Environmentalists warn the average woman's makeup bag is a time bomb waiting to explode with serious health consequences. The cosmetic industry and the FDA say there's nothing to fear.

It's hard to ignore the headlines: The safety of cosmetics and personal care items is clearly being challenged on many levels.

To hear any well-versed environmentalist tell it, women are being set up for the health hit of a lifetime. The weapon of mass destruction: Our cute little cosmetic bags, filled to the brim with what some believe is a toxic chemical brew that could cause serious health harm.

"Cosmetics and personal care products are potentially major sources of chemical exposure—particularly if you look at the number of items women use and the sheer number of chemicals in them. Twenty products with over 200 chemicals is typical before a woman even walks out the door in the morning," says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face.

These chemicals, she says, are linked to a slew of health threats that range from cancer to infertility to birth defects, documented by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the CDC.

The beauty industry disagrees, saying that most of the alarming accusations—including lead in lipstick—are a replay of old issues that were addressed and dismissed by them, and the FDA, decades ago.

"Many of the issues that are coming up today are, in fact, a recycling of old issues that the FDA considered in their context and decided that no regulatory action was necessary on their part," says John Bailey, executive vice president of science at the Cosmetics, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA), the leading beauty industry organization.

Bailey, the former director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, adds that not only are cosmetics and personal care products generally safe, they are, he says, "safest of all the products consumers will use that are regulated by FDA including foods, drugs, dietary supplements, and over-the-counter drugs, and it is well documented in the number of consumer complaints that FDA gets compared to other areas."

So where, exactly, does the truth lie? And do women have cause for concern?

If you're like most women, you likely believe that, like the drugs in your medicine chest, the cosmetics on your bathroom vanity were scrutinized under an equally watchful eye of the FDA. And at first glance, this seems to be the case.

But unlike drug manufacturers who must prove their products are both safe and effective before being marketed, cosmetic firms have no such regulatory obligation under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

"The act does not subject cosmetics to premarket approval," says FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek. In addition, the companies are not required to substantiate performance claims or conduct safety testing. What it does require of companies is that cosmetics be "safe when used as directed in the labeling or under usual customary conditions of use."

The bottom line: Unless a lipstick or a jar of cream causes the kind of public health issues raised by tainted lettuce or spinach, is improperly labeled, or is harmful if used as directed, the FDA is pretty much out of the beauty picture.

Bailey says the cosmetic industry uses a self-policing system that works, including the Cosmetic Ingredient Review board. Funded by the CTFA, this inter-industry organization scrutinizes cosmetic ingredients from a safety perspective and publishes their results in peer-reviewed journals. Bailey says it's one reason why there is such a relatively low level of consumer complaints about beauty products.

Malkan, however, says it's a little like asking the fox to guard the henhouse. "The bottom line is they don't have to answer to anyone but themselves," she says.

Environmentalists say they are less concerned with acute issues—like skin rashes or allergies—then they are with the potential for long-term health consequences from some of the chemicals commonly used in cosmetics.

According to activists like the Environmental Working Group and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, these include parabens (used as preservatives), petrochemicals and their by-products (found in skin creams, foundations, lip balms, and more) mercury (found in mascara and eyedrops), lead (found in lipsticks), dioxane (potentially found in shampoos and body washes) and phthalates (found in some nail polishes, hair sprays, and fragrances).

Not only have some of these ingredients been identified by the World Health Organization, the CDC, and others as carcinogens, but some also fall into a category known as "endocrine disrupters," chemicals that mimic or block the effects of hormones in the body. These have the potential to affect a variety of hormone-related diseases and conditions.

"The evidence may not be as definitive as some would like, but there are some strong associations suggesting women routinely exposed to some of these ingredients may increase their risk of developing breast cancer later in life," says Vassar College professor Janet Gray, PhD, who, together with experts from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, compiled a report on what we know so far about the environmental links to breast cancer.

Of greatest concern, she says, are women under 25, a time when breast tissue is developing and is more susceptible to outside influences.

Making these and other safety concerns even more relevant today: the relatively new science of nanotechnology. This is the process of making chemical particles so small that cosmetic ingredients can penetrate far deeper into the skin.

Moreover, many are also concerned about a chemical loophole known as the "fragrance umbrella." This essentially allows companies to claim a kind of proprietary formulation status that precludes them having to disclose the ingredients.

Bailey says no one is hiding anything.

