How Suave Keratin Smoothing Kit Caused Hair Loss
How Suave Keratin Smoothing Kit Caused Hair Loss: Having smooth and shiny tresses is an ideal that is desired by many women. However, not everyone has the genetics for this. Some people are born with very curly hair. And hair shafts are often flat and textured as opposed to round and smooth. Hair ends up looking frizzy and dull.
To meet the demand for shiny, smoother hair, many products have been made available. This includes smoothing serums, hair straighteners and even DIY items such as Suave Professional Keratin Infusion 30- Day Smoothing Kit.
Many consumers carry the impression that Suave products as being gentle and soft. So it maybe surprising to learn that that a class action suit has been filed against Unilever, the manufacturer of this smoothing kit. The women who are a part of this action have claimed that they suffered from permanent hair loss and scalp burns. Pictures of some of these results are even featured on a Facebook page called, Suave Keratin Infusion Kit Destroyed My Hair. Some of these women even used the term, “melted” to describe the effects of this product on their hair.
Can Chemicals Cause You To Lose Hair Permanently?
With the Suave product, there are two ingredients that are believed to be responsible for the damaging effects that have been reported:
(1) thioglycolic acid
(2) formaldehyde
(3) Tetrasodium EDTA
Thioglycolic acid is a common ingredient found in hair perm solutions as well as hair removal products. It breaks the chemical bonds within the shafts that are responsible for the curly texture. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) confirms the potential harmful effects that it has on the skin. This includes burns, irritations and blisters.
Formaldehyde is known to be a carcinogen. Although the Keratin Smoothing Kit is marked as being formaldehyde free, it does contain DMDM hydantoin which releases this compound.
Tetrasodium EDTA is produced from formaldehyde
Hair loss can not only occur from breakage, but also the permanent inability to create new shafts.
Harsh chemicals can indeed irritate the skin and reach the hair follicles to cause permanent damage and loss. This is why patients are urged to stay away from dyes, bleaches and similar products after a hair transplant procedure.
Hair follicles are very delicate structures. Most people don’t realize that they are organs. Harsh chemicals can irritate and break the skin. This creates an entry point that enables them to reach the hair follicle and create further damage. Once this happens, new hair will not be able to be generated.
Therefore, the bald patches described by plaintiffs in the lawsuit are very likely to be caused by their usage of the Keratin Smoothing Kit.
Misleading Claims
The consumers who purchased the kit truly thought they were buying a “keratin smoothing” product, not a chemical relaxer. However, keratin is simply a type of protein within the hair shafts. And what creates the curly texture are the chemical bonds.
Therefore, it is important to really understand the labeling marked on hair products and to gain familiarity with the ingredients contained in them.
To learn more about other possible causes of hair loss, click here.