Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn’t the government certify that personal care products are safe and healthy before they can be sold to consumers?
I don’t wear very much make-up, so I’m probably safe, right?
Are our products affecting wildlife, rivers and streams?
What are some of the most harmful ingredients in products?
So I should buy products labeled all natural?
What is the Compact for Safe Cosmetics?
I don’t see Arbonne, Avon, Mary Kay, Melaleuca or other similar companies listed on your Web site, even though they claim to be “safe,” “natural” or donate money to breast cancer research. What’s the deal?
How do I purchase products from companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics?
How do I know if a particular product is safe?
What are phthalates? Where are they found?
I’ve been reading a lot about parabens and companies going “paraben-free.” What does that mean?
Are parabens among the list of chemicals that Compact signers do not use?
What is 1,4-Dioxane? How can I avoid it?
What about nail polish?
Who's making safe nail polish?
How is the campaign funded? Do companies have to pay to sign the Compact?
Who initiated the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics?
Who is making sure that Compact signers are really making safer products?
What is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' position on animal testing?
Where can I find information on sunscreens?
So what can I do?
Q. Doesn’t the government certify that personal care products are safe and healthy before they can be sold to consumers?
A. No. Major loopholes in federal law allow the $50 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no required monitoring of health effects, and inadequate labeling requirements.
Neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic ingredients are reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they are sold to the public. FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products before marketing.
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Q. Is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics saying that my lipstick or my deodorant can give me cancer?
A. No, we’re not. The chemicals present in any one cosmetic product are unlikely to cause harm. But none of us use just one product. Think about how many products you use in a single day—from toothpaste to soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, deodorant, body lotion, shaving products and makeup—and how many products you use in a year, and over a lifetime. Small amounts of toxic chemicals add up and can accumulate in our bodies through cosmetic use and through other chemical exposures in food, water and air. Chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects do not belong in personal care products, period.
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Q. I don’t wear very much make-up, so I’m probably safe, right?
A. Unfortunately, that is not a safe assumption, because we’re talking about more than make-up. Even baby bubble bath can contain toxic chemicals!
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is focused on making deodorant, toothpaste, hair gels, shampoos and all the other grooming products that men, women and children use safe for consumers and the environment by removing toxic ingredients. Reducing the amount of products you use will reduce your overall exposure, but the goal is to make all personal care products safe for everyone to use.
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Q: Are our products affecting wildlife, rivers and streams?
A: When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought to understand human exposures to industrial plasticizers called phthalates, they passed up food, water, air or human blood testing, and targeted urine instead. When ingredients in personal care products seep through human skin into our bodies, many end up in human excretions. Other ingredients get washed down the drain when we wash our hair and bodies in the shower, or clean a day's makeup and lotion off our faces at the end of the day.
A growing number of studies in the field of testing that targets what are known as "PPCPs" — pharmaceuticals and personal care products — finds our personal care product ingredients in rivers and streams across the country. And some ingredients have been linked to impacts in wildlife - those that target the hormone system, for example, that have been linked to feminization of fish and other aquatic life.
Personal care products are chock full of chemicals that act like estrogen and that raise concerns with respect to wildlife. Examples? Fifty-seven percent of all products contain paraben preservatives, nearly two percent contain surfactants called alkylphenols and just over two percent contain estrogenic sunscreen ingredients, according to EWG's 2004 product assessment.
Environmental Working Group's research shows that 50 percent of all products on the market contain added "fragrance," complex mixtures of chemicals, some persistent, some neurotoxic and some newly found to harm wildlife. Researchers at Stanford University published work in 2004 showing that mussels lost their ability to clear their bodies of poisons when exposed to parts-per-billion levels of common fragrance musks.
When the ingredients in our products are harming wildlife, what must be their impact to us? That is a question that remains unanswered by an industry with near complete discretion over product safety, making slow progress in screening ingredients for safety.
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Q. What are some of the most harmful ingredients in products?
A. Mercury, (often listed as thimerosal on ingredient labels) found in some eye drops, ointment and deodorants; lead acetate, found in some hair dyes and cleanser; formaldehyde and toluene, found in nail products; petrochemicals, found in some hair relaxers, shampoos, mascara, perfume, foundation, lipstick and lip balm; coal tar, found in dandruff shampoos, anti-itch creams and hair dyes; placenta, found in some hair relaxers, moisturizers and toners,;and phthalates, found in some nail polish, fragrances and hair spray.
All of these ingredients can be found in our brochure, Unmasked: 10 Ugly Truths Behind the Myth of Cosmetic Safety.
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Q. So I should buy products labeled all natural?
A. Looking for the words “natural” or “safe” won’t guarantee that the product you buy really is safe. That’s why we’re asking all manufacturers to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and pledge not to use chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health harms and replace them with safer alternatives.
