So, I hope my last article on green cleaning got you thinking about the potential health effects of chemicals in your home. Turns out there are some pretty questionable substances in the things we use to clean ourselves as well.
An astonishing number of shampoos, cleansers, moisturizers and makeup contain chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other health conditions. Chemicals like parabens and phthalates show up in numerous things we put in our hair and on our faces and bodies every day. I recently checked out some of the products I’ve been using for years on the Environmental Working Group’s impressive cosmetics database. I was shocked to find that even some of my ostensibly “natural” products contain ingredients thought to be hazardous to human health.
You might be wondering how it’s possible the FDA allows such ingredients in personal care products. The FDA responds to problems consumers report after using new products, rather than carefully evaluating new compounds before they go on the market. Because we’re talking about minute quantities of thousands of substances in a wide array of products, direct cause and effect can be hard to prove or even notice. These ingredients are not well understood - the interactions they might have with one another even less so. Until we know more, do you really want to be conducting science experiments in your own body? I certainly don’t.
In 2003, the European Union banned more than 1,000 chemicals linked to birth defects, cancer and other disorders from personal care products. The United States has much less stringent regulations, so if you want to avoid these chemicals, you’re going to have to do the work yourself. One thing you might consider is contacting the companies who make your cosmetics to express your outrage that they are putting known hazards into your makeup and moisturizer. Likewise, write your elected representatives and tell them that we have a right to better regulations of these substances. It’s only when enough people know about a problem and raise a stink about it that things can change.
In the meantime, try out the cosmetics database. Look up your shampoo, nail polish, toothpaste, deodorant, face lotion and mascara to find out what exactly you’ve been exposing yourself to. Then check out the list of companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, pledging to use non-hazardous ingredients in their products. Be forewarned that they have three years to fulfill the terms of the pledge, and companies on the list may still have some products that score poorly in the database. It’s best to look up products individually to be sure you’re not simply replacing one hazardous product with another. You can also read the listings of the products rated safest in each of the dozens of categories in order to pick replacements for your current products.
Some products rated well are available in health food stores and increasingly in mainstream drugstores. You can also find a lot of them online. They cost more than some mainstream brands, but generally not much more than premium brands and department store products. After reading about what’s in your lotion and cleanser, you may decide that safe products are worth the extra money.
You might also consider some food-grade replacements, such as almond or jojoba oil as moisturizers. I hear that aloe makes a good shampoo, and I’ll be trying that out, as soon as I find an aloe gel that doesn’t also contain ingredients listed as hazardous in the database!
For more on the subject, check out a recent article in Scientific American.
Susannah Shmurak is an educator, writer and activist who advocates for environmentally-sound and healthy choices in our daily lives.