13

A Guide to Protecting You and Your Family

“The fear of hanging concentrates the mind wonderfully.”

—Samuel Johnson

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can’t depend on the FDA to protect us from the dangers found in conventional cosmetics and personal-care products, and we certainly cannot trust industry to do so. But we can take steps to protect ourselves.

The biggest step is one you’ve already taken by reading this book: educating yourself about the toxic dangers these products present, and how to avoid them. Protecting yourself and those you care about requires nothing more than a modest degree of self-education, a heightened state of vigilance, and the willingness to exercise some self-discipline.

Safe alternatives to toxic ingredients and products do exist, and exercising choice in buying these safer products over conventional ones does have repercussions in the marketplace. The example you set for others, and your conversations with friends and family about the various risks and benefits of specific items, advances public awareness while placing competitive pressures on manufacturers. Disciplined buying choices can affect corporate decisions about product formulation and marketing, just as your voting choices in the political realm can influence whether government agencies will choose to enforce laws and regulations designed to safeguard your health and well-being.

Since we cannot yet rely upon the FDA or other federal regulatory agencies to act in the best interests of our health and safety, we must accept responsibility for doing so ourselves. This chapter is designed to help you do just that.

Four Deadly but Avoidable Killers

The details in this book are a lot to remember, especially when they involve so many long, unfamiliar chemical names. That’s why I’ve created a compact tear-out sheet in Appendix One that you can take with you and consult when making purchasing decisions.

But if you only avoid four ingredients or categories of ingredients described in this book, make it these four: talc, powdered titanium dioxide, sunscreens, and certain dark hair dyes.

Talc, or talcum powder, has been strongly linked to ovarian cancer, which has become the fourth most common fatal cancer in women (after breast, colon, and lung). Yet one out of five premenopausal women continues to use it as a dusting powder or on tampons. (See chapter 6.)

Titanium dioxide powder, which often appears as a whitening agent in women’s cosmetics powders, has been shown in rodent testing to be a source of respiratory tract cancer if inhaled. Numerous studies have demonstrated this effect, yet its use remains widespread, even in products otherwise billing themselves as safe and natural. (See chapter 6.)

Sunscreens, either alone or used in cosmetics or lotions, give users an illusion of safety that encourages them to stay out in the sun longer, exposing them to greater amounts of dangerous long-wave ultraviolet radiation. Sunscreens also contain chemicals linked in laboratory experiments to hormone disruption. (See chapter 8.)

Hair dyes, specifically black and dark brown permanent and semi-permanent dyes, contain many frank and hidden carcinogens. Frequent and prolonged use of these dyes has been linked to leukemia, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and bladder and breast cancers. While the European Union has banned many hair dye ingredients, United States manufacturers and regulatory agencies remain stubbornly blind to the dangers. (See chapter 7.)

Deciphering Product Labels

Simply knowing what ingredients to avoid sometimes isn’t enough. How can you avoid ingredients if the manufacturer doesn’t reliably list them on the label? Learning to decipher product labels is another key step in protecting yourself from toxic ingredients.

Federal law requires that product ingredients be listed on labels in descending order of concentration, beginning with the largest down to the smallest. The first ingredient listed will often be water or an oil used as the product’s base, and fragrances and color additives usually appear last.

Even so, the identity of ingredients is often disguised or hidden in a variety of ways. Ingredients can be listed under different names, rendering familiar ingredients unrecognizable. Trade secrecy laws enable manufacturers to protect their formulas to some extent by grouping specific ingredients under generic terms like “fragrances” or “natural colorings.”

You should also exercise healthy skepticism when it comes to claims on the label that a product is “hypoallergenic,” “allergy tested,” or “safe for sensitive skin.” Since product manufacturers are not required to validate such claims with the FDA, they could be entirely meaningless.

A few other terms to be skeptical of when you see them on labels:

• Natural ingredients. The word “natural” on a label can mean very little. Arsenic is natural, for instance, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to put in toothpaste. Having “natural” on the label should not automatically make you think the product is safe. Manufacturers are also not required to prove these claims, as with “hypoallergenic” and its ilk. Truly natural products should not include synthetics of any sort, which means no ingredients derived from petrochemicals. A label that announces that a product is “organic” or “all-natural” without any further ingredient identification or clarification should be a red flag.

