This bill establishes programs and requirements to address the effects of harmful chemicals in cosmetics on consumers and salon workers, particularly in communities of color, and subjects synthetic braids to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Specifically, the FDA must establish safety standards for synthetic braids. Synthetic braids that do not meet such standards must be labeled with a specified warning.
The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct (or award grants for) research on harmful chemicals most commonly found in cosmetics marketed to and used by women and girls of color and professional nail, hair, and beauty salon workers. HHS must publish reports summarizing this research, including recommendations for reducing potentially unsafe exposures.
In addition, the FDA must award grants to support the development of alternative, safer chemicals that may be used in place of harmful chemicals in cosmetics.
HHS must also establish, through grants to eligible entities, national resource centers on beauty justice and salon worker health and safety to educate consumers and salon workers, respectively, about harmful chemicals in cosmetics.
Finally, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration must require manufacturers and importers of professional cosmetic products to make safety data sheets available in multiple languages for cosmetics that include certain hazardous chemicals. Employers, including salon operators, must make the relevant safety data sheet available to any employee exposed to a product subject to this requirement.
