Almost 10 years ago I was hearing stirrings about ‘bad ingredients’ in shampoo, soaps and lotions called parabens. At the time, that was all I knew and I started looking for “paraben-free” marketing on the front of the bottles. When I became pregnant with my first child in 2013, my naturopath told me to also avoid retinol and retinyl palmitate in my personal care products. This peaked my curiosity (and worry) and I became vigilant at reading ingredient labels, though I was still unsure exactly what I was looking for. I spent hours in the drugstore, and felt totally overwhelmed by it all. In 2016, a good friend from university called me with the news that a new company had just launched in Canada, and they had banned all of the harmful ingredients that I would ever need to worry about. Plus, their products were great. My first thought was, “I wonder how many harmful ingredients there actually are? Did I know them all?” My question is almost laughable now. I didn’t know what I didn’t know back then, and that one phone call has lead to years of learning. I want to share what I have learned with you, in the hopes that you, too, can become an informed and educated consumer:
- The European Union has banned or restricted over 1400 chemicals in personal care products.
- Canada has banned or restricted about half of that (~600) and the US has banned 30.
- The US has not passed a major federal law in the personal care/cosmetics industry since 1938.
- Canada has not reformed the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) since 1998.
- Many, if not most, chemicals have not been tested for safety on human health.
- The terms ‘natural’ and ‘clean’ are unregulated in the personal care industry. They are used for marketing purposes and do not equate with safe ingredients.
Some ingredients that are deemed safe may be contaminated with known carcinogens or harmful ingredients. Lead, cadmium, asbestos and aluminum are naturally occurring elements from the Earth, that are harmful to human health when they bioaccumulate. Such elements may contaminate cosmetics, and it is not required by law for companies to test their cosmetics for heavy metal contamination (this is a voluntary process). Some ingredients in personal care products are absorbed into the blood stream, and may have systemic effects on the body. “Fragrance” (often listed on ingredient labels, also as parfum) is considered a trade secret in North America. Companies are not required to disclose the sometimes hundreds of ingredients under that umbrella term. Hormone-disrupting chemicals (not banned or restricted in Canada or the US) are contributing to known health issues such an early-onset puberty, infertility and reproductive cancers. So, what can you do?
Read Your Ingredient Labels.
Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to this. You cannot unknow what you know, and now that you know there are potentially harmful ingredients in your products, it is up to you to find out for certain. At this time, our governments do not have the regulations to protect us from harmful ingredients in personal care products and cosmetics — it is up to YOU to be an educated consumer.
The Environmental Working Group has a trusted database that offers a very helpful solution. You can type in (or scan) your product at home, or any ingredients in question, and find a safety rating as well as scientifically-backed evidence. Try it out: www.ewg.org/skindeep You can also learn more about each group of harmful ingredients through David Suzuki’s Dirty Dozen list or Beautycounter’s Never List. Feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone. I was there, 3 years ago, and when I received that phone call about ‘the new company in Canada’, I was relieved. The timing was perfect – it was exactly what I was looking for.
Support better beauty.
Beautycounter is committed to a health and safety standard that goes well beyond what is legally required by the US and Canada. They have created the Never List, which is made up of more than 1500 harmful or questionable ingredients that are never used in their products. This includes the over 1400 chemicals banned or restricted in personal care products by the European Union, plus additional ingredients screened by Beautycounter and found to be of concern.
In case you already forgot, currently Canada has only banned or restricted about 600 ingredients of the known 1400 harmful/questionable chemicals prohibited by the EU, and the US has only banned 30.
Beautycounter is an education-first company, whereby we believe that it is our job to empower the consumer with knowledge to be able to make informed choices. We are also advocates for safer regulations in the US and Canada, and we meet with members of our governments asking for more health-protective laws. Beautycounter also started the Counteract Coalition which is a group of like-minded beauty brands asking for better beauty laws in our countries.
Beautycounter is a multi-channel brand, meaning that you can buy their products in a variety of ways: through a Consultant, on the company’s website, in their flagship store in NYC or in one of their pop-up shops in LA or Nantucket. The most important avenue for business is their Consultant network, as we truly believe that the facts about safe ingredients, and our stories of being connected to this mission are told best from person-to-person. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, Beautycounter is a certified B Corporation. This is a voluntary and rigorous accomplishment that signifies that the company equally considers people, the planet and profit when doing business. Patagonia and Klean Kanteen are also amongst the 2000+ global brands that are committed to meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
Now what?
You are now armed with information, and my hope is that you will use it to be a thoughtful consumer. You have the power to shift the marketplace — it’s already happening. Clean Beauty is being reported on in the media, the lack of regulation in the beauty industry is being exposed, and big organizations like Sephora and P & G are already starting to clean up their act. You can use your hard-earned dollars to support companies that are voluntarily going above and beyond for transparency and safety. You can share your new-found knowledge with your friends and family, and social networks. You can use your voice for change, and join the better beauty movement.
Here’s to clean, safe, better beauty!