I recently attended a training on chemicals of concern in cosmetics, and learned that on any given day an American consumer may use as many as 25 different personal care products containing more than 200 unique chemicals compounds. Many of these chemicals have been linked to serious health problems.

When I took up the speaker’s challenge and checked out my favorite brand of mascara on the Skin Deep cosmetics database, I was shocked to find that there were toxins in a product that I use every day! How can companies be allowed to sell products that may be dangerous to the consumers’ health?

Contrary to what most consumers believe, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not mandate safety testing for ingredients or cosmetics products before they are sold to the public, and the agency has no legal authority to regulate the 60 billion dollar cosmetics industry. With no testing required, how do we know what these chemicals may be doing to us?

The links between low-dose exposure to toxic chemicals and diseases like cancer, neurological disorders and reproductive harm are strong and the evidence is mounting with new studies published by non-industry scientists on a nearly weekly basis. Consumers are repeatedly exposed to several chemicals in each cosmetic product in addition to the many different sources on a daily basis, including food, water, and other consumer products. What price are we willing to pay in order to look good?

The lack of regulation and labeling is true for cosmetics used by all consumers, regardless of age, race or ethnicity. However, products marketed specifically to women of color contain some of the chemicals of highest concern, like hydroquinone in skin lighteners and placenta in hair relaxers. It is very unfortunate that the cosmetics industry pushes lighter skin and straighter hair as the image of beauty we should all strive for. This becomes even more problematic when that image is literally toxic and hazardous to women’s health in a time when cancer incidence and other serious health problems are on the rise, and health disparities are prevalent.

As a consumer, I want to know that the cosmetics and personal care products I use on my body are safe for long term use. That is why, in the absence of federal regulation over this industry, I prefer to purchase personal care products from companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Compact Signers pledge that they will be compliant with the European Union Cosmetics Directive (ec.europa.eu/enterprise/cosmetics/html/consolidated_dir.htm), and take the commitment to safety farther by screening product ingredients for chemicals linked to serious health consequences and replace those chemicals of concern with safe alternatives.

Nearly 1,000 companies that agree that cosmetics should be made with safe, non-toxic ingredients have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Ultimately, we need not only personal and company commitments like the Compact, but regulation at state and federal levels.

Khadija Abdul-Salaam
Hartford, Connecticut