I woke up this morning for a very normal, completely average day. The only thing on my schedule was a long day of chemistry class. Rather than taking time getting all dressed up for school, I decided to hit the snooze button and grab a couple more Z’s. Minutes later, I turned of my alarm clock and rolled out of bed, rubbed my eyes and headed straight for the shower… and that is where it all began.

The average teen uses 15 to 25 cosmetics per day and as I learned this morning, I am no different! I used 15 products just this morning and I didn’t even put on any make-up! By the time I showered, used my body wash, shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner and face wash – I was absolutely covered with sweet smelling, germ-killing, skin-softening chemicals – four to be exact.

And, really, that was just the beginning! I got out of the shower, wiped some toner across my face and put some cream over a sneaky zit that I could just tell was itching to escape. I slathered my legs with lotion, moisturized my face (SPF 15!), and de-frizzed my curls (that’s 3 products there!). I, then, wiped on my favorite deodorant, brushed my teeth, put on some chapstick and BAM! Just like that I was 15 cosmetics deep into my chemical-filled day!

• Good Chemicals/Bad Chemicals
• How can they be dangerous?
• How do you know if a cosmetic is safe?
• The Dirty Dozen
• EU Compliance Seal
• Skin Deep

Good Chemicals/Bad Chemicals

The number of chemicals that you put on your skin and that are on their way into your body is amazing! What you put on in the shower can affect things beyond how your arms smell.

Did you know that your skin is your biggest organ? Most of the things that you put on your skin get absorbed and go into your body. Some of them stay near the surface, while others get absorbed into your blood stream and travel throughout your whole system.

Clearly, there is a bit of a difference between chemicals that poison you right when you touch them and chemicals that you use to protect you from the sun. However, some of these chemicals that do good things for you can also be harmful. The daily exposure to all of the chemicals in the 15 beauty products that I use every day, sometimes twice a day, is not great for my health or yours.

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What are cosmetics?

When we talk about safe cosmetics, we aren’t just talking about make-up. The national campaigns for safe cosmetics talk about every personal product that you put on your body: deodorant, make-up, shampoo and conditioner, hair gel, nail polish, toothpaste, sunscreen, aftershave, cologne, the list goes on and on. Any personal care product or beauty product that girls or boys use is referred to as a cosmetic.
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How can they be dangerous?

How can your shampoo or body wash not be safe when it’s supposed to help you stay clean? Right. The whole point of cosmetics – from toothpaste to sunscreen to chapstick -- is to help you clean and protect your body. Unfortunately, in the past few decades, there have been large rises in chronic (long-lasting) diseases and changes in the way our bodies work. Many scientists think that changes in our health -- such as the increase in long-lasting diseases like cancer, puberty starting earlier, or reproductive problems in adult women -- may be partly caused by all of the chemicals that we are exposed to every day.

How can this happen? Part of the reason is that there’s not enough government regulation in the cosmetic industry. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the same types of laws for things that we put on our body as it does for the things that we put in our body. Without the government telling companies what they can and can’t put in their products, many companies pick chemicals that make their products smell better or look glossier without thinking about the health impacts of all those chemicals.
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What are safe cosmetics?

Safe Cosmetics are made from ingredients that have not been linked to cancer or birth defects. Doctors and environmental experts recommend that you avoid putting the chemicals listed below in your body.
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How do you know if a cosmetic is safe?

You can learn a lot about the safety of your cosmetics by reading the label. You just have to know what you are looking for.
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The Dirty Dozen

Below is a list known as the “Dirty Dozen.” Teens for Safe Cosmetics compiled this list after doing a survey of 500 teens. From their survey, they determined what cosmetics teens are using the most and what the most common dangerous chemicals in them are. Check around your house and see if any of your favorite cosmetics contain chemicals on this list.

• Butyl Acetate: prevents nail polish from chipping


• Butylate Hydroxytoluene: prevents colors from fading and changing too quickly


• Coal Tar: dissolves dead skin cells and controls itching in shampoo and hair dye


• Cocamide/Lauramide DEA: causes foaming in shampoo and bath products


• Formaldehyde: disinfectant and preservative in deodorant, nail polish, soap, shampoo, shaving cream


• Diazolidinyl Urea: helps the disinfectants (like formaldehyde) work


• Ethyl Acetate: liquid in nail polish, mascara, tooth whitening, perfume


• Parabens: group of chemicals that are preservatives and don’t allow bacteria to grow in your cosmetics


• Petrolateum (Petroleum): makes lipsticks shine, creams smooth, and softens skin


• Treithanolamine: keeps lotions, shaving cream, soaps, shampoos and bath powders from clumping


• Triclosan: prevents bacteria on your hands from growing in your cosmetics, like on bars of soaps or deodorant


• Toluene: liquid part of nail polish and hair dye that makes it stick to your hair and nails and look glossy


• Talc: absorbs moisture and prevents powders like eye shadow, blush, deodorant from clumping in the containers


• Sodium Laureth Sulfate: helps the cosmetics stick to your skin


• Propylene glycol: keeps products from melting when it is too hot or freezing when it is too cold


• Phthalates: keeps color and scents dissolved in the nail polish, perfume, hair spray and others

Safe cosmetics do not contain these chemicals (and many others). Check the label on the back of your cosmetics containers to see if your product is safe!
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EU Compliance Seal

The European Union (EU), a group of 27 European countries, is one governing group that has made safe cosmetics an important part of its laws. Their laws have banned chemicals that scientists strongly suspect to cause cancer or cause birth defects. Although no companies are required to test all their chemicals first, the European Union is on its way to making that a law, too.

If the back of your cosmetics container says “EU Cosmetics Directive Compliant” – you’re good to go according to the European Union.

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Skin Deep

Skin Deep is an environmental cosmetics database that keeps a list of all the cosmetics that are for sale. You can search the website by brand or by product to see how safe they are before (or after) you buy them. The website compares the ingredients list of cosmetics that are on sale to lists of toxic chemicals. It is a good resource to find out what you are putting on your body.
For information visit cosmeticsdatabase.com

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How do we make all cosmetics safe?

Using safe cosmetics is one thing, but having all cosmetics made in a way that is safe is a whole other can of worms! To make sure that all cosmetics are safe, every manufacturer and company that sells make-up needs to agree that safety is a priority. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has developed a “Compact for Safe Cosmetics” that companies can sign, promising to make their cosmetics safer for all of us.

In 2006 California was the first state to pass a law related to safe cosmetics. In the state of California, a company is required to say that they have used a chemical that is known to cause cancer or birth defects right on the package. Since then, about a dozen states have followed.

If safe cosmetics are something that you feel is important, it is a great idea to get involved! Write to your state government or to your favorite cosmetics company – let your voice be heard and keep our bodies healthy!

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