No thanks to the gaping loopholes in public-health laws, cosmetics companies have had free reign to use any ingredient they want in their products, from sunscreen to baby shampoo, without any restrictions or requirements for safety testing. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the 10,500 personal-care-product ingredients known to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not been evaluated for safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Organic And Sustainable Industry Standards (OASIS), the first organic standard for the U.S. beauty and personal-care market, wants to bring you some peace of mind, especially when it comes to organic product claims, which can get confusing as more companies resort to greenwashing to sell their wares.

To be safe, do your best not to inhale mineral-based cosmetics and avoid using themon damaged skin where they can be more easily absorbed.  Avoid brands with bismuth oxychloride and look for sun protection from real sun block rather than from your makeup.  

Use Environmental Working Group's cosmetic safety guide Skin Deep at cosmeticsdatabase.com which provides hazard scores on over 25,000 products to help you make better decisions.  (from Common Ground)

http://current.com/items/85333271_teens_for_safe_cosmetics 

reference link: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/fashion-beauty/toxic-cosmetics-ingred

2 Comments

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thecitizen says:

Make your own skincare!!!!

 

http://www.makeyourownskincare.com/ 

posted 08/02/08 at 02:01 AM

 

greenprofit says:

They don't do cosmetics, but they do lipbalms, sunscreens and other green health products for active-ists... check out Elemental Herbs www.elementalherbs.com

posted 03/06/08 at 06:58 PM

 

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