Cosmetics
Americans assume personal care products on the market today have been tested or approved by the federal government. However, they are largely unregulated. In fact, it has been more than 80 years since Congress last updated the federal law designed to ensure that personal care products are safe. The Food and Drug Administration does not even require the basic safety testing of ingredients in personal care products before they are used.
Although other countries have taken action to protect their citizens from chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive harm, FDA lacks the basic tools needed to ensure the safety of cosmetics and other personal care products.
Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to change that.
Today, the Food and Drug Administration sent a special women’s health alert and unveiled a new webpage urging caution for anyone using formaldehyde in hair-smoothing treatments, sometimes referred to as Brazilian blowouts.
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WASHINGTON – Buying products from Black-owned beauty brands is a powerful way to support the Black community directly. To make finding their beauty products easier, including clean options, the Environmental Working Group has added a new filter to its popular Skin Deep® database that allows consumers to search through almost 3,300 products in the database from 140 Black-owned brands.
Read MoreToday Follain launches seven new EWG VERIFIED™ products at ULTA Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the U.S. The collection of Follain skincare products is the result of years of consultations with thousands of people with different skin types and concerns.
Read MoreIt’s been a long and hard year, and many of us are looking forward to the festivities and traditions of the holiday season. Although Covid-19 restrictions make it difficult for many to celebrate in person with their loved ones, holiday gift-giving will remain in force.
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Winter is here, and that means colder temperatures and drier air. In the grips of a global pandemic, more of us are spending time outdoors. But being outside in the cold can bring cracked lips and dry skin and hair.
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Laboratory tests of talc-based cosmetics products, commissioned by the Environmental Working Group, found asbestos – a deadly human carcinogen for which there is no safe level of exposure – in almost 15 percent of samples.
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Earlier this year, EWG reported results of tests that found the notorious carcinogen asbestos in samples of talc-based cosmetics. EWG-commissioned tests by Scientific Analytical Institute found asbestos in three of 21 cosmetics products, including two eye shadow palettes and one toy makeup kit marketed to children.
Read MoreIn the wake of the Trump administration’s rollback of more than 100 federal environmental regulations, California has again showed leadership, with new laws to protect public health. In the past two years, EWG’s team in Sacramento shepherded numerous legislative proposals to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, with nearly every bill signed into law.
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For more than a decade, the Food and Drug Administration and the cosmetics industry have known that keratin hair-smoothing treatments – commonly called “Brazilian blowout” treatments – release unsafe amounts of formaldehyde into the air, putting consumers and salon workers at risk.
Read MoreEmails obtained by the Environmental Working Group reveal that in 2015 and 2016, scientists at the Food and Drug Administration urged the agency to ban formaldehyde in popular hair-smoothing treatments, also known as “Brazilian blowouts.” Four years later, these hazardous treatments remain legal.
Read MoreWASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group has added information about healthy cleaners to its Healthy Living App, putting ratings at shoppers’ fingertips for more than 122,000 foods, personal care products and now healthy cleaners.
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In a major victory for the movement for safer cosmetics, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, Assembly Bill 2762, into law. This is the nation’s first state-level ban of 24 toxic ingredients, including mercury and formaldehyde, from the beauty and personal care products Californians use every day.
The Environmental Working Group and the Personal Care Products Council applaud California Gov. Gavin Newsom for signing into law Assembly Bill 2762, which prohibits the sale and manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products with certain ingredients in California. This landmark bill moves the industry one step closer to global regulatory alignment.
Read MoreFor many cosmetics products, exposure through your mouth may seem unlikely. Still, it’s important to consider oral dosing in assessing the safety of cosmetics ingredients, according to a new European study.
Read MoreThe California legislature passed Assembly Bill 2762, the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act. This landmark legislation bans 12 toxic ingredients, such as PFAS, mercury and formaldehyde, which are already prohibited from cosmetics and other personal care products sold in the European Union and other countries. The law now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Read MoreToday the California Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, A.B. 2762, passed out of the State Senate Environmental Quality Committee. If enacted, the law would be the first in the nation to ban 12 toxic ingredients, including mercury and formaldehyde, from the beauty and personal care products Californians use every day.
Read MoreA notoriously hazardous cosmetic ingredient now has another black mark on its record: Butylparaben – a hormone-disrupting chemical used as a preservative in personal care products and linked to cancer, sperm damage and environmental harm – was recently classified by the European Chemicals Agency as a substance of very high concern.
Read MoreSince EWG released its first Guide to Sunscreens more than a decade ago, many things about the products have changed. But myths about sunscreens persist.
Read MoreToday, the California Assembly passed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, A.B. 2762. If enacted, the law would be the first in the nation to ban 12 toxic ingredients, including mercury and formaldehyde, from the beauty and personal care products Californians use every day.
Read MoreA piece of legislation winding its way through the California legislature could be the biggest influence on U.S. cosmetics safety for close to a century. The bill would ban a dozen of the most concerning ingredients commonly found in cosmetics sold in California.
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