Chemicals, Cosmetics and Congressional Hearings

It's horrifying, but it's happening more and more frequently- chemicals that cause significant harm are being found in our cosmetics. Recent discoveries include the presence of mercury in skin cream, and formaldehyde in hair products. I was relatively unaware of the problem until I was in a meeting at work about a Superfund site (read: historically contaminated) and a male scientist joked that the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the site were lower than the levels in Neutrogena's face wash. At first I couldn't believe that there would be toxic ingredients in the brands that I've always trusted, but as I began to to research, I was really upset by what I found.

Checking through my bathroom cabinet with the help of the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Safety Database, I was able to find products that contained phthalate (endocrine disruptor, suspected carcinogen), dioxin (bioaccumulant, carcinogen), parabens (suspected carcinogen), and even formaldehyde (carcinogen) in a nail polish that I used very often! I've since found products that I can actually trust, but as a consumer I can't help but be frustrated- how is it that products that aren't safe are being sold so widely? And why was I so accepting? Pictured above is my former favorite lipgloss (the ingredients were not listed on the label).

The good news is that advocacy groups such as The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and The Breast Cancer Fund have been lobbying on our behalf. As a result, today (March 27th) Congress will be holding its first hearing on cosmetics safety in over 30 years. I urge you to let Congress know that you want safer cosmetics and support the Safe Cosmetics Act, which was introduced last year by lawmakers. And, as Forbes Magazine pointed out, the Safe Cosmetics Act could actually launch innovation in the area of green chemistry, which would result in better products for us and the environment.

I'd be interested to hear what you find about your products while using the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Safety Database- please let me know what you find! And more importantly, will you keep using these products?