I'd be willing to bet that when you go shopping, you assume most if not
all the products you are shopping for, are safe. You probably believe
that anything that is unsafe couldn't make it past Federal inspections
and wouldn't be allowed to be placed on the shelves for sale.
I
mean, let's face it, given the size of the government these days; with
all the different departments regulating this and that, it's obvious
they check products before they're allowed to be sold.
Well, not so much...
When
it comes to cosmetic products you are pretty much on your own. The
primary authority for these products, The Food and Drug Administraion
(FDA), has no "authority" to mandate that companies test their products
for safety before unleashing them on consumers. The only thing they do
prior to market release is to check for certain color additives, and to
check active ingredients in any cosmetic product classified as an
over-the-counter drug. Not very reassuring, to be sure!
So what else have you assumed about the cosmetic industry that is untrue?
Certainly
the government prohibits the use of dangerous chemicals in personal
care products! Besides, companies wouldn't expose themselves to
liability by including such chemicals in the ingredients of their
products.
Wrong again! Cosmetic manufacturers are allowed to use
any ingredient or raw material they want, except for the color
additives, indicated above, without any intervention by a government
consumer protection agency.
Did you know...
Over 500 products sold in the US contain ingredients banned in cosmetics sold in Japan, Canada and the European Union.
The International Fragrance Association has identified over 100
products sold in the US that have ingredients deemed unsafe by the
organization.
A substantial number of "nanomaterials" who's safety is questionable may be found in personal care products.
61% of lipstick sold in the US contain lead residues.
60% of sunscreens include oxybenzone, which is readily absorbed
through our skin contaminating nearly 97% of Americans with a potential
hormone disruptor.
A cancer causing substance 1,4-dioxane may be
found in 22% of all personal care products including those targeted for
use by children.
But then, if you think about it, is there really
that much risk in applying something to our skin? How dangerous could
it be, when so little gets through our skin, right?
Did you know,
that many products contain penetration enhancers, to assure ingredients
find there way deep within our skin? More importantly, it's not
necessarily what you have rubbed on your skin, but the vehicle used to
transfer the product. For example your risk exposure can be caused by
breathing in over spray and dust from powders, swallowing chemicals
applied to your lips or hands, as well as absorbing them through your
skin.
Ingredients such as paraben preservatives, the pesticide
triciosan, sunscreens, synthetic musks and phthalate plasticizers remain
in our bodies and can be found in men, women and children. Many of
these ingredients disrupt our hormones and can lead to health issues
such as heightened sperm damage, reduced birth rate in women, and the
feminization of the male reproductive system.
Common sense says products made for children or those that are labelled as hypoallergenic would offer increased safety.
If
you think that, you would be wrong, once again. Marketing claims made
by personal care product manufacturers are not regulated and they almost
never have to substantiate their claims. Their use of the terms
"natural" and "hypoallergenic" are used to improve their marketability
and often have no basis in reality.
A study performed in 2007 of
1,700 children's personal care products labelled "gentle" or
"hypoallergenic" revealed that 81% contained allergens or skin and eye
irritants.
The same goes for products labelled organic or
natural. Again, these labels improve consumer's attraction to them and
are used to increase sales. They are not necessarily reflective of the
actual ingredients found in any given product.
Manufacturures
often include a smidge of natural or organic ingredients simply so they
can use those terms in their marketing. The amounts used, are so
insignificant they have no real effect on the product's performance,
though.
The other point that is often neglected is, that even if
an ingredient is natural or organic, it is not necessarily safe to use.
Poison ivy is natural, but you're not going to want to rub that all over
your skin now, are you?!
Some personal care products which have
been labelled as natural or organic, have been found to contain
petrochemicals and have absolutely zero certified natural or organic
ingredients. Zip, nada, zilch! Not only that, but "certified" organic
products can have as little as 10% organic ingredients by weight, in
order to be classified as such.
Finally, research has shown that 35% of children's cosmetic products marketed as "natural" include artificial preservatives.
We
all tend to believe that in the event a product causes injury, the FDA
will immediately cause that product to be recalled. Sorry to burst that
safety bubble - but the FDA does not have the authority to do that.
Besides, manufacturers are not required to report these injuries to the
FDA.
Of course, as a well informed consumer, you always have the
ability to read the labels and determine for yourself the safety of the
ingredients in any given product. With one little caveat, though.
Federal law not only doesn't offer protection for the consumer, but
actually facilitates the manufacturure's deceit.
Federal laws
permits the exclusion of some ingredients from their labels! Ingredients
considered "trade secrets" and ingredients that make up the fragrance
may be excluded from the label. Fragrances can have some of the most
harmful ingredients in them, yet they can be excluded from
identification.
If you believe personal care product safety is a
women's concern - think again. The following stats are the results of
various surveys and reveal that on average women use 12 products with
168 ingredients everyday, men use 6 products with 85 ingredients and
children are exposed to 61 ingredients daily. That's a significant
amount of exposure to a lot of different chemicals on a daily basis. The
younger you are, the more susceptible you are to the negative impact of
those ingredients.
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