• “Ultra-fine” or “micro-fine” ingredients. There are no labeling requirements in the U.S. for nanoparticle ingredients. If a manufacturer uses the terminology “ultra-fine” or “micro-fine” in connection with specific chemical ingredients, that usually means nanoparticles are being used. The safety of nanoparticles remains a huge question mark; you’re better off avoiding products that include them.

• “Inactive” ingredients. If you see the term “inactive” listed under an ingredient on a label, think twice about buying that product. This is a term commonly used to mask the identity of potentially harmful chemicals.

Tips for Choosing Safe Products and Alternatives

Generally, when choosing cosmetics and personal-care products, choose those that contain the fewest ingredients; these will be the safest. As the list of a product’s ingredients grows, so does the possibility that the product will cause adverse reactions, including allergy, irritation, and cancer. As well, the more ingredients a product contains, the greater the chance those ingredients will interact with each other in unpredictable ways.

There are two types of ingredients—safe synthetics produced by green chemistry, and certified organics—that have proven records of safety that you can trust. Chapter 12 explained these trends and what to watch out for—especially regarding products labeled “organic”—in detail. Certified organic products are increasingly price competitive, particularly in major urban areas where demand has stimulated supply. But as we saw in chapter 12, vigilance about product quality and ingredient safety and purity remains largely the responsibility of consumers.

Strategies to Protect Your Health

If, after reading this book, you want to do something about the health threat posed by cosmetics and personal-care products, here are seven common-sense steps you can take that will have a positive impact.

First, learn to decipher product labels, and always exercise skepticism about ingredients that are unfamiliar to you.

Second, actively avoid all dangerous ingredients listed in the tables found in this book.

Third, boycott companies known to be indifferent to health and safety concerns.

Fourth, buy only certified organic cosmetic and personal-care products. Be active in helping to keep organic and natural products manufacturers resolute in their commitment to product ingredient purity and open disclosure.

Fifth, spread the word to your family and friends about the need to avoid toxic products and the companies that manufacture and promote them. Be a vocal public advocate.

Sixth, ask your local retail outlets to stock cosmetics and personal-care products that contain only safe ingredients, or at the very least, to post warnings about products that fail to meet minimum safety standards.

Seventh, become active in consumer and environmental groups that have made product safety a priority and are pressuring manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and political candidates to take actions that will benefit the public health.

Common Questions about Product Safety

As you change your buying habits to avoid the toxic ingredients you’ve read about in this book, you may find that your friends and family want to know why. Here are some common questions they might ask, along with simple and direct answers you may find useful to provide them.

Q. Aren’t cosmetics and personal-care products regulated for dangerous chemicals?

Believe it or not, cosmetics and personal-care products are the least regulated products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The FFDCA does not require pre-market safety testing, review, or approval for either cosmetics or personal-care products, and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration can pursue enforcement action only after a cosmetic and personal-care product enters the marketplace.

 

Q. Doesn’t the cosmetic and personal-care products industry regulate itself to make sure products are safe?

On numerous occasions FDA officials have found that many cosmetic manufacturers lack adequate data from safety tests and have generally refused to disclose the results of the tests they have done. The FDA estimates that only 3 percent of the 4,000 to 5,000 cosmetic and personal-care product distributors have filed reports with the government on injuries to consumers. Additionally, it is estimated that less than 40 percent of the nation’s 2,000 to 2,500 cosmetic manufacturers are even registered, meaning there’s no way for the industry to even know what these rogue companies are doing.

 

Q. What can I do to protect myself against hazardous cosmetics and personal-care products?

The best way to protect yourself against hazardous cosmetics and personal-care products is to educate yourself on the toxic ingredients they can contain, and to try your best to avoid them. Look for the USDA organic seal—the only way to ensure a product is truly organic. And choose products with as few ingredients as possible; the fewer the ingredients, the less likely those ingredients are to react dangerously in the product or in your body.

The Bottom Line

Avoiding toxic cosmetics and personal-care products doesn’t mean giving up any of the conveniences of modern life, it just means exercising some judgment. We have little to lose, and much to gain, from taking the time to be vigilant about what we put on our skin.

It is my hope that this book contributes to your understanding of the invisible price tags attached to our cosmetics and personal-care products. If the way you think about the shampoo you buy, the deodorant you choose, and the lipstick you apply has changed, even a little bit, for the safer and healthier, then this book will have fulfilled its promise.