I was recently appalled to learn that many shampoos contain formaldehyde-releasing additives.

[eppur_se_muova]

This is not a mistake, or contaminant, or by-product -- these compounds are *intended* to release small amounts of formaldehyde over time, to act as preservatives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde_releaser#Safety

While they are claimed to release formaldehyde (FA) at levels low enough to be "safe", some people are allergic to FA and develop contact dermatitis from exposure. Check your shampoos and cosmetics for any of these ingredients:

Quaternium-15

DMDM hydantoin

Ureas (imidazolidinyl, or diazolidinyl)

Benzylhemiformal[1][2]

There are currently a couple of class-action lawsuits in process (J&J, Nexxus) over hair loss by shampoo users. Some of the articles found with Google are a little long on the woo, but there are also more balanced ones out there. Here's a sample: https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2021/08/does-dmdm-hydantoin-really-cause-hair-loss-heres-what-you-need-know

If your shampoo actually causes your scalp to itch and hair to fall out, there's definitely something wrong.

[DeeDeeNY]

1. Formaldehyde is also present in hair straighteners

I discovered this the hard way a few years back when I had a Brazilian hair straightening and developed contact dermatitis and also lost hair. The straightening product containing the formaldehyde is called keratin and is usually labeled as “formaldehyde-free”, but that is deceptive. Technically it doesn’t contain formaldehyde but it’s actually just a formaldehyde derivative with the same basic elements. Very scary.

[Joinfortmill]

2. Johnson & Johnson takes a once trusted name and pounds it into the ground again & again.

[gab13by13]

3. You get what you pay for,

it's the same for food.

[Ziggysmom]

4. Thank you for posting! Back in college, I remember being highly sensitive to formalin, a

combination of formaldehyde and methanol used to preserve specimens.

[mopinko]

5. well, it is, technically, a by-product.

some by-products are good things, but not many.