Cosmetics are harming the health of women and girls

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The days of safe consumerism are long gone for American consumers. Years ago, women could buy untainted cosmetics that they eagerly allowed their little girls to play with. Unfortunately today, most of the cosmetics are contaminated with harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, lead,toluene, and formaldehyde. If this list is alarming to you, you might be even more concerned to find that the list only scratches the surface as it pertains to the numerous amounts of chemical ingredients used in today’s cosmetics. Moreover, to make matters worse, these toxic chemicals are wreaking havoc on women and girls across the world. According to the Safe Cosmetics Organization, the US federal law allows the $50 billion cosmetic industry to put as many chemicals as they deem necessary to manufacture a personal care product. These companies are not required to conduct testing, or monitor the health effects that these chemical have on humans. The disregard for human health is so pervasive that there are no regulated label requirements for cosmetics. Therefore women and girls buy cosmetic products at their own risk.

While many of the big cosmetic companies donate a portion of their sales to breast cancer research, or women’s cancer research, they continue to put these harmful chemicals in their products. Moreover, they continue to say that their products are harmless because they are using very small amounts of toxic chemicals, and because their products are applied to the skin and are not consumed. However, research shows that parabens are showing up in human breast tissue and is now linked to breast cancer. Another toxic chemical that has taken the Center for Disease Control (CDC) by storm is a plasticizer referred to as phthalates.

Phthalates are extremely disturbing because they greatly disrupt the reproductive system of infant boys. Hospitals across the US were getting an alarming rate of baby boys born with very small penises, which is referred to as Phthalates Syndrome. This reproductive birth defect is largely found in infants born to girls between the ages of 18-25, and researchers speculate that it is the result of their frequent use of items such as nail polish. In fact, science is finding that the timing of exposure to these chemicals is crucial because a small dose of phthalates will have serious consequences in the bodies of both, little girls and teenage girls. These consequences include developing certain cancers, premature breast development in little girls, and a higher risk of delivering babies with birth defects later on in life. So what should women do to protect themselves and their daughters from these harmful chemicals?

Women must start demanding that cosmetics companies stop using toxic chemicals in their products, and they should be diligent about requesting the ingredients list so that they can make an informed choice for their daughters and themselves. Lastly, seek out companies that carry natural and chemical free personal care products. Although these companies are harder to find, they do exist.

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References

Cosmetics Companies and Breast Cancer. Think Before you Pink.org. Retrieved on June 30, 2009 from http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/CosmeticCompanies.html

Laws and Regulations. Safecosmetics.org. Retrieved on June 30, 2009 from http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?list=type&type=30