The Food and Drug Administration has missed its fifth consecutive deadline to propose banning formaldehyde from hair-straightening products, extending a pattern of delays that began in October 2023. The latest deadline passed on December 31, 2025, with no indication of when the agency will act.
The proposed ban addresses formaldehyde’s links to breathing problems, myeloid leukemia, and uterine cancer. Research shows women using hair-straightening products more than four times yearly face double the uterine cancer risk compared to non-users. These products also correlate with reduced fertility, adding to concerns about toxic chemicals in beauty products affecting reproductive health.
David Andrews, acting chief science officer at the Environmental Working Group, emphasized that delays “directly puts at risk the health of salon workers and consumers, particularly Black women, who are disproportionately exposed to harmful chemicals in personal care products.”
Black and Latina women face heightened exposure because they use multiple formaldehyde-containing products beyond hair straighteners, including shampoos, body soaps, lotions, and eyelash glue. Identifying formaldehyde proves difficult since ingredient lists use alternative names that don’t include the recognizable term, according to exposure scientist Robin Dodson from Silent Spring Institute. Some products contain formalin or methylene glycol, which converts to formaldehyde when heated.
The FDA faces no formal penalty for missed deadlines. Andrews urged immediate action, noting that after “more than a decade of warnings, promises and scientific agreement, the risk to public health is simply too great to wait any longer.”
See: “FDA Misses Fifth Deadline to Ban Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde in Hair Straighteners” (January 17, 2026)Â
