Most people don’t connect the dots – cosmetics applied to the skin’s surface can get absorbed into the blood stream and cause major havoc without your knowledge. All across the worlds, Millions of women and men use cosmetics to enhance, and sometimes drastically change their appearance. Although the terms cosmetics and makeup may be used interchangeably, they are NOT necessarily the same thing. Makeup refers to cosmetics such as foundation, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, blush, and lipstick, while general cosmetics may refer to products often used for daily routine such as body wash and moisturizers, perfumes nail polish, and hair coloring or styling products, and so on.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires U.S. manufacturers to report the safety of their cosmetic products to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But, cosmetics do not undergo the same stringent pre-market approval as drugs, with the exception of color additives. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is conducting high-throughput toxicity testing of 10,000 chemical compounds, including those found in cosmetics in partnership with the National Center for Computational Toxicology, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences in the National Institutes of Health, and the FDA,
Researchers are working to better understand if/how the chemicals contained in cosmetics and personal care products affect human health. Some chemicals are classified as endocrine disrupting, which means they may interfere with the body’s hormones and cause adverse health effects. In an analysis of hair products usage, researchers found that frequent use of permanent hair dyes was correlated with an increased risk of cancer, especially among black women. Frequent use of chemical hair straighteners was also associated with increased risk of breast cancer regardless of race.
The goal was for better living through science, however, as cosmetics products veered far from their original nature-based origins, the more harmful they became for our bodies. Until more reliable solutions are found, more consumers are opting to go the all-natural way. The more informed we are as consumers, the better; stay in the know.