I saw a docu about the beauty industry/beauty in general. One of the things they brought up was how cosmetics are really badly monitored by the FDA because they only have to list some of their ingredients–some are “trade secrets.” And that as a result there are so many cancer causing ingredients in make up, and in Europe, they are way more stringent about things.
I’ve read other places that state that in fact, the FDA is pretty tough on make up though. Just how sensationalist is the claim that our make up is killing us?
ETA: Snopes says that it’s all pretty strict, when it comes to lead anyway…
Everything in make-up has to be animal tested before it can be sold for human use.
That’s not to say every product has to be tested. If a new product uses ingredients in amounts that have been previously animal tested, the new product may be sold without animal testing. (This is how some cosmetics can say they are not animal tested).
It’s assumed that varying the ratios of the chemicals to each other will not alter the carcinogenic potential. But there are plenty of carcinogenic chemicals in everything, including make-up, just that the amounts present are reduced below risky dosages.
So pointing out that things like phthalates are in make up is a bit misleading then? Do you know if there’s any truth to the idea that things are way safer in Europe re: make up?
Europe is kinda funny - They’ve outlawed animal testing, and products that have been animal tested, but they limit the ingredients to those that have been tested on animals (or human volunteers).
The end result is that European Cosmetic companies are doing the first run trials in the US, then change the product just enough to make it a new product with the same ingredients, and then sell it in Europe.
The bottom line is that if it hasn’t been animal tested, it hasn’t been proven safe.
There are countries in the world where animal testing is not allowed or required and those countries are the places to be wary of the ingredients.