TOXIC BEAUTY: How cosmetics and personal care products endanger your health and what you can do about it! Lecture by Dr. Samuel Epstein
Dr. Epstein began his talk with a quote from the late Senator Edward Kennedy: “The cosmetics industry has borrowed a page from the playbook of the tobacco industry by putting profits ahead of public health.” He pointed out that cigarettes come with a warning label, but cosmetics don’t and they definitely should.
The doctor is an expert on the topic of the dangers of commercial personal care products. Many of the things he talked about are in his book, Toxic Beauty, which I’ve read and re-read, often referring to it to make a point when talking with my clients.
Here are some of the highlights from the evening:
Americans have a naive faith in our government. We think that they are protecting us, but they’re not. We’re basically on our own when it comes to figuring out what personal care products are safe to use and which ones may cause health risks. This is in part due to the fact that the cosmetics industry is highly unregulated allowing big companies to put whatever ingredients they want into their products. Dr. Epstein referred to the FDA as reckless and irresponsible and called CEOs of big cosmetics companies criminals that should be put in front of a firing squad! Many of the synthetic chemicals in products that we use on a daily basis are potentially cancer-causing, hormone distrupting and at the very least contribute to allergies and sensitivities. Allergies have increased dramatically in the last 50-70 years as well as certain cancers since the introduction of these chemicals into our environment.
One of the stories he told was about the “Look good, feel better” campaign that the big cosmetics companies started in the 80s for women undergoing cancer treatment. The thought was to bring makeup artists and goody bags of cosmetics into the hospitals to lift the spirits of these women by showing them how to apply makeup, look prettier and perhaps feel better in the process. The ironic part is that the makeup being used and gifted (Chanel, Revlon, Estee Lauder and others) contained some of the very chemicals that may have contributed to their cancer.
I could feel the passionate doctor’s anger. He told his audience that this should be a wake-up call to become more aware of what we’re buying, read labels, consume less personal care products, write letters to the FDA and big cosmetics companies voicing our concerns. He encouraged us to get petitions together and start a grass-roots movement. It’s up to us to educate ourselves so we can protect our health. In the mean time, he suggested buying organic products to be safe.
A big thank you goes out to Healthy Green Goods of Evanston IL for sponsoring this event.
Recommended websites for further education: www.safecosmetics.org
www.ewg.org
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
www.preventcancer.com
To your health and beauty!
-Sheila
