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 According to Health Canada, we spend more than $5 billion annually on beauty products for our skin, hair, nails and teeth. (Shutterstock) |
The sale of cosmetics is big business in this country. According to Health Canada, we spend more than $5 billion annually on beauty products for our skin, hair, nails and teeth. This includes make-up, perfume, skin cream, nail polish and remover, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant and shaving creams and lotions.
Health Canada requires that manufacturers list all of the ingredients that can be found in these products. Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, antimony and chromium are heavy-metal ingredients prohibited in cosmetics sold in Canada. An additional 500 ingredients are included on Health Canada’s Cosmetic Ingredients Hot List.
“While these products are listed, they aren’t necessarily banned,” said Anne Rochon Ford, co-director of York University’s National Network on Environment and Women’s Health. “Quite simply, the list doesn’t have any teeth.”
In addition, while known carcinogens are included on the Hot List, many toxic ingredients are not. For example, dibutyl phthalates (DBP), a common ingredient in nail polishes and fragrances, didn’t make the Health Canada List. DBP has been linked to genital defects in male babies due to its ability to mimic estrogen in the body.
“Like most parents, I try to keep my family safe,” said Annie Leonard, “but now I find that my bathroom is a minefield of toxins.” Leonard’s recently released online video, The Story of Cosmetics, questions the safety of the products that we routinely use every day.
In total there are 82,000 ingredients currently being used in personal care products. One in eight of these contain industrial chemicals. To date, only 13 percent of ingredients have been tested by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), the group of scientific experts responsible for assessing the safety of cosmetic ingredients.
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This puts the onus on consumers to figure out what’s safe and what isn’t.
“We shouldn’t have to be scientists every time we purchase a cosmetic product,” said Rochon Ford. “It is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure the safety of these consumer items.”
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimates that the average adult is exposed to 126 of these ingredients through daily personal grooming. The average woman uses twelve personal care products a day., while men use six.
Play it Safe
To keep your and your family safe, here’s checklist:
Use fewer products. This helps reduce the potential health risk associated with multiple exposures.
Read labels. Marketing claims on personal care products are not defined under the law. Products may claim to be herbal, organic, fragrance-free or natural. Check the list of ingredients to ensure that these claims are true.
Use milder soaps. This will help to preserve natural skin oils and reduce the need for moisturizers.
Minimize your use of dark hair dyes. Coal tar, a primary ingredient in many hair dyes, has been linked to cancer.
Avoid the use of powder. A number of ingredients used in powders have been linked to cancer and lung problems.
Choose products that are fragrance-free. Don’t believe product labels. Read the list of ingredients to ensure that products do not contain chemicals used to mask natural odors.
Reduce your use of nail polish. Paint nails in a well-ventilated room and don’t use polish if you’re pregnant. Some of the ingredients contained in nail polish are routinely linked to birth defects.
The Dirty Dozen
The David Suzuki Foundation has identified the following dirty dozen of toxic chemicals that are commonly used in personal care products:
Toxins/Health effects/Found in Beauty Products
1. BHA and BHT/Possible human carcinogen, endocrine disruptor/Lipsticks, moisturizers and fragrances
2. Coal Tar Dyes/Human carcinogen, brain toxin/Hair dyes
3. DEA (diethanolamine)/Liver cancer, skin and eye irritation, precancerous changes in skin & thyroid/Moisturizers, sunscreens, soaps, cleaners & shampoos
4. Dibutyl phthalate/Enhances the ability of other chemicals to cause genetic mutations, reduces sperm count/Nail products and fragrances
5. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives/Human carcinogen, eye and skin irritant, allergy trigger/As a preservative in a wide range of cosmetics
6. Fragrance or parfum/Allergies, migraines and asthma/Perfumes, laundry detergents and softeners, cleaning products
7. Parabens/Hormone disruptor, male reproductive function/Preservative in many cosmetics
8. PEG (polyethylene glycol) compounds/Known human carcinogen, human development/Creams, laxatives
9. Petrolatum/Cancer, skin irritations, allergies/Petroleum jelly, hair care products
10. Siloxanes/Human fertility, immune and nervous systems/Moisturizers, facial treatments, deodorants
11. Sodium laureth sulfate/Cancer, nervous system, human development/Shampoos, shower gels, facial cleansers
12. Triclosan/Eye and skin irritant, antibiotic resistance/Antiperspirants and deodorants, cleansers, hand sanitizers, preservative and anti-bacterial agent.
Get the facts
The best protection against toxic invaders is information. Check out:
1.The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetics database (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com ) provides safety information on 25,000 products.
2. The David Suzuki Foundation’s What’s Inside? That Counts! (www.davidsuzuki.org )
3. Annie Leonard’s online film, The Story of Cosmetics (www.storyofcosmetics.org )
4. Health Canada’s information on cosmetics (www.hc-sc.gc.ca )