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The time when senior girls stress over the perfect dress and cutest shoes while boys reluctantly search for a matching suit and tie is swiftly approaching: Prom. But aside from their clothes, prom-goers have an even bigger worry. Ladies, think twice before applying that red lipstick and dark eyeshadow, and gentlemen, go easy on the cologne and aftershave. The beauty industry is filling personal care products with toxins that need neither alcohol or dangerous weapons to turn prom night into a deadly one.
For years, the beauty industry has been getting away with selling consumers cosmetics with chemicals that are linked to cancer and other diseases. Although some of the harmful ingredients such as lead and copper were recently revealed to the public, the beauty industry has neglected to change what they put in their products.
Self-Regulation is no Regulation
Some organizations’ missions are to inform consumers about the dangerous chemicals used in makeup. Skin Deep (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), an online database sponsored by the Environmental Working Group, shows the toxins in specific products, like your shampoo or face cream you may be slathering on daily. The Web site lists around one-third of the personal care items that are commonly found at any drugstore, such as L’Oréal and Neutrogena products, and rates how hazardous a product is based on a one-to-10 scale.
Listed among shocking statistics from a study conducted by Skin Deep in 2005, were that “a third of personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer,” and that “60 percent of products contain chemicals that can act like estrogen or disrupt hormones in the body.”
However, the most disturbing secret Skin Deep uncovered is that most ingredients in cosmetic products have not been assessed for safety at all. According to studies conducted by Skin Deep, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel has reviewed only 11 percent of cosmetic ingredients.
The CIR is the only institution that screens cosmetic ingredients for safety in the United States, yet it also happens to be funded and run by the cosmetics industry through its trade association, the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not have the authority to require companies to safety test personal care products before they go on the market and cannot even recall defective or possibly harmful cosmetics,” communications director of Health Care Without Harm Stacy Malkan wrote in her 2008 book Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.
The CIR panel is dominated by dermatologists who base their decisions regarding safety solely on skin irritation or sensitization, according to EWG vice president of research Jane Houlihan. “The panel does not have a framework or a policy on what is safe enough to use in cosmetics, so they make decisions all over the board,” Houlihan stated in Malkan’s book. “Sometimes we even found that they approved ‘safe as used’ chemicals in concentrations that were higher than levels where they saw effects in laboratory studies,” she stated. Therefore, the public is unknowingly using products that contain chemicals not even suitable for a lab rat.
The Personal Cost
Malkan’s expose also shares stories of average people who fell victim to the personal care products they were religiously applying. One story features Olivia James, a mother and former runway model, who realized that her obsession with painting her nails caused health problems for her son. Because James got her nails done weekly during her pregnancy and was exposed to the polish’s phthalates, she involuntarily gave her son a birth defect of the penis called hypospadias. James’ son is not alone: in fact, “45 percent of products contain an ingredient that may be harmful to the reproductive system or to a baby’s development,” according to the Skin Deep study.
In addition to fixating the dye in a variety of everyday products, phthalates are used to soften vinyl plastic and hold scents such as the “new car smell.” Animal studies show that phthalates like dibutyl phthalate (most commonly found in nail polish), can block androgen, which is the male hormone that controls the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics.
A 2002 study sponsored by EWG, Not Too Pretty, revealed that phthalates were in popular brands of hair spray, deodorant, hair gel, body lotions and especially fragrances. The list of brand names is never-ending: Cover Girl, Pantene, Secret, Dove, Clairol, L’Oréal and Revlon all contained phthalates, even though they were not listed on the label. “Major loopholes in federal law allow the $20-billion-a-year cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of phthalates into many personal care products with no required testing, no required monitoring of health effects, and no required labeling,” according to the Not Too Pretty report.
But of all the categories listed in the report, perfumes were the worst offenders. Just as Mrs. Fields’ does not tell the world how she makes her cookies, fragrances rely on their unique odor for success, thus, companies that market perfume are not legally obligated to reveal any of their ingredients. And who knew some of the ingredients were so unappetizing! It turns out spraying perfume can mean you are spraying whale vomit on your body, while vanilla fragrances can be created with the help of cow dung, according to Malkan. One of the products that contained the highest amount of phthalates, an astounding four, was Christian Dior’s Poison perfume. Who knew smelling good could be so ironic.
