The AP (7/8) reported that at least 10 members of the House of Representatives “are asking the Food and Drug Administration to look into” whether women using keratin-based hair straighteners, including the popular Brazilian Blowout, are exposed to high levels of formaldehyde. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said she had heard that users of such products had experienced hair loss, respiratory problems and other illnesses. Along with Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), Schakowsky and eight other House members “wrote to the FDA in May asking for better regulation and labeling of keratin-based hair-smoothing products that contain formaldehyde,” classified as possibly carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency. An FDA spokeswoman said that the agency was evaluating data on hair straighteners, while noting that as cosmetic products, they are not subject to FDA pre-market approval.