Beauty Tips

Beauty rituals are ancient, predating even Cleopatra's taste for kohl-rimmed eyes; crushed herbs and minerals were used to adorn the face and body in fourth-century B.C. Egypt, and Paleolithic cave-dwellers used ochre body paint. Nowadays, while natural ingredients are still used in cosmetics, about 5,500 less expensive, mass-produced synthetic chemicals pervade the market -- and, in some cases, our bodies.

For example: A Fall 2000 study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that levels of a class of plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates were much higher in American bodies than had been previously believed. A metabolized form of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was found in every one of the 289 people tested, with highest levels in women of childbearing age (20 to 40). DBP, found to be a reproductive toxin in animal tests, is present in most nail polish, as well as in many synthetic fragrances.

Brooklyn artist Leslie Brack was six months pregnant with her first child when she learned, in reports by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), that some makeup contained potentially harmful chemicals that could be absorbed through the skin and nails or inhaled. "I wish I had known about it at the beginning of my pregnancy," Leslie says, as the first trimester is a critical stage of development, when the fetus is particularly vulnerable to toxins. "Luckily, I don't wear much makeup and I had already stopped doing my nails because nail polish just smelled toxic to me." Leslie was further surprised to read, at the website of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency responsible for regulating these products, "Neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic ingredients are reviewed or approved by FDA before they are sold to the public." Manufacturers are supposed to submit product formulations to the government on a voluntary basis, but, according to the FDA, only about 35 percent do. Leslie checked EWG's list of phthalate-containing items, and, she says, "I was relieved to find that most of my favorite products weren't on it!"

In November 2002, the European Union moved to ban the use of DBP and another pthalate, Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate DEHP, in cosmetics. But later that month in the U.S., despite health concerns expressed by public health, consumer and women's groups, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), a panel funded by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA) but which claims to be independent, announced that phthalates were "safe as currently used."

An amendment of the 1938 Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act is necessary to grant the FDA the authority it needs to demand pre-market safety testing for all cosmetic ingredients. However, in the current pro-corporate political climate, in which the Bush Administration plans to loosen environmental regulations for industry and the military as well as weaken the Clear Air and Clean Water Acts, cosmetics safety may be a low priority. "The way to go is to pressure manufacturers, because we can't count on the government to protect us," says Stacy Malkan, Communications Director at Health Care Without Harm (HCWH).

A campaign started at the "Not Too Pretty" website, a joint project of HCWH and Women's Voices for the Earth, among others (www.nottoopretty.org), generated over 5,000 letters to the FDA and several leading manufacturers between July and November 2002. (For more information, see the "Take Action" sidebar in "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.")

Those who want to avoid toxins can't count on cosmetics labels to tell them everything. The "Not Too Pretty" report found not one listing for phthalates on the labels of 52 phthalate-containing cosmetics. (As part of a fragrance formula, phthalates don't have to be named.) Instead, see the sidebar for what you can do.