I am urging the FDA and Congress to pass stricter legislation regarding the harmful and unclear chemicals and fragrances found in cosmetics. I believe businesses should be more transparent about the ingredients they put in the products we use everyday (deodorants, toothpastes, shampoos, body lotions, ect.). In 2018, Dianne Feinstein and Susan Collins proposed a bill known as H.R.6903 Safe Cosmetics and Personal Products Act of 2018 which addresses the issues discussed previously. I find the lack of regulation and oversight in this industry to be extremely worrisome, and clearly so do our representatives.

Cosmetics are not just make-up and fragrances, they include lotions, toothpastes, body wash, deodorants, shampoos and other products that we use daily.

• The average woman uses 12 products with 168 different ingredients a day
• The average male uses 6 products a day, exposing themselves 85 unique chemical mixtures
• Our bodies absorb up to 60% of what we put on our skin

·      “But, thy wouldn’t sell us these products if it wasn’t safe, right?” WRONG!

Today, personal care products remain highly unregulated. The federal law designed to ensure that personal care products are safe has remained largely unchanged since 1938. The FDA does not require safety testing ingredients in personal care products before they are used.

So what are you putting in your body?

Cosmetics are packed with harmful ingredients such as parabens, phthalates, fragrances, formaldehyde releasers, triclosan and triclocarban and many, many more. Here’s a short list of the most common and harmful ingredients found in our everyday personal care products:

• Parabens: man-made chemical which acts as a preservative found in many cosmetics such as hair care products, deodorants and moisturizers. Parabens act as endocrine-disruptors, as they mimic estrogen hormones found in the body and disrupt hormone signaling. Studies have even found parabens to be linked to infertility in woman.  As found on the FDA website, “FDA doesn’t have special rules that apply only to preservatives in cosmetics. The law treats preservatives in cosmetics the same as other cosmetic ingredients. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, do not need FDA approval before they go on the market.”

o  Don’t believe me? Need more facts? Have a look at this article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3855500/

• Phthalates: a group of chemicals made to soften and increase flexibility of plastic. Phthalates are found in many of the most common brands and products we use daily. What we do know: According to Environmental Working Group, 2019: “Scientific studies link phthalate exposure to reproductive abnormalities in baby boys, reduced testosterone and sperm quality in men and early puberty in girls.”Phthalates also have strong links to asthma and allergies, such as skin irritation. Be sure to avoid products containing the following ingredients: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethylphthalate (DEP)
• Fragrances: an umbrella term made up of a mixture of 3,000 chemicals. As typically found on our personal care product labels, “fragrance” is an ambiguous and misleading term cosmetic companies use to conceal the actual harmful ingredients inside. According to the FDA: “regulations do not require the listing of the individual fragrance ingredients; therefore, the consumer will not be able to determine from the ingredient declaration if phthalates are present in a fragrance.” The scary part is that we (the consumer) have no idea if phthalates lurk inside the bottle of our everyday products.
• Chemicals found in fragrances have been linked to infertility and early puberty. They also interrupt brain development and are extremely harmful to metabolic processes in the body. Fragrances also increase the risk of cancer, as well as mimic’s hormones. 
• Still not convinced? Read: “Expert Panel Confirms that Fragrance Ingredients Can Cause Cancer Expert Panel Confirms that Fragrance Ingredient Can Cause Cancer”· Here’s the link: https://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2014/08/expert-panel-confirms-fragrance-ingredient-can-cause-cancer

Cosmetic reform is urgently needed. Eighty years later and cosmetic chemicals are still unregulated. I am urging the FDA and Congress to develop stricter requirements for cosmetics entering the market.

On May 11th, 2017, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J,) introduced a bipartisan bill known as The Personal Care Products Safety Act. This bill calls for reform regulation of personal care products. It would also require companies to ensure that their products are safe before marketing them as such. The act would empower FDA to review the safety of ingredients. Here are some of the important issues the bill would address, as summarized by The Environmental Working Group: “Each year, the agency would do a safety review of five ingredients and contaminants. At the outset, these would include formaldehyde-releasing chemicals and a long-chained paraben.The act would give FDA the same tools for ensuring the safety of personal care products as it uses to regulate food and drugs:

• Companies would be required to register facilities.
• Companies would be required to disclose ingredients they use to FDA.  
• Manufacturers would be required to ensure that products are made in a clean environment.
• FDA could inspect factories and records.
• Companies would be required to report serious adverse events to FDA within 15 days.
• FDA could require recalls of dangerous products.
• FDA could require specific labeling and warnings for products that contain ingredients not suitable for all populations.”
• Need more details on The Personal Care Products Safety Act? Click here:
  • Personal Care Products Safety Act fact sheet.
  • S.1113 - Personal Care Products Safety Act.
  • Small business fact sheet.
  • https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6903/actions?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr+6903%22%5D%7D&r=1 

 As of September 28th, 2018, The Personal Care Products Safety Act has moved no further than its introduction in House. This should be a top priority for the 116th session of Congress, and I urge Nancy Pelosi to bring this bill forward for a vote.I am calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and demand transparency on ingredient labels and regulation reform to ensure products are actually safe for consumers. I am also calling on the U.S. Senate Committee on Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman, Lamar Alexander to assist in exploring the current practices regarding cosmetics and person care products. I am also calling on The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) to review and assess the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics on the market today under the Personal Care Products Safety Act.