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Skin Deep: Chemicals in Personal Care Products and Cosmetics Pose Health Risks

The Quick Facts: Each day we use many personal care products and cosmetics on our bodies. Although seemingly safe due to availability and volume, there is little regulation of personal care products and cosmetics resulting in uncertainty about their safety. Studies show that the chemicals in these products may cause acute and long term health problems, including cancer. By reducing the number of personal care products you use, reading labels to avoid chemicals of concern, and using more natural personal care products, you can decrease your family’s exposure to unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals.

Health Concerns
Potential impacts of the chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics are two-fold: acute issues include skin rashes or allergies and long-term cumulative issues include exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.

Carcinogens are cancer causing agents. According to the Breast Cancer Fund, an example of a carcinogenic chemical found in cosmetics and personal care products is Ethylene Oxide. Ethylene Oxide is commonly used to manufacture popular brands of shampoo. It is a known breast carcinogen.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic or block the effects of hormones in the body resulting in a variety of hormone-related diseases and conditions, including reproductive difficulties. According to the Breast Cancer Fund, an example of endocrine disruptors that is found in personal care products is the chemical Acrylamide. Acrylamide is regularly used in manufacturing hair products, hand and body lotions, and sun block products. It is a known carcinogen, mutagen and reproductive toxic.

Phthalates are also present in personal care products. Phthalates have been found to cause infertility, birth defects and other malformations of the male reproductive tract in animals and adverse impacts to the male reproductive tract in humans. According to the Breast Cancer Fund, an example of phthalates found in cosmetics and personal care products is Dibutyl Phthalate. Dibutyl Phthalate is used in perfumes, hair sprays and deodorant. It is a reproductive toxin.

People of Concern
Women may be the biggest users of personal care products and cosmetics. Experts at Vassar College and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute conclude that women who routinely use certain personal care products have an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life. These experts say that females under 25 are most susceptible to the effect of chemicals in personal care products because they use a significant amount of these products and their breast tissue is still developing.

Still, it is fetuses and young infants that are at greatest risk from exposure to chemicals in these products. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, fetuses and young infants may be more vulnerable to the effects phthalates may have on development and reproduction. This is because fetuses and young infants have an immature metabolic system, and the “dosage” of phthalates they receive is greater than an adult because of their smaller size. A study by the University of Washington found that the use of powders, lotions and shampoo on infants markedly increased the levels of phthalates found in the infants' urine. The study recommends that parents who want to decrease their child's exposure to phthalates limit the amount of infant care products used, and not use lotions or powders unless indicated for a medical reason.

Limited Regulation
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates personal care products and cosmetics. However, the FDA's legal authority over cosmetics is different and less stringent from other products regulated by the agency, such as drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Cosmetic products and ingredients do not require FDA pre-market approval. This means manufacturers of these products are not required to prove to the FDA that their products are safe or effective prior to being sold on shelves. Further, manufacturers are not required to register their cosmetic establishments, file data on ingredients, or report cosmetic-related injuries to the FDA.

What's Being Done
Other countries have taken a more cautious approach to chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics. Four years ago, the European Union (EU) banned the use of all chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutations, or birth defects in personal care products and cosmetics sold in EU countries.

Some 600 companies in the United States, including Belli Cosmetics, Motherlove, and Burt’s Bees, have made a voluntary pledge to follow the EU’s lead by eliminating these same key chemicals in their products through the Compact for Safe Cosmetic campaign. Also, according to the executive vice president of science at the Cosmetics, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, the cosmetic industry takes its own safety precautions by funding an inter-industry organization, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review board, to scrutinize cosmetic ingredients for safety and publish their results in peer-reviewed journals.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Health
Read the label

Although a good goal may be to limit the personal care products to those with ingredients that you can pronounce, being familiar with some chemicals to avoid is a good start.

Ingredients to avoid

Use less

Choose wisely

Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:

http://www.safecosmetics.org/ (Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of women’s, public health, labor, environmental health and consumer-rights groups with the goal to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems, and replace them with safer alternatives.)

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/121/2/e260?etoc (Journal of Pediatrics, Baby Care Products, Possible Sources of Infant Phthalates Exposure, Feb. 1, 2008)

http://www.ewg.org/ (Environmental Working Group is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.)

http://www.ERBC.Vassar.edu (free CD report from Vassar College on environmental links to breast cancer, including the role of personal care products and cosmetics)

http://www.CosmeticsDataBase.com (Skin Deep, website of the Environmental Working Group, an up-to-date cross-reference database of more than 22,000 cosmetics and a rating of their chemical ingredients)

http://www.safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfm (Companies who have signed the pledge to ban cancer causing or endocrine disruptor chemicals from personal care products and cosmetics)


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