Wash face, cleanse with toner and hydrate with moisturizer. Dab a little eye cream under the eyes and apply foundation. Finish up with evening powder, eye makeup, and, most importantly, lipstick. Sound familiar? If this is your usual morning routine, then it should be no surprise that, like most other Americans, you use an average of 12 personal care products per day.
What might come as a surprise, however, is that from those 12 products, you are exposing yourself to more than 126 unique chemicals, including hormone-disrupting chemicals and carcinogens.
While you might have once thought that venturing into your morning beauty routine without a cup of coffee was a risky operation in itself, there is much more to consider when lazily reaching for the face wash. Less than one-tenth of an inch thick, your skin is an extremely porous membrane, which is highly sensitive to toxic chemicals. The products we lather, scrub and massage onto our skin are quickly absorbed into our bodies, meaning that what we put on our skin affects our health just as those items we ingest through eating or drinking.
Due to major loopholes in federal law, it is perfectly legal for manufacturers of skincare and beauty products to add virtually any ingredient into their product recipes, even if those ingredients are known health hazards like lead, mercury, formaldehyde, parabens, petrochemicals, and phthalates. In the absence of health and beauty regulations, there is no governing body that mandates safety testing on any ingredient and no call for manufacturers to take responsibility to add warning labels or comprehensive ingredient listings to product packaging labels.
But how can there be no regulations on an issue so important? In 1938, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) thought the same thing and passed the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to oversee the safety of food, drugs and cosmetics. However, in the one page dedicated to the safety of cosmetics, the FDA defines cosmetics as products used for “cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or altering the appearance.” This means the FDA are not responsible for regulating chemicals and cannot require safety assessments or product recalls. For example, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org) the FDA had no power to issue a recall of Brazilian Blowout hair straightening products even after they were recently found to contain considerable amounts of formaldehyde.
In the absence of government authority, the safety of personal care product ingredients has been ceded to the cosmetic companies themselves, who have become responsible for testing their own products to ensure their safety and founded the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Panel in 1976. In the 30-plus years since its establishment, thus industry-funded organization has evaluated only 11 percent of the 12,500 ingredients in personal care products. This is a far cry from the European Union (EU), which has gone far enough to ban 1,100 hazardous chemicals from the use in cosmetics, while the United States does minimal testing and has banned only 8.
With so little done by our government to ensure consumer safety from the potential hazards of personal care products, it is up to us and responsible nonprofit organizations to raise awareness and challenge large cosmetic manufacturers to make changes.
At the helm of the fight is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) (www.safecosmetics.org). Established in 2004, the CSC is a nonprofit coalition created to protect the health of consumers by securing the corporate, regulatory and legislative reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals from the products women so eagerly use on a daily basis. The Campaign works endlessly to educate women across the country, in which they did just recently in Atlanta through their 2nd annual “Get the Lead Out” event.
Using lipstick as the poster child for the campaign, CSC spreads the powerful message that the lipstick women so generously apply to their lips each day is riddled with lead. In 2007, CSC tested 33 common brands of lipsticks and found that two-thirds of the samples tested positive for lead. We don’t go around chewing on the ends of pencils or painting our homes with lead paint, so why would we want to smother our lips with the stuff? The simple answer is because most women don’t realize lead is used in lipsticks. And lipstick is just the beginning. The event also aimed to raise red flag warnings about other personal care items, like shampoos that contain cancer-causing formaldehyde and lotions packed full of hormone-disrupting parabens.
“Southern women are such heavy consumers of cosmetics, so it was important to bring ‘Get the Lead Out’ to Atlanta and raise awareness about this issue,” said Beth Bond, co-founder of Southeast Green (www.southeastgreen.com), an online platform aimed to promote a sustainable economy and overall green good in the South. “I’m confident that through educating this group of women, we have empowered them to spread the message of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which will ultimately have a huge impact on the industry.”