"Fragrances are complex formulations—that's the only reason all the ingredients aren't listed," he says.

While women are the biggest users of many of these products, they may not be the ones at greatest risk. Studies show that unborn and nursing babies may be the most vulnerable.

One study designed to measure chemical contaminants in the umbilical cord blood of newborns found 287 potentially toxic chemicals—including 180 known to cause cancer in humans or animals—all before the baby even left the hospital nursery.

Clearly, the study doesn't point to the mother's use of cosmetics as the exclusive source of contamination. Many of these substances can be found in everything from your iPod to your shower curtain, and in soil, air and water.

Moreover, with the exception of a handful of cosmetic chemicals known to be harmful during pregnancy, such as Retin-A, even the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has no rules that limit cosmetic or personal care product use during pregnancy.

Still, some doctors question whether the amount of chemicals found in cosmetics could, for some women or their babies, eventually tip the scale in a harmful way.

"Will you get cancer, or harm your baby, because you use lipstick? Very unlikely. But what worries those of us involved with cancer prevention is that we don't know the cumulative effects of these chemicals, or the synergistic effects of one chemical with another, or what role the chemicals found in cosmetics will play when viewed in the broader scope of the overall chemical exposure we get from all facets of our life," says Julia Smith, director of the Lynne Cohen Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program at the NYU Cancer Institute in New York City.

Bailey says there is no proof that even those ingredients that fall within the same chemical family will necessarily compound or be capable of synergistic activity. "It's like comparing apples and oranges—there is no compounding effect," he says.

Without that evidence, he believes there is no cause for alarm or concern.

Smith takes a slightly more cautious approach. She suggests asking yourself if using a product is essential to your life—and if it isn't, do without it. "Then use the products you do think you need without excess fear or worry. You do what you can and hope it might make a positive difference in your life," she says.

While the cosmetic industry does not deny the presence of some chemicals with a harmful profile, they maintain that in the levels found in most personal care products there is no evidence of either long- or short-term harm.

Environmentalists contend that poison, even in tiny amounts, is poison we don't need to consume. And globally, a big victory came for this point of view in 2004. That's when the European Union banned the use of all chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutations, or birth defects in cosmetic or personal care formulations sold in those countries.

Though the U.S. has not instituted such a ban, an environmental-based initiative is hoping to fill in the gap. The Compact for Safe Cosmetics gives companies the opportunity to make a voluntary pledge to follow the European Union's lead by eliminating these same key chemicals in their products.

Some 600 companies have signed the pledge, including such major companies as Belli Cosmetics, Motherlove, Burt's Bees, Aubrey Organics, and Afterglow Cosmetics.

To protect yourself, experts who spoke to WebMD offer the following tips for safer cosmetic and personal care use.

• When choosing personal care products, remember that simpler is better. This means not only looking for products with fewer chemical ingredients (soap instead of shower gel, or moisturizers without fragrance), but also using fewer products overall.
• Think about how necessary a product is before you use it. For example, bubble bath for your baby or for yourself. Do without if you can.
• Use your nose as a guide: If a product has a chemical-like odor, think twice about using it or where you will apply it.
• Read ingredient labels for ingredients like parabens, but realize that many of the most questionable chemicals (like phthalates) won't be listed; instead, they're contained in the umbrella phrase "fragrance."
• Visit product web sites to get more detail on ingredients. Many of them will offer more disclosure than the label does. If you still want to know more, email the company.
• Visit CosmeticsDataBase.com for an up-to-date cross-reference of more than 22,000 cosmetics and a rating of their chemical ingredients.
• Seek out products from companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics pledge. Visit safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfm.
• Get the free CD report from Vassar College on environmental links to breast cancer, including the role of cosmetics and personal care products, at ERBC.Vassar.edu.
  

Reviewed on November 06, 2007 by Louise Chang, MD

SOURCES: Stacy Malkan, co-founder, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics; author, Not Just A Pretty Face. James Bailey, executive vice president of science, Cosmetics, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association. Stephanie Kwisnek, spokeswoman, FDA, Washington, D.C. Janet Gray, PhD, professor and chairman, department of psychology, Vassar College, New York. Julia Smith, MD, director, Lynne Cohen Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program, NYU Cancer Institute, New York. EPA web site: "What Are Endocrine Disruptors?" Environmental Working Group web site: "Body Burden: The pollution in Newborns."