Personal care products are a 36-billion-dollar business, but how safe are the products you are putting on your skin every day? In an industry that is self-regulated, it is time to take a closer look at what goes on and into your skin.
The assumption is that personal care products, including lotions, shampoos, toothpastes, makeup and sunscreens, to name a few, are safe. Unfortunately, laws regulating the safety of personal care products have not been updated or changed since 1938, and, unlike medical products, cosmetics do not need premarket approval for safety. Less than 10 percent of the chemical ingredients have been tested for safety. The European Union has banned 1,300 of these chemicals, deeming them harmful, yet they are still not banned in the U.S.
Chemical Overload
The average woman utilizes 12 personal care products a day—that’s an exposure to a minimum of 165 chemicals. Men utilize less, but still have exposure to an average of 85 chemicals a day in their personal care products. That load on the body, with daily use, quickly adds up.
The Risk for Teens
Teens may be at even greater risk as they use an average of 17 products a day. In a small study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), each teen tested had an average of 13 hormone-altering cosmetic chemicals in their blood and urine. This is of particular concern as the exposures are happening at a time of accelerated development of their reproductive and hormonal systems, their metabolism, bone growth and brain development. The good news is that a recent study from UC Berkeley showed a nearly 30 percent drop in hormone-disrupting chemicals in the teens’ systems after just three days of using lower-chemical products.
Dr. Julie Spencer, DPT, a physical therapist and founder of The Restoration Space, an integrative health practice in Bethlehem, shared her “wake up call” moment. One particular day at her practice, she saw three women in a row, two with ovarian cancer and one with breast cancer. None of them had any genetic link, but all three of them were her age and moms of young children, just like her. She was not only sad but shaken as well.
These women shared the changes that they made since the diagnosis, going to more organic foods as well as working to reduce their exposure to environmental toxins, and that included skin care. “Skin care? Really?” she says. “It was something I hadn’t given much thought, until one of the patients shared some startling information regarding personal care products and the added toxic load on the body. I was shocked at what I discovered.”
For Dr. Spencer, it was a transformative moment realizing that she didn’t want to wait until a crisis to make a change in her and her family’s lives. She realized environmental toxins that are negatively impacting our health aren’t just things like pesticides in foods, but also in products we are using every day on our skin. It was something few people were discussing.
Product Safety
After doing some investigation, she found a product line called BeautyCounter. She was attracted to its transparency in ingredient lists and diligence in researching safe and sustainable ingredients, as well as their advocacy in changing government policies in regulating the personal care products industry.
“As a healthcare provider, I saw it as an opportunity to help educate my patients,” she says. “I share what I have learned and hope that I help raise awareness and empower my patients to make better, informed choices regardless of what brand of products they use. Their overall health and safety is my concern.”
Where to Begin
Start simply by taking a look at products you use most frequently that also have the greatest skin exposure and absorption: soaps, lotions and shampoos.
Check out EWG’s Healthy Living app, where you can scan a barcode for safety ratings of more than 120,000 products. Think Dirty® is another app that helps consumers shop clean by providing easy-to-understand info on the product in question.
Labels like “natural,” “clean” and “safe” have no regulation under the FDA and should not be used as a determining factor in your purchase.
One should avoid products with fragrances in them, as they have unknown and potentially harmful ingredients. Tip: Try using well-sourced essential oils instead of perfumes.
The Power of Change
The exponential growth and demand for organic foods is a shining example of an industry changing to the demands and informed daily choices of individual consumers. The wallet and what you choose to purchase has tremendous power to shift and create change in any industry.
Health aficionado Kourtney Kardashian raised awareness this past April, when she teamed up with EWG and addressed Congress, advocating for cosmetic regulation reform. Check out the #BeautyMadeBetter tag, which is furthering their movement.
Photo by Alexandra Whitney
Vanessa Ungvarsky, owner of Taylor Made Polish
And, locally, Taylor Made Polish is making waves. With a salon in Easton, customers can shop legible ingredient labels with true representations of terms such as “cruelty-free,” “paraben-free” and “8-free.” “While the average consumer might rely on government regulations for policing the industry, the more informed consumers are seeking out third-party organizations to assist with identifying products that align with their lifestyle, and we encourage this practice,” says Vanessa Ungvarsky, owner. Taylor Made Polish uses a third-party verification program called Leaping Bunny. “As a product provider, we diligently aligned our supply chain and production practices with the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), which exemplifies what we want to see in the market place.
“To echo Kourtney Kardashian’s sentiment, the laws are severely outdated,” says Ungvarsky. “Taylor Made Polish was created in part because of the lacking transparency and accuracy in nail polish labeling. There are several contributing factors, primarily the lack of oversight—no audit process or supply-chain verification is required. A contributing second factor: Ingredients are so difficult to read, even the savvy consumer can’t tell if something is misrepresented. With the help of major influencers, we can accelerate positive change—and Taylor Made Polish is more than happy to do its part.”
First is awareness, then action through conscious purchasing choices of healthier, safer products. For Dr. Spencer, one of her greatest joys is seeing her children ask their friends if they know what’s in their sunscreen or hearing them share what to look for when choosing one.
“My hope is that my children’s children will one day say to me, ‘I can’t believe there were harmful chemicals being used and you had to worry about the ingredients in your skin care products.’”
We can certainly all hope for that.
The Chemical Watchlist
Parabens: Used as a preservative, their estrogen-mimicking properties are associated with increased risk of breast cancer. They are found in makeup, body washes, deodorants, shampoos and facial cleansers.
Synthetic Colors: Typically sourced from petroleum, they are suspected to be a human carcinogen and may be linked to ADHD in children. The European Union has banned them.
Fragrance: This nebulous name keeps “proprietary” formulas and unknown chemicals from the public. They have been associated with dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential impact on the reproductive system.
Phthalates: This family of chemicals, known to be endocrine disruptors, is linked to early breast development in girls, increased risk of breast cancer and potential reproductive birth defects. Phthalates are often a hidden ingredient within “fragrance” labeling.
Triclosan: An antimicrobial chemical, it has been linked with altering thyroid and reproductive hormones. It is often found in antibacterial soaps, deodorants and toothpastes. There was no benefit shown in using antimicrobial soap containing triclosan versus regular soap and water.
Formaldehyde (and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives): Found in a host of body care products, the chemical is considered a carcinogen and may be harmful to the immune system.
Toluene (aka benzene, toluol, phenylmethane, methylbenzene): Commonly found in nail polishes and treatments, as well as hair color products, toluene affects the respiratory system and may cause developmental damage to babies in vitro.
Sunscreen Chemicals: Both sunscreen agents and the carriers have unhealthy and dangerous implications. Many of the chemicals are endocrine disruptors.
