What's in your makeup bag?

Environmentalists warn the average woman's makeup bag is a time bomb waiting to explode with serious health consequences. The cosmetic industry and the FDA say there's nothing to fear.

It's hard to ignore the headlines: The safety of cosmetics and personal care items is clearly being challenged on many levels.

To hear any well-versed environmentalist tell it, women are being set up for the health hit of a lifetime. The weapon of mass destruction: Our cute little cosmetic bags, filled to the brim with what some believe is a toxic chemical brew that could cause serious health harm.

Cosmetics and personal care products are potentially major sources of chemical exposure - particularly if you look at the number of items women use and the sheer number of chemicals in them. Twenty products with over 200 chemicals are typical before a woman even walks out the door in the morning.

These chemicals are linked to a slew of health threats that range from cancer to infertility to birth defects, documented by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the CDC.

The beauty industry disagrees, saying that most of the alarming accusations - including lead in lipstick - are a replay of old issues that were addressed and dismissed by them, and the FDA, decades ago.

Many of the issues that are coming up today are, in fact, a recycling of old issues that the FDA considered in their context and decided that no regulatory action was necessary on their part.

Not only are cosmetics and personal care products generally safe, they are safest of all the products consumers will use that are regulated by FDA including foods, drugs, dietary supplements, and over-the-counter drugs, and it is well documented in the number of consumer complaints that FDA gets compared to other areas".

So where, exactly, does the truth lie? And do women have cause for concern?

If you're like most women, you likely believe that, like the drugs in your medicine chest, the cosmetics on your bathroom vanity were scrutinized under an equally watchful eye of the FDA. And at first glance, this seems to be the case.

But unlike drug manufacturers who must prove their products are both safe and effective before being marketed; cosmetic firms have no such regulatory obligation under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

The bottom line: Unless a lipstick or a jar of cream causes the kind of public health issues raised by tainted lettuce or spinach, is improperly labeled, or is harmful if used as directed, the FDA is pretty much out of the beauty picture.

Founder says the cosmetic industry uses a self-policing system that works, including the Cosmetic Ingredient Review board. Funded by the CTFA, this inter-industry organization scrutinizes cosmetic ingredients from a safety perspective and publishes their results in peer-reviewed journals.

Cosmetic Safety: Specific Concerns
Environmentalists say they are less concerned with acute issues - like skin rashes or allergies - then they are with the potential for long-term health consequences from some of the chemicals commonly used in cosmetics.

According to activists like the Environmental Working Group and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, these include parabens (used as preservatives), petrochemicals and their by-products (found in skin creams, foundations, lip balms, and more) mercury (found in mascara and eyedrops), lead (found in lipsticks), dioxane (potentially found in shampoos and body washes) and phthalates (found in some nail polishes, hair sprays, and fragrances).

Not only have some of these ingredients been identified by the World Health Organization, the CDC, and others as carcinogens, but some also fall into a category known as "endocrine disrupters," chemicals that mimic or block the effects of hormones in the body. These have the potential to affect a variety of hormone-related diseases and conditions.

"The evidence may not be as definitive as some would like, but there are some strong associations suggesting women routinely exposed to some of these ingredients may increase their risk of developing breast cancer later in life".

Making these & other safety concerns even more relevant today: The relatively new science of nanotechnology. This is the process of making chemical particles so small that cosmetic ingredients can penetrate far deeper into the skin.

Moreover, many are also concerned about a chemical loophole known as the "fragrance umbrella." This essentially allows companies to claim a kind of proprietary formulation status that precludes them having to disclose the ingredients.

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