to 2022.

John Bailey, a former director of the FDAs Office of Cosmetics and Colors, said the federal agency often waits for the industry to voluntarily remove hazardous ingredients.

Cheryl Morrow co-founded The Relaxer Advocates late last year to lobby on behalf of California Curl, a business she inherited from her father, a barber who started the company, and other Black hair care companies and salons. Ban it, she said of formaldehyde, but please dont mix it up culturally with what Black people are doing.

She insisted the relaxers African Americans use contain no formaldehyde or other carcinogens and are safe.

A 2018 study found that hair products used primarily by Black women and children contained a host of hazardous ingredients. Investigators tested 18 products, from hot-oil treatments to anti-frizz polishes, conditioners, and relaxers. In each of the products they found at least four and as many as 30 endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Racist beauty standards have long compelled girls and women with kinky hair to straighten it. Between 84% and 95% of Black women in the U.S. have reported using relaxers, studies show.

Black womens often frequent and lifelong application of chemical relaxers to their hair and scalp might explain why hormone-related cancers kill more Black women than white women per capita, Bertrand and other epidemiologists say. Relaxers can be so habit-forming that users call them creamy crack.

As a public health educator, Astrid Williams, director of programs and initiatives at the California Black Health Network, has known the health risks associated with hair relaxers for years. Nonetheless, she used them from age 13 until two years ago, when she was 45.

I felt had to show up in a certain way, she said.

A formaldehyde ban wont make creamy crack safe, she said. Its not even a band-aid. The solution is to address all chemicals that pose risk.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. Related Topics California Health Industry Race and Health States Cancer FDA Maryland Contact Us Submit a Story Tip

Politics

Bitcoin’s physical infrastructure is the industry’s most overlooked asset

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

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Bitcoin’s physical infrastructure is the industry’s most overlooked asset

Opinion by: Scott Buchanan, chief operating officer of Bitcoin Depot

A new proposal to install Bitcoin ATMs in federal buildings highlights an important question: Can crypto truly go mainstream without a stronger physical presence? For years, the industry has focused on software and decentralization, but its reluctance to invest in real-world infrastructure is starting to show. Without physical access points, crypto risks becoming an exclusive, insiders-only system, rather than the open alternative it sets out to be.

Everyone loves to talk about decentralization. There’s a good reason behind this. It defines the movement, shapes the technology, and supports the vision of a better financial system. While the industry focuses on code and algorithms, it lacks something basic. A decentralized system that exists only online is not genuinely decentralized.

Physical infrastructure is the missing link

Bitcoin’s physical infrastructure is the missing link. Without tools like ATMs, kiosks and access points at traditional retail locations, crypto remains out of reach for millions. Decentralization is not just about removing intermediaries. True decentralization requires expanding access. Without real-world touchpoints, even the most advanced network becomes limited to a closed circle of insiders.

Recent: Arizona governor kills two crypto bills, cracks down on Bitcoin ATMs

For crypto to become mainstream, it must be easy to reach digitally and physically. That means showing up in places people already go and seamlessly integrating into people’s lives. Many groups in the American population still rely on cash or don’t have access to traditional banks. According to the latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation report, around 5.6 million American households don’t have a bank or savings account. Bitcoin ATMs give these users access without needing an app, a bank account or a crash course in blockchain. Most crypto tools today assume a level of financial fluency and infrastructure that millions simply do not have. The result is a digital-only ecosystem that locks out newcomers and widens the divide between early adopters and everyone else.

User-friendly screen in the right place

Physical infrastructure helps address this issue. A Bitcoin ATM in a grocery store or gas station is not just a convenience but a bridge to financial inclusion. It is an invitation to someone who has never bought crypto, telling them they can participate. No bank, no broker, just a user-friendly screen in a familiar place.

These machines also generate new economic activity. Local businesses benefit from increased foot traffic as the kiosks create passive revenue. For many communities, they provide access to a parallel financial system that was previously out of reach. This is a tangible example of crypto’s real-world utility. It is already happening, and it is measurable.

The crypto industry’s blind spot

The industry often treats physical infrastructure like an afterthought. The obsession with building new digital solutions has created a blind spot. Innovation without usability builds systems that serve the few but exclude the many. If someone can buy Bitcoin (BTC) at the same place they buy their morning coffee, that is when crypto stops feeling like an obscure digital asset and starts becoming part of everyday life.