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Q. What is the Compact for Safe Cosmetics?
A. Some companies are making safer products today and striving to make even safer products in the future. Nearly 800 companies have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to remove hazardous chemicals and replace them with safe alternatives within three years. Click here for the most recent list of Compact signers.
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Q: I don’t see Arbonne, Avon, Mary Kay, Melaleuca or other similar companies listed on your website, even though they claim to be “safe,” “natural” or donate money to breast cancer research. What’s the deal?
A: Arbonne, Avon, Mary Kay and Melaleuca are aware of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics but have refused to sign it. If they are truly supporting women’s health, and if they are making “safe” products it shouldn’t be too hard for them to sign the Compact. Nearly 800 companies have signed the Compact, a commitment to manufacture personal care products free of known and suspected toxic chemicals.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics does not endorse or hand-pick “safe” companies to refer customers to. The growing list of safer companies on our Web site is comprised solely of companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. If you don’t see a company on the list, we encourage you to send a letter letting them know about the Compact, and urging them to sign it.
For a sample letter to get you started, please check out the Materials and Resources section of the Web site.
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Q: How do I purchase products from companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics?
A: Click on the Safer Companies section of the Web site for a list of the companies that have signed the Compact. There you will find links to each company’s Web site where you can order their products or see where their products are sold.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a non-profit coalition and does not handle any sales.
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Q: How do I know if a particular product is safe?
A: To find safety information on specific products, check out Skin Deep, the online database of nearly 25,000 personal care products. You can search the database for specific brands or ingredients, or for product types, like nail polish, to see how brands within that product class compare. Skin Deep will also tell you if a company has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. We recommend supporting Compact signers over non-signers when possible because Compact-signing companies have made a meaningful commitment to create safer products.
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Q. What are phthalates? Where are they found?
A. Phthalates (pronounced THA-lates) are plasticizing chemicals that are probable human reproductive or developmental toxins and endocrine disruptors. Phthalates cause reproductive birth defects in laboratory animals, particularly males.
Two phthalates often used in cosmetics (dibutyl and diethylhexyl) have been banned in the European Union. Unfortunately, phthalates are still found in some nail polishes and hair sprays, and are commonly hidden on ingredient labels under the term “fragrance.” We recommend that consumers steer clear of products with fragrance, especially pregnant women, babies and pubescent young adults.
For more information, please read our report Not Too Pretty (2002).
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Q. I’ve been reading a lot about parabens and companies going “paraben-free.” What does that mean?
A. Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as anti-microbial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood. U.K. researchers found measurable concentrations of six different parabens in 20 human breast tumors. The study highlights the need for more research on the potential link between products containing parabens and increased breast cancer risk.
Many companies, including Compact signers, have begun phasing out parabens from their lines by marking their products as “paraben-free.” Parabens are commonly listed on product ingredient labels as methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben and butylparaben.
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Q: Are parabens among the list of chemicals that Compact signers do not use?
A: Companies that sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics must demonstrate compliance with the European Union (EU) directive on personal care products. While the EU directive is far more comprehensive than what we have here in the United States, it does not ban parabens and many other potentially harmful ingredients. So, while the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics would like to see paraben-free products, and a lot of our Compact Signers are headed in that direction, a company that has signed the Compact isn't necessarily a company that is paraben-free.
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Q: What is 1,4-Dioxane? How can I avoid it?
A: 1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived carcinogenic compound that is used intentionally in dry cleaning solvents, lacquers and automotive coolant. 1,4-Dioxane also shows up in personal care products because it is the byproduct of some chemical ingredient manufacturing processes, including the process by which sodium lauryl sulfate becomes sodium laureth sulfate.
Independent lab results released in February 2007 revealed 1,4-Dioxane contamination in kids’ bath products, as well as some adult products. 1,4-Dioxane is a known animal carcinogen and probable human carcinogen as well as a skin and lung irritant. It is strongly suspected to be toxic to the kidneys and nervous system. It also appears on California’s Proposition 65 list of substances known to cause cancer or birth defects.
Although 1,4-Dioxane can be vacuumed-stripped out of personal care products for pennies, this step is often not taken by manufacturers. And because it shows up in many sudsing products, an individual may be exposed multiple times each day through different products.
Since it is an impurity, not an intentional ingredient, 1,4-Dioxane does not appear on ingredient labels. For consumers, that means having to go one step further to avoid any products containing petrochemical ingredients that often come along with 1,4-Dioxane contamination. These include the ingredients or partial ingredient names: “PEG,” “polyethylene,” “polyethylene glycol,” “polyoxyethylene,” “-eth-” (such as sodium laureth sulfate), “oxynol” "ceteareth" or "oleth."
