We wear cosmetics and use personal care items to look our best, right?

Sadly, what you put on your skin could be as toxic in the long-term as eating junk food and inhaling cigarette smoke.

Even more sadly, modern cosmetic and personal care companies choose to continue to use harmful ingredients despite scientific awareness of their medical dangers.

Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used large amounts of cosmetics full of lead, mercury, arsenic, malachite (a green ore of copper) and other unpleasant ingredients. Kohl, a deep eye shadow, is a traditional cosmetic still popular in parts of Africa and Asia even though it contains heavy metals such as antimony or lead.

As far back as the mid-1770's, doctors began to realize toxic cosmetics could shorten lifespans, and tried to warn people.

How Far Have We Progressed?

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 created the Food and Drug Agency, but didn't stop the sale of such products as the depilatory cream, Koremlu - which contained rat poison.

The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 brought cosmetics under FDA control, but clearly that has only slowed, not stopped, the risks.

Cosmetic manufacturers no longer use rat poison, but do rely on substances nobody can decipher without a PhD. in Organic Chemistry, including:

* Dibutyl & diethylhexyl phthalates

* Isobutyl & isopropyl parabens

* Long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)

Commercial cosmetics and personal care products in the United States will no longer send you straight to the hospital, but might damage your long-term health.

Don't Rely on the FDA to Test Your Beauty Products for Safety

Here's a quote directly from their website:

"FDA does not have the legal authority to approve cosmetic products and ingredients (other than color additives) before they go on the market. We also do not have a list of tests required for any particular cosmetic product or ingredient."

They go on to say manufacturers are required to meet safety requirements, and they will step in if a cosmetic company uses an unsafe ingredient.

So, if a new ingredient starts killing customers, they will ban it.

Clearly, however, that is absolutely no protection against the long-term consequences of using these ingredients. 

What About Polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE for Short?

You probably don't recognize that generic, scientific name. How about its brand name? Teflon.

It's an endocrine disruptor. That means it mimics hormones, throwing your body's biochemicals out of balance. They can affect your brain, your immune system, your metabolism and your reproductive system.

Some also link it to reproductive disorders and cancers.

Yet it's an ingredient in some "anti-aging" creams and moisturizers.

That's a high risk to take for the sake of having a "nonstick" skin.

The FDA Does Require Manufacturers to List Ingredients

That's a result of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1967. That's a good thing - but only if you USE it.

Unfortunately, you can't rely on the label to reveal everything.

The law doesn't require disclosure of ingredients that would reveal trade secrets.

So, if a company comes up with a brand new chemical compound, that's proprietary information they don't want their competitors to know about.

That's understandable, but what about the consumer's right to know what they're putting on their skin?

Beware "Fragrances," "Scents" and "Parfum"

These ingredients are a major area where companies find and use proprietary compounds to make their products smell fresh, or whatever.

One way to be safe is don't buy any products with added scents, including soap, unless it is some sort of oil that occurs safely in nature.

That even includes perfume. If you can't avoid it, the higher end, established brands probably have a higher margin of safety. Though I can't guarantee it. Stick to organic compounds.

We're the Experimental Rats in a Long-Term Toxicity Laboratory

The government allows companies to use thousands of different chemicals. Even when they're tested, it's on animals. If a compound harms the animals, it's banned.

Fine. But what about how it affects people?

We use cosmetics and personal care products daily for decades throughout our lives. Lab animals don't live long enough to react to that kind of exposure.

And lab studies test only one ingredient at a time.

What are the effects of hundreds or even thousands of these substances accumulating in our bodies as the years go by?

Nobody really knows. But we can use common sense.

It's Not Just "Natural" vs. "Artificial"

As a kid, I spent many hours in absolute misery thanks to a 100% natural plant called poison ivy.

And I'm sure there are "chemical" ingredients that are as harmless as claimed.

The trick is clearly for cosmetic and personal care companies to find products that work, and are safe in both the short and long terms.

What to Look For

As a general rule, don't put anything on your skin you wouldn't eat (assuming it tasted good).

Just as a single word on a label, "organic" is meaningless marketing. Don't be fooled.

So are "natural" and similar fluff words.

Look for products that have been USDA Certified Organic by an INDEPENDENT testing company - NOT by the manufacturer itself. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22546056

https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products/eye-cosmetic-safety

https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-science-research/product-testing-cosmetics

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/teflon-in-beauty-products_n_5ab2b16be4b0decad04661b6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOuHy_-UaE0