And making an impact is exactly what CSC has been doing since its conception. With several successful events like ‘Get the Lead Out’ under their belt, CSC has influenced leading personal care manufacturers to make changes. Following the EWG’s “No More Toxic Tub” studies, which found cancer-causing chemicals in dozens of top-selling children’s bath products, the CSC met with Johnson & Johnson and urged them to respond to the thousands of consumer letters and the 2-million signature petition and reformulate their products and eliminate the hazardous chemicals.
Most recently, after the EWG’s 2010 sunscreen study, pressure from the CSC and EWG prompted 40% of the companies who were called out for using hazardous ingredients to change their formulas for the better.
But until all cosmetic manufacturers commit to removing the toxic chemicals from their products, it is up to you to be your family’s Chief Lifestyle Officer and self-police the industry. Whether buying children’s products, feminine hygiene products, daily cosmetics or even hand soaps, make sure to do your homework to make sure there is nothing toxic or potentially harmful for your family. Look for products with simpler ingredients and avoid using products with parabens, TEG, PEG and trade secret fragrance ingredients, which are protected chemical ingredients that companies do not have to report. Also, research before you buy. The Environmental Working Group continually updates their Cosmetic Database (www.safecosmetics.org) with the safety ratings on thousands of products ranging from foundation to lipstick to perfume to sunscreen. You might be surprised that many high-end cosmetic and fragrance brands like Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Lancôme and Avon, as well as more common products like Covergirl, Neutrogena and Revlon, all top the list of toxic products to avoid.
Most importantly, stay up-to-date with the latest news from both the EWG and the CSC. Arm yourself with knowledge from the latest studies and product tests to make informed and responsible decisions when at the store. And continue to support their efforts in passing government legislation. Currently, CSC is asking for everyone to sign the petition (located on their website) to get the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 reintroduced to the 112th Congress. Let your voice be heard by signing your name to the legislation that would eliminate egregious chemicals from the products women, men and children put on their bodies every day.
Lisa Archer, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, is positive that with the support from each of us that we can indeed succeed. “Atlanta is such an important and influential city both regionally and nationally that we hope people will continue to learn more, spread the word and be what drives the cosmetics industry away from unhealthy toxic products of the past to the healthy, green products of the future.”
What might come as a surprise, however, is that from those 12 products, you are exposing yourself to more than 126 unique chemicals, including hormone-disrupting chemicals and carcinogens.
While you might have once thought that venturing into your morning beauty routine without a cup of coffee was a risky operation in itself, there is much more to consider when lazily reaching for the face wash. Less than one-tenth of an inch thick, your skin is an extremely porous membrane, which is highly sensitive to toxic chemicals. The products we lather, scrub and massage onto our skin are quickly absorbed into our bodies, meaning that what we put on our skin affects our health just as those items we ingest through eating or drinking.
Due to major loopholes in federal law, it is perfectly legal for manufacturers of skincare and beauty products to add virtually any ingredient into their product recipes, even if those ingredients are known health hazards like lead, mercury, formaldehyde, parabens, petrochemicals, and phthalates. In the absence of health and beauty regulations, there is no governing body that mandates safety testing on any ingredient and no call for manufacturers to take responsibility to add warning labels or comprehensive ingredient listings to product packaging labels.
But how can there be no regulations on an issue so important? In 1938, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) thought the same thing and passed the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to oversee the safety of food, drugs and cosmetics. However, in the one page dedicated to the safety of cosmetics, the FDA defines cosmetics as products used for “cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or altering the appearance.” This means the FDA are not responsible for regulating chemicals and cannot require safety assessments or product recalls. For example, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org) the FDA had no power to issue a recall of Brazilian Blowout hair straightening products even after they were recently found to contain considerable amounts of formaldehyde.
In the absence of government authority, the safety of personal care product ingredients has been ceded to the cosmetic companies themselves, who have become responsible for testing their own products to ensure their safety and founded the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Panel in 1976. In the 30-plus years since its establishment, thus industry-funded organization has evaluated only 11 percent of the 12,500 ingredients in personal care products. This is a far cry from the European Union (EU), which has gone far enough to ban 1,100 hazardous chemicals from the use in cosmetics, while the United States does minimal testing and has banned only 8.