An easier way is to use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database. Use the "shopping requirements" feature of the advanced search to limit your results to products that do not contain known impurities, including 1,4-Dioxane.
For more information, please see our 1,4-Dioxane FAQ page.
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Q. What about nail polish?
A. According to Skin Deep, the interactive product safety database developed by Campaign partner Environmental Working Group, nail polish is among the highest-concern product categories in terms of serious health effects. This has to do in large part to the chemicals formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), all three of which make it into the top ingredients of concern in personal care products, and all three of which could be found in many brands of nail polish until very recently.
Many smaller nail polish manufacturers removed these chemicals from their products long ago. And while European laws forced many international companies to stop using DBP in 2005, some holdouts were still using the chemical in their U.S. lines. In 2006, Del Laboratories, Inc., which makes the Sally Hansen brand, told the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that it would remove all DBP, toluene and formaldehyde from their U.S. products. At that time, leading salon brand (and target of many Campaign actions!) OPI agreed to remove DBP, but refused to eliminate formaldehyde and toluene from all of their nail polishes and treatments.
In March 2007, OPI reported that it was reformulating all of its products to be toluene-free. (Read more about OPI here.)
The U.S. National Toxicology Program says formaldehyde is “reasonably anticipated” to be a human carcinogen. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restricts toluene in drinking water because it can cause nervous system disorders and damage the liver and kidneys. DBP is prohibited for use in cosmetics in the European Union because it is a possible human reproductive or developmental toxin. The data from several peer-reviewed scientific studies indicated that DBP is a probable endocrine disruptor.
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Q. Who’s making safe nail polish then?
A. Several companies who have signed the Compact make nail polishes, treatments and removers without harmful chemicals, including Anise Nail Care, Honeybee Gardens and NAIL-AID Treatments. So you don’t have to give up your mani-pedi visits, just BYOP (Bring Your Own Polish) the next time you go! And it won’t hurt to let your salon know about the health effects associated with polishes and treatments and how they can swap toxic products with safer alternatives to protect their own health, too. For more information about health risks to salon workers, read “Glossed Over: Health Hazards Associated with Toxic Exposure in Nail Salons” from Women’s Voices for the Earth.
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Q: How is the campaign funded? Do companies have to pay to sign the compact?
A: All of our funding comes from non-industry foundations and a few individual donors. All Campaign staff members work at coalition organizations. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics does not take any money from Compact-signing companies, and there is no fee to sign the Compact.
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Q: Who initiated the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics?
A: Founding groups of the Campaign include: Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Breast Cancer Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Womens Voices for the Earth. The Campaign also works with over 100 endorsing organizations and thousands of citizen activists.
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Q: Who is making sure that Compact signers are really making safer products?
A: When a company signs the Compact for Safe Cosmetics they are taking a meaningful pledge to use safer ingredients immediately and over the long term. The company agrees to participate in conference calls and in-person meetings about twice a year, and periodic follow-ups to ensure compliance with the Compact. In addition, Skin Deep will soon show a graphic representation of where signers are in terms of Compact compliance since some companies are newer than others, and others have been more aggressively seeking safer alternatives to toxic ingredients than their peers, and should get recognition for their efforts.
The Compact is the closest thing we have to regulation or a meaningful seal of approval for cosmetics in this country. It would be better if there were government regulation, but until then, consumers can use the Compact as tool in their search for safer cosmetics.
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Q: What is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' position on animal testing?
A: Please see our position statement on animal testing.
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Q: Where can I find information on sunscreens?
A: Click on the Skin Deep database to find information on sunscreens and nearly 25,000 other skin care products. Or, visit Friends of the Earth’s Web site to read their report on nanotechnology and sunscreen (August 2007).
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Q. So what can I do?
A. From the personal the political, here’s what you can do:
Join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics! Sign up for updates, write to companies and join our action network. Together we can make over the cosmetics industry and make ourselves and our families safer.
Choose safer products now. Visit our partner Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, the world’s largest searchable database of ingredients in cosmetics. Find out if your favorite products contain hazardous chemicals, find safer alternatives and search for Compact signers’ products in Skin Deep. You can also find a list of Compact signers on our Web site.
Tell your cosmetics companies you want safe products. Contact the companies that have not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Call them, write them, e-mail them to let them know you want safe products now! Look on product packaging for a customer service hotline or Web site. For a list of the customer support phone numbers for L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, Procter & Gamble, Revlon and Avon, read our brochure, Unmasked.
Contact your elected officials, and tell them you want to see state and federal level action to make all cosmetics free of carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins, and other chemicals linked to health problems or chemicals that have never been tested for long term effects. Some states already have pending legislation on cosmetics ingredients. Find out if yours is one of them!
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