ACHES & CLAIMS: The Ingredients of Beauty
By ROBERT J. DAVIS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 24, 2005

Are hazards lurking in your hair gel and hand cream? That's the claim of some environmental groups and politicians, who are pushing to remove chemicals known as phthalates from a wide array of beauty products. While studies show the chemicals may cause birth defects and other problems in animals, the Food and Drug Administration says there's no evidence that levels in cosmetics pose a risk to humans.

Phthalates serve a variety of functions in cosmetics such as making fragrances last longer and preventing nail polish from chipping. In a recent FDA analysis, they were found in two-thirds of the products tested, including skin lotion, deodorant, body wash and hair spray. They're also present in a number of other products like toys, detergents, food packaging and vinyl flooring.

A coalition of environmental, health and women's organizations, known as the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, is leading the fight against phthalates with ads in newspapers and women's magazines, as well as a billboard at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The group is demanding that cosmetics manufacturers remove phthalates and other ingredients it considers harmful. Meanwhile, legislation introduced this month in New York state would ban the use of certain phthalates in beauty products. A similar bill in California was recently defeated.

Opponents of the chemicals point to experiments in rodents showing that some phthalates can decrease fertility and cause birth defects, including reproductive abnormalities in males. But an expert panel of the industry-supported Cosmetic Ingredient Review, which assesses safety and publishes findings in peer-reviewed journals, has concluded that exposure levels for humans are far below those in the animal studies and well within the margin of safety set by the Environmental Protection Agency, even when multiple phthalate-containing products are used at once.

Antiphthalate activists also cite research in 2000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which analyzed 289 human urine samples for phthalates. The researchers found levels to be higher than expected overall and highest in women of childbearing age, further raising concerns about possible dangers to unborn children. But follow-up research by the CDC involving far more people showed levels in younger women to be the same as those in women over 40.

Other studies have linked phthalates in men's urine with sperm abnormalities. But researchers say the study is preliminary and doesn't prove that phthalates -- or beauty products containing them -- harm humans.

The FDA, which only loosely regulates cosmetics, says it "does not have compelling evidence that phthalates, as used in cosmetics, pose a safety risk." The European Union, which unlike the U.S. can act against chemicals if there is only a suspicion of harm, recently banned the use of certain phthalates. To comply, several major cosmetics companies have agreed to reformulate their products world-wide.

Figuring out which cosmetics contain phthalates can be tough, if not impossible. Manufacturers of beauty products must list ingredients on the label, but an exception allows phthalates in some cases to be listed simply as "fragrance." To find out for certain what's in your cosmetics, you can check with the manufacturer. The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, offers its own guide at www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep/browse_products.php.