With so little done by our government to ensure consumer safety from the potential hazards of personal care products, it is up to us and responsible nonprofit organizations to raise awareness and challenge large cosmetic manufacturers to make changes.
At the helm of the fight is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) (www.safecosmetics.org). Established in 2004, the CSC is a nonprofit coalition created to protect the health of consumers by securing the corporate, regulatory and legislative reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals from the products women so eagerly use on a daily basis. The Campaign works endlessly to educate women across the country, in which they did just recently in Atlanta through their 2nd annual “Get the Lead Out” event.
Using lipstick as the poster child for the campaign, CSC spreads the powerful message that the lipstick women so generously apply to their lips each day is riddled with lead. In 2007, CSC tested 33 common brands of lipsticks and found that two-thirds of the samples tested positive for lead. We don’t go around chewing on the ends of pencils or painting our homes with lead paint, so why would we want to smother our lips with the stuff? The simple answer is because most women don’t realize lead is used in lipsticks. And lipstick is just the beginning. The event also aimed to raise red flag warnings about other personal care items, like shampoos that contain cancer-causing formaldehyde and lotions packed full of hormone-disrupting parabens.
“Southern women are such heavy consumers of cosmetics, so it was important to bring ‘Get the Lead Out’ to Atlanta and raise awareness about this issue,” said Beth Bond, co-founder of Southeast Green (www.southeastgreen.com), an online platform aimed to promote a sustainable economy and overall green good in the South. “I’m confident that through educating this group of women, we have empowered them to spread the message of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which will ultimately have a huge impact on the industry.”
And making an impact is exactly what CSC has been doing since its conception. With several successful events like ‘Get the Lead Out’ under their belt, CSC has influenced leading personal care manufacturers to make changes. Following the EWG’s “No More Toxic Tub” studies, which found cancer-causing chemicals in dozens of top-selling children’s bath products, the CSC met with Johnson & Johnson and urged them to respond to the thousands of consumer letters and the 2-million signature petition and reformulate their products and eliminate the hazardous chemicals.
Most recently, after the EWG’s 2010 sunscreen study, pressure from the CSC and EWG prompted 40% of the companies who were called out for using hazardous ingredients to change their formulas for the better.
But until all cosmetic manufacturers commit to removing the toxic chemicals from their products, it is up to you to be your family’s Chief Lifestyle Officer and self-police the industry. Whether buying children’s products, feminine hygiene products, daily cosmetics or even hand soaps, make sure to do your homework to make sure there is nothing toxic or potentially harmful for your family. Look for products with simpler ingredients and avoid using products with parabens, TEG, PEG and trade secret fragrance ingredients, which are protected chemical ingredients that companies do not have to report. Also, research before you buy. The Environmental Working Group continually updates their Cosmetic Database (www.safecosmetics.org) with the safety ratings on thousands of products ranging from foundation to lipstick to perfume to sunscreen. You might be surprised that many high-end cosmetic and fragrance brands like Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Lancôme and Avon, as well as more common products like Covergirl, Neutrogena and Revlon, all top the list of toxic products to avoid.
Most importantly, stay up-to-date with the latest news from both the EWG and the CSC. Arm yourself with knowledge from the latest studies and product tests to make informed and responsible decisions when at the store. And continue to support their efforts in passing government legislation. Currently, CSC is asking for everyone to sign the petition (located on their website) to get the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 reintroduced to the 112th Congress. Let your voice be heard by signing your name to the legislation that would eliminate egregious chemicals from the products women, men and children put on their bodies every day.
Lisa Archer, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, is positive that with the support from each of us that we can indeed succeed. “Atlanta is such an important and influential city both regionally and nationally that we hope people will continue to learn more, spread the word and be what drives the cosmetics industry away from unhealthy toxic products of the past to the healthy, green products of the future.”
