I've personally never had a Brazilian Blowout but I have had friends who have had both good and bad experiences.  Recenty a Total Beauty reader had one and shared her experiences with us.  Overall it seemed positive, but read the story for yourself to see what she really thought.

http://vita-health.blog/content/gallery/brazilian-blowout-makeover%3C/p%3E%3C/p%3E

Thanks Tracy!  That pretty much echoes all of the things I've heard from friends who have had the service performed on their hair as well.  I'm not a potential candidate for the BB myself with my super baby fine hair, but on a personal level--I haven't run into a single person who has had a negative thing to say about it after they've had it done.  I have however, heard similar complaints about the Coppola system like the woman in your article experienced.   

Brazilian Blowouts are becoming so popular that there are now competitors selling solutions to salon professionals that claim to achieve similar results, and they are still calling them the "Brazilian Blowout".  What most people aren't aware of is that "Brazilian Blowout" is actually a trademarked brand name, and only a BB is really a BB.  Similar to how all brands of tissue are commonly referred to as "Kleenex" and how people often refer to copy machines as "Xerox machines", we have to be careful not to assume that what we're getting in the salon is the brand name product's service, just because it was called that by the salon.  I don't know about you guys--but I can tell the difference between a cheap tissue and a real Kleenex when I've got a cold and I'm rubbing my nose with one all day ;)  I hope that analogy makes sense!

In light of all of the recent accusations, I urge everyone to do their homework before having the service done so you can make the best decision for yourself.  During your consultation, ask about the training your stylist has had, ask what brand of solution they are using too!  If they aren't willing to show you it's the genuine Brazilian Blowout formula, I personally would walk away as there's nothing to hide if everything is on the up & up.  To my understanding (and this is just from what I have read this week), the formula that was tested in Oregon and came back positive for formaldehyde was NOT submitted by Brazilian Blowout directly, and there is no way of proving that the sample submitted to the Oregon Health and Science University was the genuine article itself, so who knows what happened?  It's food for thought and there will be more to come out on the matter over the next few weeks and months I'm sure.     

In the past week I've learned so much about this, I just wanted to update anyone who is interested on some of the most recent developments.  Nadine Jolie is following this super closely on her blog--I just read a few of her updates and I found them all verrrrrrry interesting.  Check out this video she recently posted, she has some very valid points on the safety of the BB: 

http://nadinejolie.com/blog/2010/10/06/the-brazilian-blowout-formaldehyde-free-controversy-continues/

If I wasn't confused about the safety of this service before, I'm definitely confused now.  Who can we trust?  What is going on?  Thoughts?

Thanks for sharing that video Amber.  I thought it was really interesting and it certainly makes me not want to try a Brazilian Blowout until all this dust settles.  I feel like I personally would want to wait till more information is out since it could be potentially bad for your health. 

It's so crazy sometimes to think about the things we'll put or do with our bodies for the sake of beauty.  I hope that this situation is solved immediately and that if they're falsely advertising that they are formeldyhe free that they have to deal with the appropriate consequences cause that just ain't right to do. 

According to the news the other night, they do have it and are thinking of banning it.

A friend of my sent me this article about a Portland hairstylist who did a little bit of investigation on the brazilian blowout. Check it out:

I guess now what my issue is with Brazilian Blowout (and any other company manufacturing and selling a product that produces similar results and claims it's formaldehyde-free), is that as consumers we aren't being given the choice if we want to be exposed or not if it's indeed a deceptive claim.  A lot of people chose BB because of their formaldehyde-free claims; and even though their site still claims they are hyde-free, more comprehensive testing by legit labs says no way!

Regardless if it does or it does not, we all have the right to make informed choices. And I'm saying if this is indeed true (the claims of positive results are growing) I'm pretty upset about it myself.  I'm not even so angry about the formaldehyde part to be honest, I'm angry that we're not given the choice.  For example: let's say you only believe in using paraben-free skincare products and a company touts their moisturizer as paraben-free.  You buy it, use it religiously, and now you are unknowingly using parabens.  

I guess I'll step off my soap-box about this for now, but I am just frustrated with the issue, so I can only imagine how some people who have had the service completed feel.