If you have been keeping abreast of the latest updates about the cosmetics industry, you probably know by now that most of the mainstream makeup that we use daily, are full of extremely harmful chemicals. Yes – many of the products that we apply on our face can actually cause cancer and serious birth defects.
Before we pooh pooh these ideas (after all, how much can a bit of BB Cream or eyeliner hurt you?), we would do well to remember that skin is the largest organ in our body, and 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer this year. Would you voluntarily expose this organ to cancer causing chemicals each and every day? I hope the answer is no… Yet, that is what each of us is doing on a daily basis.
Much has been made of the fact that the EU has banned about 1,400 different chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products, while the U.S. has banned a paltry 11.
Yes, we all know that we should be careful about the ingredients that go into our cosmetics and personal care products, but with so many brands flooding the market, how do we decide which products are good for us? Usually, we go for the reputed brands, assuming that such big names will never make a product that will harm our health. And yet, most of the time, these big names are also the biggest offenders. They’re all about maximizing profit, and they have lobbyists and legal teams to cover up their misdeeds.
Most of the major drugstore and department store brands fall woefully short on safety and environmental standards, even though they may be very popular. As a typical example of mainstream cosmetics brands, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics checked for the most dangerous chemicals that have already been proven to be highly toxic, and found that all of the drugstore and department store products (like Maybelline, Clinique, L’Oreal and similar brands) either openly contained these toxic ingredients, or contained them in secret (as an unlisted ‘contamination’).
The bottom line is that drugstore and department store brand makeup and cosmetics are simply not safe.
As consumers, it is both our right and duty to be mindful about the cosmetics that we use and to ensure that we shun any products which can pose a health hazard to us and our children. Once we start avoiding products that are harmful, we will hit the cosmetic giants where it hurts most –their revenues and bottom lines– forcing them to swap out the most dangerous ingredients for (hopefully) safer ones. It is up to each one of us to make that happen.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “Nearly 90% of the 10,500 ingredients the FDA has determined are used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA or any other publicly accountable institution.”
Fortunately, there are several nonprofits that have taken it upon themselves to analyze and rate the various personal care products that are available in the market. Tools like GoodGuide and the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database provide critical health information about many consumer items including personal care products. And if you want to check how effective these products are, then sites like Beautypedia and the user reviews on Amazon provide useful information (keep in mind that there are a lot of fake consumer reviews out there!)
Here’s a great video that explains how so many toxins end up in our makeup:
So, the next time you buy any of your favorite makeup, visit a few websites like EWG Skin Deep and GoodGuide and see if they withstand the safety test… or simply purchase products from your health food store that have zero ingredients that sound like chemicals.
Did you know that approximately 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed into your body? That’s quite a scary thought, when you realise that the cosmetics industry is unregulated.
Saving this post for later, I’m always nervous about what is in my makeup!
I know how you feel! Like any beauty addict, I have boxes and boxes of makeup, skincare, and polish – I’m going now through everything with this list. I only use 3-free and 5-free polishes (for a couple of years now) and I’ll be definitely using only natural beauty products from now and on.
Thanks for this alarming post! It left me wondering just what the heck products CAN I use without fear of cancer and other issues?? I mean, when an ingredient is in most products– the one that makes shampoo foam, for instance– we don’t have many alternatives, do we? And nowadays, we all use so many more personal care products than the generation before us, so we are more exposed to the danger than our elders ever were. Yikes!
There are those who believe that the products are adequately regulated, and that because they haven’t been shown to cause problems they should be considered completely safe. The weakness of this argument is that there are many gaps in the evidence, particularly on the extent to which the ingredients in cosmetics can be absorbed and build up in the body. Further, just because a substance hasn’t been shown to cause a problem doesn’t ensure that it is risk-free.
Yeah, only a tiny percentage of the chemicals used in the products we put on and in our bodies have ever been tested for safety, and often the testing is done by the companies who have a vested interest in convincing us that it’s safe. The chemicals that have been independently tested (without interference or bribes from industry) have a high hit rate of being very toxic.
I don’t even like Maybelline. I find that their bases are very heavy on the face and warm on the skin. After continued usage, it’s either I get clogged pores and cystic acne afterwards or I have red bumps on my skin. Even their brow powders cause my brow hairs to dry up and fall off! Their lipsticks are a different story though, they work just fine… But I’m concerned at how their products aren’t even safe to begin with. Well, Maybelline isn’t exactly expensive… They’re very budget friendly but then, they don’t perform well.
Yikes! I thought that whether cosmetics or certain ingredients in them cause more subtle or long-term health problems is not entirely clear. I guess uncertainty exists because many products and ingredients have not been tested thoroughly. Even when ingredients in cosmetics have been tested, the results may not always be simple or clear cut. For example, some ingredients in cosmetics have been found to be toxic in large amounts (or at high concentrations), but the amounts of these ingredients used in cosmetics is typically much lower than what caused ill effects.
I think there’s a lot of confusing info out there because the lobbying firms pay corrupt scientists to make fake studies with fake results that show that ingredients are not harmful, when they obviously are. This was done for cigarettes, lead, etc. etc.
It’s unlikely to get cancer from cosmetic use alone. Products that do list carcinogen contaminants like formaldehyde usually contain very small amounts of them. Scientific studies behind these claims expose animals to higher doses than we would normally experience. What causes cancer in lab animals may not cause cancer in humans.
I was never a fan of L’Oreal but it’s very disappointing to know. They should be careful in what they put in their products. People nowadays are very particular of what they put on their skin because of the rampant cases of allergic reactions to almost any chemical that’s out there in the market. I personally think it’s very alarming. I used to just put anything on my face too, but now it’s different. I research a lot before buying skin care product or makeup. Plus the fact that the company should be trustworthy.
I know! I was surprised because I love L’Oreal lipsticks!
Love the witch hazel-very inexpensive and totally natural.
I buy organic witch hazel… Which I use in place of an astringent such as Clinique clarifying. My skins never been better. I have endometrial cancer btw
Seemingly awesome and effective products. Definitely want to try the witch hazel!