As governments increase regulation, trusted and transparent interfaces will become more important. When operated within regulatory frameworks, Bitcoin ATMs offer a way to provide access between traditional finance and digital assets. They are familiar, easy to monitor and offer a more approachable entry point for the general public.

Like any financial tool, Bitcoin ATMs have drawn scrutiny, particularly in cases where bad actors use them. Rather than dismissing the machines themselves, we should focus on investing in better oversight, stronger consumer education and smarter regulation. The overwhelming majority of people who use Bitcoin ATMs do so for legitimate reasons: to send remittances, to move money securely or to access digital assets without traditional banking barriers. Building trust does not mean avoiding or dismantling physical access, but improving it.

The first time someone uses Bitcoin should not involve reading a white paper or navigating a tutorial. It should be as familiar as using an ATM or tapping a payment terminal. This is not an argument against innovation. Software and protocols will continue to evolve and play an important role. Physical infrastructure provides something those tools cannot: trust through presence. When people can see and use crypto in their neighborhood, at a store they already visit or in a format they already understand, it changes how they think about crypto and who it is for.

According to Coin ATM Radar, there are over 30,000 Bitcoin ATMs in the US. It’s a meaningful start, but still only a small step toward widespread access.

Crypto’s long-term success will depend not just on innovation but also on inclusion. That means building more than networks; it means building presence. When people can interact with crypto in the physical world, it stops being abstract and becomes usable. That is how digital finance becomes everyday finance.

Opinion by: Scott Buchanan, chief operating officer of Bitcoin Depot.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Politics

Polygon-backed, high-yield blockchain launches for institutional adoption

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

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Polygon-backed, high-yield blockchain launches for institutional adoption

The Katana Foundation, a nonprofit focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) development, is launching its private mainnet, aiming to unlock greater crypto asset productivity via deeper liquidity and higher yields for users.

The Katana Foundation launched a DeFi-optimized, private blockchain, Katana, on May 28, incubated by GSR Markets and Polygon Labs, with the public mainnet launch set for June.

The new blockchain will enable users to earn higher yields and explore DeFi in a “unique, optimized yield environment” that unlocks latent value through an ecosystem that makes every digital asset “work harder,” according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

“DeFi users deserve ecosystems that prioritize sustainable liquidity and consistent ‘real’ yields,” wrote Marc Boiron, the CEO of Polygon Labs and core contributor at Katana, adding:

“Katana’s user-centric model turns inefficiencies into advantages, establishing a truly positive-sum environment for builders and participants alike.”

Katana aims to solve the crypto industry’s liquidity fragmentation issue, which can cause significant price slippage, as one of the main barriers limiting institutional DeFi participation

To reduce the value slippage in DeFi, Katana’s blockchain concentrates the liquidity from numerous protocols and collects yields on all potential sources to create an ecosystem with deeper liquidity and more predictable lending and borrowing rates.

Institutional participation in DeFi is set to triple over the next two years to 75% from 24% of 350 surveyed institutional investors, according to management consulting firm EY-Parthenon.

To tackle the growing institutional liquidity needs, Katana’s liquidity pool is composed of multiple protocols, including lending protocol Morpho, decentralized exchange (DEX) Sushi and perpetual DEX Vertex, enabling users to trade “blue-chip assets” without needing crosschain transfers.

Katana has also incorporated Conduit’s sequences and Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network.

Katana to compound DeFi yield from “Ethereum-based opportunities”

Katana aims to boost sustainable yield by building a cohesive DeFi ecosystem. For instance, VaultBridge deploys bridged assets into overcollateralized, curated lending strategies on Ethereum via Mopho to earn yield, which is routed back and compounded on Katana.

The protocol will reinvest network fees and a portion of application revenue back into its ecosystem.

“This reduces reliance on short-term incentives, generates consistent yield, and as it grows, acts as an increasingly stable backstop during periods of volatility and liquidity shocks,” Polygon Labs’ Boiron told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Yield is distributed pro-rata to each chain using VaultBridge protocol based on their share of total deposits into VaultBridge.”

“So if Katana supplies 20% of the total vault deposits, it receives 20% of the yield back,” he added.

Katana will subsequently allocate its share of yield to users through boosted DeFi incentives across “core apps” such as Sushi, Morpho or Vertex. The yield is generated from “Ethereum-based opportunities and then enhanced through Katana’s core applications,” said Boiron.

