Campaign for safe cosmetics video
A few weeks ago we showed a new video made by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics team. It highlighted safety issues surrounding cosmetics and some of the toxic ingredients contained in them.
At the beginning of the week I shared my concerns about some of the ingredients I found in a child’s lipgloss.
Their second video about the myth of cosmetics safety digs deeper into the hidden, harmful ingredients – like fragrance, formaldehyde and lead.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics ask “Who is making sure cosmetics are safe?” and it would appear that no one is.
Cosmetics safety is something that affects us all. We all use cosmetics and most people use several cosmetics per day. Even if you only wash your hair and apply deodorant, you’re potentially subjecting yourself to several toxic ingredients on a daily basis.
One children’s bubble bath claims it has a ‘gentle formula with aloe’ whereas on the back it says ‘prolonged exposure can cause irritation to skin and urinary tract”.
Consumers say that they don’t know what many of the ingredients are, that cautions are so tiny there are not noticeable, and they assume cosmetics are tested for safety.
Known carcinogens such as formaldehyde have been found in baby products and lead has been found in lipsticks. Lead does not have to appear on the list of ingredients.
In addition the word ‘fragrance’ means nothing and can be made up of over 100 toxic ingredients.
In this second video, the interviewer from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics asks a leading question to some teenagers about lipstick. She asks if they need to reapply it and if they do, where do they think it has gone? It’s amazing to watch the recognition on these girl’s faces as they realise they are absorbing some of the product.
Take a moment to watch the video and let me know what you think – do you use ‘safe’ brands of cosmetics or do you think the health risks are too small to worry about?
Interesting and worrying…..I do always try to use ‘safe’ brands and usually buy my few cosmetics from http://www.soorganic.com where they sell more natural brands that don’t contain all the nasty dangerous ingredients. There’s also a good website: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com that rates cosmetics for you on a scale of 0-10 depending on their chemical content and potential health risks.
@Mummy Zen: Hiya, it is really worrying; especially when you have a daughter who loves make up. At the moment I can say No – she’s 8, but the day will come when she will no doubt try out all this stuff.
So Organic has a great range of stuff doesn’t it? Do you have any favourite brands? I like Green People and John Masters.
I also like Green People and the very affordable Bentley Organic and Organic Blue are good brands too.
@Mummy Zen: Hi Mummy Zen; I haven’t yet tried Bentley organic, but DH has some Organic Blue lotion which he finds really good. It has lemongrass oil in it which smells lovely!