Tacoma News Tribune
November 21, 2006

Nov. 21--Twenty-three ingredients raise health concerns, 14 have warnings or restrictions for their use and one is an occupational hazard. Some of those have been found to harm the immune system, digestive tract or even skin.

Another 15 ingredients have never been tested for safety.

All those ingredients are in just one popular body lotion from an upscale manufacturer.

It gets worse. Just check the bathroom cabinet: The pretty bottles of powders and lotions promising younger-looking skin or a brighter face have ingredients that could potentially harm developing fetuses, cause cancer or irritate your skin. And some experts say they may already be accumulating in waterways and harming fish.

Nearly 10,000 more ingredients used in personal care products have never been tested for use in humans,

because the Food and Drug Administration doesn't require it.

"We don't know the health effects of single chemicals, let alone when they're used together," said Karen Bowman, an occupational health nurse who works with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bowman spoke to more than 100 people gathered for a toxic cosmetics forum at Pacific Lutheran University earlier this month.

She said the chemicals used in cosmetics are also used in industrial sites she inspects, "and they require gas masks" there.

"You wouldn't rub motor oil all over your body if your skin was dry," said Ocean Wyndsong, owner of Fire and Water Sundries in Tacoma. But, she said, we often overlook that many beauty products are petroleum-based. She started her natural soap and lotion company five years ago after an allergic reaction to a commercially available apricot face scrub made her skin break out, and she examined the ingredients. In addition to several things she couldn't pronounce, she found the closest thing to apricot was the dye, and the exfoliant was something she was allergic to.

She said personal care products might contain only a fraction of "bad" ingredients, but their effect can be much larger, including on the environment.

"It becomes about personal responsibility on the whole, not just safe cosmetics," she said.

Chemicals found in personal care products have been found in the environment, including in the Thea Foss Waterway, according to Leslie Ann Rose of Citizens for a Healthy Bay, who spoke at PLU's cosmetics forum.

Rose said the chemicals -- PCBs, mercury and phthalates -- are in the mud and find their way into the food chain. Once some of the substances get into the food chain, they don't get out.

Instead of dumping them down the drain or in the garbage, Wyndsong suggested disposing of cosmetics waste at recycling centers that accept motor oil.

Natural beauty products may be better for the environment, but many people worry that they won't be as effective. The answer depends on whom you ask.

"The skin is the largest organ on your body, so whatever you put on it, it goes in," said Bert Bennet, a cosmetics buyer for Marlene's Market. "If it's not something your body can utilize, it's going to just park it."

If you slather on lotion with chemicals, that means your body will absorb some, she said.

"A person would do better going without," she said.

On the other hand, sometimes chemicals are hard to avoid. Wyndsong said she uses regular shampoos and conditioners, because chemical-free versions are difficult to find and expensive. She's experimenting with her own formula, but said it's difficult to make a quality product sometimes without chemicals.

The cosmetics companies say they sell products that are safe.

"The ingredients used in cosmetics have been tested and found to be completely safe when used as intended. Parabens and Phthalates, two ingredients accused of causing birth defects, have been continuously tested and found safe. ... Proof of presence does not necessarily indicate proof of cause or harm," according to a statement from the Estee Lauder company's Web site.

That's probably because skin doesn't absorb much of what's applied to it, according to Dr. Sidney Whaley, a dermatologist at Jackson Hall Medical Center in Tacoma.

He said medical research indicates that only trace amounts of what's applied topically make it into the bloodstream and that the biggest problem he sees is allergies to certain substances.

But not all chemicals are created equal, and products marketed to the black community -- like skin lighteners and hair relaxers -- often have some of the worst ingredients.

Some relaxers contain hormones that have induced puberty in toddlers, according to Felicia Eaves of Women's Voices for the Earth, who also spoke at the PLU cosmetics forum.

She said black women are more likely to develop cancer than other groups, and they're twice as likely to die.

"We have more at stake," she said, adding that women who work in hair and nail salons are also at a high risk.

"It becomes an environmental justice issue."





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