04/06/2026
Are your beauty and body products safe?
They say you are what you eat. And since our skin is our largest organ, we must include what we put on our bodies as well as what we ingest.
What exactly are all those hard to pronounce ingredients in your beauty and personal care products that enter our body through the skin? Are they something to be concerned about, or have they been approved as safe or without potential to do harm?
You might assume that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tested and/or approved the chemicals/ingredients contained in cosmetics and personal body care products...but you would be mistaken. In the U.S .initially the arm of the FDA for cosmetics was the Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act (FD&C) of 1938.
“The FD&C Act defines cosmetics by their intended use, as "articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body...for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance" (FD&C Act, sec. 201(i)). Among the products included in this definition are skin moisturizers, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail polishes, eye and facial makeup, cleansing shampoos, permanent waves, hair colors, and deodorants, as well as any substance intended for use as a component of a cosmetic product.”
FD&C Act stated; “Companies and individuals who manufacture or market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.”
“Recalls of cosmetics were voluntary actions taken by manufacturers or distributors to remove from the marketplace products that represent a hazard or gross deception, or that are somehow defective (21 CFR 7.40(a).”
Since then, the passage of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) was established. With the passage of MoCRA they established new authorities allowing FDA to access records, and authorize mandatory recalls and other “regulations.” Even with the updated regulations the cosmetic industry is largely a self regulating one.
The potentially harmful chemicals in each individual product are generally in low doses, and would not alone (usually) lead to problems of immediate toxicity or damage. However, the number of products we use daily with these chemicals in them are where the real concern lies. There are many in the scientific and health care community who believe the cumulative effect, and long term use, has the potential for quite another outcome. Many of the products sold here in the U.S. are prohibited in Europe, for this very reason. (By the way, the same goes for many food products. For example, you will find different /healthier ingredients in many of the breakfast cereals sold in Europe, made by the same companies that sell them with undesirable ingredients here in the U.S.)
Some of the unwanted chemicals in many beauty and body care products are found in “fragrances.” Fragrance (also “parfum”) is a term that the cosmetics, cleaning and candle industries use on ingredient lists that discloses only that there are unnamed chemicals in the product. It is basically considered a proprietary blend, so is not required to be disclosed.
For transparencies sake, the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) published an alphabetical list of ingredients that its members reportedly use to make consumer products. However, an analysis of the 3,163 chemicals revealed areas of concern.
Since 1993, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been providing research so consumers can make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. Regarding the IFRA list, the EWG states ,“In fact, 1 in 20 earned a "high" hazard score (7-10 of 10), and a full 1 in 6 rated at least a "moderate" hazard score (3-10 of 10). 25 of them scored a 10, the highest score. Of the 3,163 chemicals listed, several stand out as particularly toxic: phthalates, octoxynols and nonoxynols. Phthalates are potent hormone disruptors linked to reproductive system birth defects in baby boys. Octoxynols and nonoxynols break down into persistent hormone disruptors, as well.”
Parabens (ethyl, butyl, methyl, propyl) , Formaldehyde, Phthalates (dibutyl, diethyl, dimethyl, DEHP), Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)/Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), Toluene (benzene, phenylmethane, methylbenzene), and Triclosan are among the chemicals/ingredients to become aware of.
A study on PubMed concerning Methyl Paraben showed “it might cause skin damage involving carcinogenesis through the combined activation of sunlight irradiation and skin esterases.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18656963/
Common store bought products, including shampoos, conditioners, facial creams and cleansers, hair color, colognes, after shaves,nail products, lotions, make-up, and others can contain some of the above ingredients. Read your labels, and visit EWG.org and check out their cosmetics database to learn more about what they are and what, if any, dangers they may pose. https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
You can join us April 11th for our Botanical Beauty Workshop & Luncheon. We’ll discuss some chemical ingredients and their potential hazards and learn about options. You will learn to make some of your own organic beauty and body products right in your kitchen! We will be making organic Rose Facial Cream, Conditioning & Strengthening Hair Oil, Exfoliating Scrub, Whipped Moisturizing Body Butter, and Nail & Cuticle Conditioning Oil. Visit www.HerbalMedRx.com/Events for more information, or call Su Lukasha at 209-296-2120.
Su Lukasha is owner of Herbal Med Rx, makers of over 60 herbal wellness products. You can visit their Pine Grove Apothecary by appointment by calling the above number, or view their products and events at www.HerbalMedRx.com.