Polygon Labs’ CEO previously criticized DeFi protocols for fueling a cycle of “mercenary capital” by offering sky-high annual percentage yields (APYs) through token emissions.

Beyond infrastructure-related limitations, regulatory uncertainty remains another significant barrier to institutional DeFi adoption.

Regulatory concerns were the main barrier to entry, flagged by 57% of institutional investors as the main reason for not planning to participate in DeFi activities.

Magazine: DeFi will rise again after memecoins die down: Sasha Ivanov, X Hall of Flame

World

Hamas’s Gaza chief ‘eliminated’, says Netanyahu – but military sources say they cannot confirm death

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

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Hamas's Gaza chief 'eliminated', says Netanyahu - but military sources say they cannot confirm death

Hamas’s Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been “eliminated”, according to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But Israeli military sources have said they are not yet able to confirm the death.

Hamas has also not yet confirmed the apparent killing of its leader.

Meanwhile, with Gaza on the brink of famine, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations broke down in tears as he spoke of the suffering of its people.

Riyah Mansour told the Security Council: “Children are dying of starvation. The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies. Caressing their hair, talking to them, apologising to them, is unbearable.”

He added: “I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. And to see this situation over the Palestinians without us having hearts to do something is beyond the ability of any normal human being to tolerate. Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children. This is why we are so outraged as Palestinians everywhere.”

Sinwar was one of Israel‘s most wanted and the younger brother of the Palestinian militant group’s former leader Yahya Sinwar.

The older sibling was the mastermind of the October 7 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, with around 250 others taken hostage into Gaza.

The attack triggered Israel’s assault on Gaza which decimated the territory, with more than 53,000 people killed, mostly women and children, and over two million displaced, according to health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their tally of fatalities.

Yahya Sinwar was killed in a gun battle with Israeli troops in Gaza last October. His younger sibling was believed to have then become the head of Hamas’s armed wing.

Speaking to the Knesset on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu included Mohammed Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes. Later, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) sources said they were not yet able to confirm the death.

The prime minister said: “We have killed tens of thousands of terrorists. We killed (Mohammed) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar.” He did not elaborate.

Mohammed Sinwar had reportedly been the target of an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on 13 May and Mr Netanyahu said on 21 May that it was likely he had been killed.

The Israeli military had said it struck a Hamas command centre under the European Hospital in the Sinwars’ hometown of Khan Younis, and it declined to comment on whether Sinwar was targeted or killed.

At least six people were killed in the strike and 40 wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said at the time.

Sinwar rose through ranks

Like his older brother, Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas after it was founded in the late 1980s as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He became a member of the group’s military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades.

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Sinwar rose through the ranks to become a member of its so-called joint chiefs of staff, bringing him close to its longtime commander, Deif, who was killed in a strike last year.

“In the last two days, we have been in a dramatic turn towards a complete defeat of Hamas,” the Israeli leader told the Knesset.

Mr Netanyahu also spoke about how Israel was “taking control of food distribution”, a reference to a new aid distribution system that has been criticised and boycotted by humanitarian groups and the UN.

One killed at site of aid hub

The development comes after one person was killed and 48 others injured when forces opened fire on a crowd that overwhelmed an aid hub in Gaza, according to local health officials.

Palestinians have become increasingly desperate for food after almost three months of Israeli border closures. A blockade has recently been eased.

People broke through fences around the distribution site on Wednesday, and a journalist with the Associated Press said they heard Israeli tank and gunfire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.

It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others.

The Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which set up the hub outside Rafah, said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.

The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it will not meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food to control the population.

Israel has vowed to seize control of Gaza and fight until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and exiled, and until the militant group returns the last 58 hostages, including around a third thought to be still alive.

‘This is a man-made catastrophe’

Meanwhile, a US trauma surgeon who has been working in Gaza urged the UN Security Council to not “claim ignorance” about the humanitarian devastation.

Dr Feroze Sidhwa said: “Let’s not forget, this is a man-made catastrophe. It is entirely preventable. Participating in it or not allowing it to happen is a choice.

“This is a deliberate denial of conditions necessary for life: food, shelter, water and medicine. Preventing genocide means refusing to normalise these atrocities.”

The UN World Health Organization has documented around 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza during the war. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as command centres and to hide fighters.