Beauty and the Beast

By Delores Broten

Last Updated: Feb 1, 2008
Articles & News : Articles : Environment

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Reprinted with permission

"Skin Deep," "Deadly for Beauty," "Is Your Make up Killing You?" The headlines are irresistible, but the story behind them is sickening. Cosmetics, from skin cream to mascara, bath oils to sun screen, contain a riotous mishmash of harmful ingredients. At least one brand of mascara has mercury in it; a third of tested red lipsticks contain high levels of lead. Even some of the products which are labeled hypo-allergenic contain carcinogens, known human immune system toxicants, and sensitizers.

To see how extensive the problem was, and to try to kick start this story, I asked a half dozen of my friends, none of them heavy cosmetic users, for their top three products. About half of the list turned out to be ill-advised at best, even among this health-conscious crowd, and to one of them I had to reply, "Ditch the face cream - the database says 80% of all creams are less toxic than that one."

That sentence has two bits of good news buried in it. First, the US Environmental Working Group has a graded database of cosmetic products. The Skin Deep product safety database provides safety ratings for nearly 25,000 personal care products - almost a quarter of all products on the American market, and the 7,000 ingredients they contain. It also notes the high percentage of ingredients in each product on which there is no information.

You can look up most Canadian cosmetics in that database and see whether your make up, creams and shampoos have harmful components, and how they compare with other available products. The database, which is extracted from over 50 toxics and regulatory lists, is fairly explicit about what the problems might be. Even if a product is not listed, you can enter the ingredients yourself, and the database will generate a provisional estimate.

The second piece of good news is that there ARE alternatives. Thousands of cosmetics get rated as low hazard, and the website provides extensive listings of products so you can enjoy safer preening. Even here at the Shed we are eyeing our moisturizing cream with dubious speculation and checking for alternatives.

The information now available to us to understand the choices we have in cosmetics is the result of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is asking companies to sign a pledge to clean up their products. Montreal's Breast Cancer Action (BCAM) is a member of that campaign, and they have produced information on the Canadian situation. They maintain a list of Canadian companies who have signed the pledge.

Most importantly, they note that although Health Canada began to require labeling on cosmetics in November 2006, this has not led to a radical improvement in the contents of Canadian products. For most people, the new ingredient labels don�t make screening products for toxins any easier, and Health Canada continues to allow toxic chemical ingredients in cosmetics. I saw this dynamic in action at an information meeting I attended where Health Canada and Environment Canada were announcing the Chemical Management Plan to begin to remove some chemicals from the list of substances used in Canada [See Page 12]. One manufacturer said, "I use that carcinogen, but I only put it in make up that I sell overseas, is that ok?" The stunned government officials assured him that he would still come under the law, but that he needed to declare his economic interest because they would have to consider that before they banned the chemical.

On November 16th, 2007, one year after labeling was required in Canada, Breast Cancer Action members will be on the streets in Montreal and Toronto, handing out wallet-sized information cards that highlight some of the problems in accessing clear information on the contents of our cosmetics, and how to take action for change. BCAM says: "We are aiming for toxic-free cosmetics through awareness, better access to information, warning labels, and tighter regulations."

Health Canada does maintain a "hotlist" of ingredients that should be prohibited from cosmetics, or used in limited circumstances but Breast Cancer Action is demanding that all products containing a carcinogen be marked with a big C, if not totally banned.

The Americans at the Skin Deep database agree: "While we believe that making informed shopping decisions matters, the lack of safety testing reveals major gaps in our system of public health protections."

 

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Breast Cancer Action Montreal
www.bcam.qc.ca
5890 Monkland Avenue, Suite 201
Montreal, Quebec, H4A 1G2
Tel.: 514-483-1846; Fax: 514-483-9221

Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/

Health Canada's hotlist

DeTox Works
The UK Daily Mail tested two young women who were extraordinarily heavy users of make up and other cosmetics, using four cans of deodorant a week between them, and spending over 1000 pounds a month on the products. British women are the heaviest users of make up in Europe and studies have estimated that they absorb 5 pounds of chemicals through their skin from cosmetics in a year. The Mail bought Charlotte and Emma �natural� products as substitutes and tested their levels for parabens and triclosan. Surprisingly, most of the levels plummeted in just eight days, and the girls have decided to stick with the natural cosmetics and cleaning products.
��Is Your Make Up Killing You?� Daily Mail, October 5th 2007, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Lead in Lipstick
More than half of 33 brand-name American red lipsticks tested (61 percent) contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). None of these lipsticks listed lead as an ingredient. The lead tests were conducted in September by an independent laboratory for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

One-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the US Food and Drug Administration�s 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy � a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead. Lipstick products, like candy, are directly ingested into the body.

Nevertheless, the FDA has not set a limit for lead in lipstick.

The good news is that the tests show it is possible to make lipstick without lead: 39 percent of lipsticks tested had no detectable levels of lead, and cost doesn�t seem to be a factor. Some less expensive brands such as Revlon ($7.49) had no detectable levels of lead, while the more expensive Dior Addict brand ($24.50) had higher levels than some other brands.

Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioural problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure. Lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development. Lead has also been linked to infertility and miscarriage.

The full report, �A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick,� including complete test results, is posted at www.SafeCosmetics.org. Read more about lead in lipstick at www.NotJustaPrettyFace.org.

Protect Yourself and Others
From The Beast of Beauty: Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics, Breast Cancer Action Montreal
Inform yourself about the products you use:

Find out if the products you use are safe by searching the online database called Skin Deep from Environmental Working Group, containing the ingredients and degrees of safety of thousands of popular cosmetics: http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/
Check cosmetic ingredient labels and become familiar with Health Canada�s �Hotlist.�
Try to limit your use of cosmetics, in particular:
� Dark hair dyes;
� Nail treatments, polishes and removers;
� Products containing synthetic fragrances;
� Perfumes.

Inform others by talking about toxic ingredients in cosmetics to:

Your family, friends, colleagues and community;
Your local store owner or manager, and;
The companies you buy from. Call the companies to voice your concerns about toxic ingredients in their products.

Petition

Go to the Breast Cancer Action Montreal website www.bcam.qc.ca and download their petition for safe cosmetics, get some friends to sign it and mail it in, so the government gets the message from all across the country.

Write to the government and encourage:
A �Safelist� � cosmetic ingredients we can be sure are safe to use;
Warning labels on all cosmetics that contain chemicals associated with cancer;
Health Canada to review the safety of cosmetic ingredients before they are sold;
Strengthening cosmetic ingredient regulations to ensure that toxic chemicals are eliminated or tightly restricted.
Find your Member of Parliment online using your postal code at: www.parl.gc.ca
To write Health Canada:
Minister�s Office � Health Canada
Brooke Claxton Building, Tunney Pasture
Postal Locator: 0906C
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9 Minister_Ministre (at) hc-sc.gc.ca

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