Men

It would be easy to think of safe cosmetics and personal care products as a women’s issue, but the reality is that men also use a wide range of personal care products every day. With advertisements focusing on youth, masculinity and power, men receive a barrage of marketing messages. Soap, deodorant, hair gel or pomade, cologne, shaving cream and other products are part of a daily ritual for most men, while products like anti-aging lotion, skin lighteners, and sunscreen use have gone up in use,^[1] leaving men vulnerable to a variety of toxic ingredients.

Men’s products, including products marketed to teenage boys, contain a range of unsafe chemicals of concern. Phthalates, a common ingredient found in fragranced products, have been found in higher median levels in men who use products like aftershave or cologne than those who do not use these products.^[2] This means men are just as prone to maintaining phthalates in their systems after using fragranced products as women, and that these chemicals are not immediately flushed from the body once applied.