What Is DMDM Hydantoin — and Why Is TikTok So Involved?

If you wish to unfold a message far and large with simply the press of a button, TikTok is the place to share it. That is what occurred earlier this yr, when a person — after which one other, and one other — caught wind of sophistication motion lawsuits alleging {that a} hair-care ingredient known as DMDM hydantoin causes scalp irritation and hair loss. 

Instantly, the platform was abuzz with movies of customers making related claims and warning others to keep away from merchandise with DMDM. (Immediately, movies tagged with #dmdm have collected greater than 37 million views.)

What’s DMDM hydantoin?

We’ll unpack these claims in a minute, however within the meantime, let’s break down the ingredient in query. “DMDM hydantoin is a preservative used to guard cosmetics from microbial spoilage all through their shelf life,” says beauty chemist Kelly Dobos. 

Preservatives work in a myriad of various methods, however DMDM hydantoin is a part of a category known as formaldehyde releasers as a result of they do exactly that: launch “very small quantities of formaldehyde over the lifetime of [a] product,” says Dobos. 

Is DMDM hydantoin secure?

If that sounds off-putting, contemplate that formaldehyde happens naturally in meals like bananas, carrots, and apples. In truth, the quantity of formaldehyde launched by DMDM hydantoin is roughly equal to that of a pear. “The Beauty Ingredient Evaluate (CIR) panel of professional physicians and toxicologists concluded that free formaldehyde in cosmetics mustn’t exceed 0.2 p.c,” reviews Dobos. “DMDM hydantoin is usually used at concentrations of lower than half a p.c complete, which suggests it is unlikely cosmetics comprise ranges above that advice.”

Nonetheless, TikTok customers heard the phrases “formaldehyde” and “hair loss” and ran with them — to the purpose that main magnificence manufacturers like Tresemmé and OGX (the father or mother corporations of which have been cited within the aforementioned lawsuits) actively eliminated DMDM hydantoin from their formulation and took to their web sites to immediately handle mentioned claims. 

When contacted by Attract, a consultant for Unilever-owned Tresemmé supplied the next assertion: “Although DMDM has been confirmed secure and is extensively used within the magnificence trade as a preservative, Tresemmé now not makes use of DMDM in our product formulations.”

A press release supplied by OGX, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, had an identical sentiment: “Our new product launches don’t comprise the preservative DMDM Hydantoin. In truth, we have not launched any new hair care merchandise with this ingredient within the final a number of years. A few of our current merchandise comprise a small quantity of DMDM Hydantoin. Each preservative utilized in our merchandise should clear our rigorous security evaluation course of. We additionally provide a variety of formulation with quite a lot of totally different preservatives that meet evolving client ingredient preferences.”