Covering up with the newest foundation may protect women from unwanted criticism from their peers, but it won’t protect them from the disgruntled glare of the environment and their bodies.
The average American woman uses 12 personal care products daily, with men using an average of six. The $50 billion industry, dissected by producer Annie Leonard in “The Story of Cosmetics,” has made a pretty penny off people’s insecurities and a hot dime off consumers’ ignorance.
The glistening of toxins and animal fat makes cosmetics unsafe for humans. On average, six toxic chemicals are in each beauty product consumed. The FDA is slowly coming to the realization that the impact of our skin care products may be more than skin deep.
Despite having a regular history of cruel animal testing, the cosmetics industry is still one of the least regulated by the FDA. The overly respected FDA “puts the onus on manufacturers to ensure their products are safe, stepping in only when consumers complain of adverse reactions,” according to National Geographic’s Green Guide.
The sad reality is less than 20 percent of the ingredients in our beauty products have been assessed by the industry’s safety panel.
The environmentally non-renewable petrochemicals made from petroleum known to cause cancer are not among the eight ingredients dismissed by the FDA.
In fact, they exist in Herbal Essences shampoo, which is marked as being “natural” and “herbal.” These clever selling points have been noted by National Geographic and the FDA as holding no legal value, as there’s no industry standard for what is or isn’t natural.
I’ve never heard of an herb made out of petroleum.
Have you?
I’m not sure which is worse — what people put in their hair or what they’re ingesting.
Lip gloss and lipsticks contain massive amounts of lead. The Electronic Library of Construction Safety and Health said, “The most recent evidence from epidemiological and toxicological studies suggests that low levels of [lead] exposure can, over time, damage the heart, kidneys and disclosed.”
This means the cancer-causing, neurotoxic ingredients in our baby shampoo will be phased out.
This may sound ideal, but it hasn’t passed yet. All consumers can do is be responsible for what they put in and on their bodies.
It’s time for people to put down the tube of toxins, whether it be shampoo, soap or lipstick. The time has come to opt for healthier alternatives in order to save not only the planet, but also people’s health.
 
Priyanka Bhatia is a 19-year-old pre-veterinary medicine sophomore from San Jose, Calif. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_PBhatia.
 
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Contact Priyanka Bhatia at [email protected]