When Erika Schreder's 13-year-old daughter came home from the salon, she had styling gel in her braids. The product, Shine 'n Jam Extra Hold Conditioning Styling Gel, is sold at just about every beauty store.
But Schreder, the science director for nonprofit Toxic-Free Future, was disturbed to learn formaldehyde made up 0.2% of the product. That's the highest level of the chemical found in cosmetics tested in a new state study.
A bill in Olympia to ban the use of chemicals in cosmetics died last year. But the Legislature appropriated $266,000 for the study to identify cosmetics marketed to or used by people of color, including adults and children, and test those products for potentially harmful chemicals.
