Looks Can Be Deceiving

Looking at all those neatly packed items lining your shelves you wouldn't necessarily suspect anything dubious was afoot. To invite the right kind of consumer attention the cosmetic houses strive to make the packaging as eye-catching, appealing and convenient to use as possible, employing packaging manufacturers to implement strategic design concepts and nifty devices, such as lockable dispensing systems and pump mechanisms.
Perfume bottles have become almost objects of art, with alluring aesthetics that entice the consumer before they have even caught a whiff of the heady scent within.

Rather, worrying though, inside those visually appealing bottles and tubes lurks a cocktail of synthetic chemicals. There are over 100,00 chemicals registered on the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances (EINECs). Around 30,000 of these are believed to be in use on humans, or their impact on the environment. In the USA there are around 75,000 chemicals registered for use and the top ten cosmetic companies alone use more than 10,000 of these.

Did You Know?

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to ground level ozone formation, which at the normal high concentrations occurring as a result of human activity can cause a myriad of respiratory problems in healthy humans.

Ground level ozone is a constituent of smog. VOCs are emitted from numerous sources including petroleum, cleaning chemicals, cosmetics and vehicle exhausts. These  chemicals readily evaporate at room temperature and are referred to as organic because they contain carbon in their molecular structures. According to the US  environmental Protection Agency, concentrations of VOCs are consistently up to ten times higher indoors than outdoors.

Reference: Toxic Beauty/ How hidden chemicals in cosmetics can harm you:Dawn Mellowship