Yet perfume isn’t the only nicely scented product people should avoid. According to Malkan’s book, anything with a fragrance should not go on your body. That includes deodorants, shampoos and anything else that smells more fruity that a real fruit. The list of ingredients that go into a particular smell does not have to be put on the label, so it’s close to impossible to know what is actually in the product. And chances are it’s not something good for you.
Melvin is aware of the chemicals that are not mentioned on the labels and tries to educate her classes as well. “My class once did a lab where we found lead in lipstick,” she said. “Heavy metals such as copper and lead turn into pretty colors when oxidized so it makes sense they would be found in colorful makeup.”
Time for a Makeover
Overall, the products that have the most toxic ingredients are those that change the shape and color of hair and nail products, according to Malkan and Skin Deep. Hair products, including relaxers and dyes, contain placenta, the nourishing fetal organ expelled after birth. According to Skin Deep, placenta products make hair stronger and more manageable but at the price of transmitting estrogenic hormones that are linked to early puberty and breast cancer. And although breast cancer is a serious health concern, the real problem is that the beauty industry, as Malkan states in her book, “is in desperate need of a makeover.”
The European Union has already taken a first step towards a new and improved beauty industry by banning phthalates from certain cosmetic products. But this has yet to occur in America despite attempts from organizations such as EWG. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental organizations, wrote a letter in 2004 that asked cosmetic companies, such as Estée Lauder and Unilever, to sign a Compact for Safe Cosmetics. The compact was a pledge to replace hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives within three years and asked companies not to only remove the dangerous chemicals but also to publicly report on their progress. Not one major conventional company of the 250 companies given letters agreed to the safe cosmetics pledge. However, by early 2007, more than 500 companies with natural products practices, including more than 90 outside the United States, had signed the compact.
And the reason why some companies refused to sign the compact is not because they lack the means to have healthier products. There are some natural resources found in makeup that are not harmful to the human body, such as mica, a rock used to produce the glitter commonly found in eyeshadows, blushes and sometimes even lipgloss, according to science teacher Kathy Melvin.
Pretty Alternatives
However, we are not forced to put our health in jeopardy when beautifying ourselves. Senior Dyne Suh is aware of the amount of chemicals in makeup and takes extra precaution when purchasing her cosmetics. “I've definitely been weaning myself away from brands I was raised to like, such as Chanel,” Suh said. “I've been looking into cosmetics sold at Rainbow Grocery and other small whole foods markets.” Suh now uses products from Origins and Burt’s Bees and said she notices she doesn’t break out as much, although she does note that natural products seem to go bad faster. “People need to be aware of makeup’s expiration date anyway,” she said.
Malkan agrees that expiration dates are important to keep in mind. However, her main pointer for avoiding dangerous products is to keep it simple. Malkan says to eliminate unnecessary products such as bubble bath and to use your nose as a guide. “After switching to natural products, I found the smell of synthetic fragrance to be less appealing,” Malkan wrote in the book.
However, there are many consumers who are still unaware of the dangerous chemicals in cosmetics. Senior Denise Leung admits that she does not read labels when purchasing her makeup. “I just tend to buy makeup with pretty colors and what I know makeup artists use,” Leung said. “My favorite brands are MAC, Nars and Makeup Sephora.”
For those who don’t read labels on cosmetics, there are popular websites that promote safe makeup such as The Guide to Less Toxic Products (www.lesstoxic.ca), The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org) and The Naked Truth Project (www.thenakedtruthproject.org) which all list alternatives to the big brand cosmetic companies. Aubrey Organics is highly recommended by these Web sites as well as Burt’s Bees and Lavera.
Seniors can use these alternatives and still look dashing as they prep for a night they hope to remember forever. Or they can use lipstick containing lead and coal tar shampoo. Seniors have a choice, either they go to prom as a natural beauty or drop dead gorgeous. |
