Cosmetics and personal care products are used daily by many people, but they can contain ingredients that are harmful to both humans and the environment. Here are some details about beauty cosmetic and personal care products:
Positive aspects:
- Cosmetics can help people look and feel good.
- Many products contain ingredients that can improve skin health, such as alpha-hydroxy acids and hyaluronic acid.
Negative aspects:
- Cosmetics can contain harmful chemicals and contaminants, such as heavy metals, that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin.
- Labels that claim products are “green,” “natural,” or “organic” are unreliable, and there is no government agency responsible for defining or regulating the manufacture of cosmetics.
- Cosmetics and personal care products are notoriously under-regulated, and the FDA has only banned about a dozen ingredients for safety reasons.
Ingredients or materials:
- The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has identified the "Toxic Twelve" chemicals and contaminants in cosmetics, including formaldehyde, hydroquinone, and parabens.
- Some common chemicals named in recent state bans, as well as ones that are frequently flagged by researchers and consumer advocacy groups, include butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), formaldehyde, hydroquinone, and phthalates.
- The EWG Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database provides information on the safety of personal care products and their ingredients.
It is important to be an informed consumer and purchase products that are healthy and safe for both humans and the environment. Consumers can use apps like the Environmental Working Group and Think Dirty to search for products by name or barcode and evaluate their safety.
