Cosmetic Ingredient Review-Toxic Beauty

In 1976 the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) was set up to review and test the safety of cosmetic ingredients. Its safety assessment monographs are submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Toxicology, but the CIR is funded by the cosmetics industry body in the USA known as the Personal Care Products Council and the FDA is not legally obliged to enforce regulations based on conclusions.

The CIR does not safety test all cosmetic ingredients. As of 2005, 1,285 of the 10,500 ingredients used in cosmetic products had been assesses for safety and only nine of those reviewed since 1976 have been deemed to be unsafe. Only the nine considered as unsafe are banned outright in cosmetic formulations.

The CIR panel of dermatologists have been accused by some of directing their attention towards testing substances for skin sensitization, irritation and contact allergies, rather than more long-term adverse effects such as cancer, neurotoxicity (damage to brain cells and other parts of the nervous system caused by toxic substances) and endocrine disruption. According to Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and autor of the book Not Just a Pretty Face: The ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.

The beauty industry has a different definition of safe than we do. They consider products to be safe if they don't cause a rash or allergic reaction; We're concerned about long-term health effects caused by repeated and prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals in personal care products. These products should be safe for pregnant women, developing babies, children and for everyone else.

The largely self-regulated cosmetics industry often flouts the advice of the CIR. An investigation by the Environmental Working Group  (EWG) of the ingredients in over 23,000 products discovered that nearly one in every 30 products sold in the Us does not meet one or more industry or governmental cosmetics safety standards. They also found close to 400 products  containing chemical ingredients that cosmetic industry safety panels, including the CIR and the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), have identified as unsafe.

The Bottom Line
So where does all this leave the average cosmetics user? Over the past few decades we've seen a phenomenal worldwide increase in the use of synthetic chemicals in virtually every household item. Every year around 1,000 new chemicals come on to the market. Currently we rely on cosmetic manufacturers to assure us that all the chemicals in these products have been fully tested and are safe to use over the short and long term. However, there is growing evidence from scientists that this may not be the case.

It makes sense for all to become better informed about what's in the personal care products we use and what the health implications may be.

Reference: Toxic Beauty: Dawn Mellowship