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Not in my cosmetics: The Series
By Leeann Brown with Travis Mitchell
If you love EWG's Skin Deep database, then this series is for you. If you've never even heard of our Skin Deep database, this series is also for you. And for pretty much anyone else on the planet who uses toothpaste, shampoo, diaper cream, lipstick, cologne, shaving cream, nail polish and basically any other "personal care product" you can think of.
We're kicking off the series with a True-False Quiz because, well, so few people know how bad it really is in the cosmetics aisles. How wildly unregulated. So if you get them all wrong, you're not alone. But you do need help. Ready?
QUESTION 1: Ingredients in personal care products are required to be proven safe for use before being sold in the US.
FALSE! "Cosmetic products and ingredients are not subject to FDA premarket approval authority, with the exception of color additives." - Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Nearly 80 percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the industry's own public research organization, the FDA or any publicly accountable institution.
QUESTION 2. If you use a product without having a noticeable adverse reaction, it's safe.
FALSE! As you can tell from the first question, we really don't know. What is known is that common ingredients in personal care products have been linked to various concerns, such as reproductive issues, cancers and allergies. We also know that some of these ingredients can accumulate in our bodies. For example, phthalates, a group of common plasticizer, have been found in breast cancer tissue.
QUESTION 3. Avoiding a few key toxic ingredients will allow you to reduce your toxic exposure.
TRUE! While you can't shop your way around chemical exposures completely, you can avoid key cosmetic ingredient offenders, like fragrance and triclosan. You'll be doing yourself and the environment a huge favor. Hint - sign off one ingredient at a time. It's a lot more manageable, and allows you to focus your attention on one area while shopping, instead of examining every 15-letter word on the label.
QUESTION 4. Products labeled as having "natural" and "organic" ingredients are always safer than conventional ones.
FALSE! Just as ingredients aren't required to be tested for safety, there is no recognized standard for organic personal care products, either. A "natural" ingredient is not automatically safe. These ingredients can still be biologically active, and thus, have a strong effect on the human body, e.g. poison ivy.
Your best bet is to go with companies that fully disclose formulations, many of which proudly advertise certain missing toxic ingredients.
QUESTION 5. Personal care products can make their way inside your body.
TRUE! Whether a chemical is soaked in through the skin, or an aerosol spray is inhaled or suds wash down the drain and back into the drinking water supply - they can easily end up in your body. The musk xylene, which is commonly found in fragrances (and paint thinners!) has been found in human fat (link: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/research/whythismatters.php).
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists the skin as the "most common path of toxic substance exposure." No wonder, as it is the body's largest organ and has impressive absorption abilities. Medicinal dermal patches are an example of how reliable of an exposure route it really is. No need to swallow, inhale or inject - just apply to a small area and the skin will do the rest.
Stay tuned for future installments of Not in my cosmetics: The Series. Got a question you hope we include? Stop hoping and tell us - in the comments, please!
Great information-- thanks for sharing. It's really amazing that 80% of the ingredients used in personal care have never been evaluated for safety! Scary.
Thanks Kirsten, I'm glad you found the information useful! Hopefully you'll enjoy this series as we find solutions to these scary dilemmas. -Leeann
Laundry products are another 24/7 route of intimate exposure to toxic chemicals, which also get washed into our waterways and drinking water, as well as being pumped into neighborhoods through dryer vents that were designed to emit moisture, not toxic chemicals.
Great article. However, in the answer to question #4 you forgot to mention that the only way to know if your products organic & natural claims are valid is if they are certified organic.
I find most laundry products make me ill, most noticeably through the smell, so I agree with you that this is an important route for toxic exposure. I had not thought of the fact that dryers pump out these chemical into our air as well all of the other ways they get into the environment.
Great article! I agree with Danika's comment. There is regulation on certified organic products only, however it is still a good idea to be informed about sneaky ways that companies greenwash their products and mask harmful ingrediants. As a clinical esthetician, I think this information needs to be part of our basic information. Clients are coming to us for advice and we need to have all the facts. I encourage people to question their skin care therapists, doctors, healers, that are recommending products to them and make sure that they are well informed. I have chosen to educate others through my work with Miessence, the first extensive range of skin, personal care, body,probiotics, oral and hair products internationally certified to food-grade standards. For more info visit. www.karmahealingsolutions.com
how scary....we actually poisoned with our cosmetics, personal and baby care products. Thanks for great article. Every momen and mom must know this...
There needs to be more regulation when it comes to cosmetics! Why does the US allow all these toxic chemicals to be in everything from baby soap to make-up? We need to contact our local legislators and let them know this issue is so important to us!
If you are looking for a non-toxic ALL "ZERO" line of skin care check out www.avaandersonnontoxic.com, or email me at lyndsiobrien@sbcglobal.net.
I highly suggest only buying products that score a "0", and only from companies that have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics".
The best thing for us to have is knowledge. I have been re-posting your brilliant T/F Quiz on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Thanks for being on the leading edge and caring for the future of our healthy lives.
Rich, Thanks for spreading the word. We appreciate it! Best, Lisa
So glad you are around. It scares me to know ( or not know) the stuff that's in our cosmetics we use everyday!
It's scary to know that what we put on our skin is being absorbed by our body! I wish I could take back all the years of thick caked on make up-- who knows what that did to my insides-- at least I'm making better choices now. Kudos!
-Sylvia