The Pretty Price Check: Your Friday roundup of how much we paid for beauty this week.

Get ready for a souped-up Price Check today, people. Big things are happening. (Seriously. Read to the end, or you’ll miss the best part. And I’ll be sad.)

First up: Formaldehyde. On your head. I have a whole post about this lined up for next week, but the plot keeps thickening on this one, so I figured we better dive right in.

For the full back story, check out the piece I wrote on Lemondrop earlier this week. The nutshell version is that the supposedly “formaldehyde-free” Brazilian Blowout hair straightening treatment has tested positive for — you guessed it —  formaldehyde. As in, the stuff that causes nosebleeds, migraines, asthma attacks and is a “probable carcinogen” associated with myeloid leukemia and other diseases.

And — breaking news time! — this morning, we’re learning that Brazilian Blowout isn’t the only formaldehyde-containing straightener on the market, says Nadine Jolie, who has been all over this business, and just posted these lab results.

So let’s Price Check that:

• 0.2 percent: The max safe level for formaldehyde in any beauty product, according to the industry’s safety experts, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel. (Yes the industry. Don’t you love that their voluntary standard is the only safety standard we’ve got for using this probable carcinogen? Because I do.)

• 1.5 percent: The amount of formaldehyde found in Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy. 7.5 times higher than the safe limit.

• 1.5 percent: The amount in Global Keratin Chocolate Formaldehyde-Free (despite that utterly innocent sounding name!). 7.5 times higher than the safe limit.

• 1.6 percent: The amount in Keratin Complex Express Blow-Out. 8 times higher than the safe limit.
• 1.9 percent: The amount in Marcia Teixeira Chocolate Extreme Defrizzing Treatment (what is up with all the chocolate here?). 9.5 times higher than the safe limit.

• 2.6 percent: The amount in Marcia Teixeira BKT. 13 times higher than the safe limit.

• 6.5 percent: The amount in Brazilian Gloss.  32.5 times higher than the safe limit.

• Up to 12 percent: The amount found in Brazilian Blowout, the “formaldehyde-free” category leader whose test results started all the fuss, and who is now being recalled in Canada. (The company’s own testing found no formaldehyde, but I’m gonna go with the unbiased scientists on this one.)

Again, big love to Nadine for sharing these lab results. Bottom line? This stuff is making salon workers sick and it’s not going to do your head any favors either. Stick to flat ironing, sans chemicals. (Or even better, just go wavy!) And consider this case-in-point as to why we could sure use some actual chemical safety regulations in this country.

Onward.

• 57 percent of consumers say they are “somewhat” or “very” concerned about the ingredients used in their beauty products. See above. Where do the other 43 percent of you find your unflappable confidence? (Via Cosmetics Design.)

• $15,572: How much more skinny women (25 pounds less than the norm) earn compared to average-sized women.

• $13,847: How much less heavier women (25 pounds over the norm) earn compared to average-sized women. (Both via Jezebel.)

• Over 450 franchises of Knockouts Haircuts for Men are now open in 30 states. This is Hooters as a barber shop. Hair stylists wear hot pants and tight t-shirts and are featured on a calendar, wielding hair dryers in spike heels. Apparently they lost my memo on spa workers not being sex workers. (Via BellaSugar.)

• 81.8 percent of the models used in New York’s Fashion Week were white. Believe it or not, that’s a smidge of improvement on the diversity front over spring’s Fashion Week. (Via Jezebel.)

That’s a depressing note to end on, I know, but this will cheer you up: Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Beauty Schooled! Yes, it all started last October 9, with this post.

228 posts, over 1000 comments, 122,000 page views, and oh yeah, 600 hours in beauty school later, I’m awfully happy to be here and thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and generally being great. To celebrate, I finally got around to creating a Beauty Schooled Facebook Page, which I’d love for you to head over and like, comment, etc. Blog posts get cross-posted there now, plus there are lots of FB-only links and what not, so enjoy!

Now go enjoy the long weekend — I’ll see you back here on Tuesday. xoxo

[Photo: Brazilian Blowout Solution, from over here.]