Last fall I watched this documentary, that does a deep dive on the beauty industry and how unregulated it really is. I was fascinated. It was only on HBO Max then, but I think you can watch it on Amazon Prime and Apple TV now, as well.

I knew I wanted to tell you about it and today I’m doing just that. I thought it would be informative for you, especially since I’ve been talking about skin care and makeup lately. As women, we are the prime demographic for most of this industry and definitely for all the “anti-aging” products. We are the consumers and we buy all of these products. What’s in them? Who monitors this? We’ll see.

The industry is calling it “perpetuating disinformation” and cosmetic scientists say that it is “sensationalizing”. I still found it eye-opening and recommend it. There are four episodes and each one discusses a different facet of the industry.

Basically, the cosmetics industry has very little regulation - at least not much that has any teeth to it. It bows to public pressure mostly - hence the reason to vote with your purse, if you are able to. It used to be that cleaner products were much more expensive, but that is not so much the case these days. It gets a little better with each year.

Hair, Nails, Skin and Makeup

The makeup episode…

“We’re a nation that loves looking good and our spending on cosmetics proves it - to the tune of $716 billion annually. While we trust that our cosmetics are safe, behind the glam and glitter, there may be darker truths that are not so pretty.”

The nails episode… (this one included nail salons and salon industry workers)

“Nail acrylics and gels help us look good and stay on trend. But how much do we know about the products we use on our hands and do they come with hidden health risks?”

The skin episode…

“Skin is our body’s largest organ and the average consumer slathers on as many as 17 products daily. But sometimes these products migrate inside of us, and are not so much “skin deep.””

And the hair episode… (this one included women of color and the problems they encounter with products they routinely use)

“We take care of our hair with daily shampooing and conditioning rituals, but the absense of industry regulations could put us in harm’s way. Consumer advocates provide need-to-know tips…”

What I learned…

• Be wary of products containing talc - use products with cornstarch instead. Talc contains asbestos - it occurs naturally together in nature and cannot be separated. This has been linked to lung cancer from mesothelioma. Talc was sold in products for years and was marketed to poorer populations in the South and in baby powder. It was finally taken off the shelves in the US in 2020. There are allegedly still 40,000 outstanding lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, and they continue to market talc baby powder outside the US.

• The documentary claims that there is basically no regulation at all in the nail portion of the industry. Many of the chemicals used in this industry are questionable. It’s one thing to be around them for an hour a month or so, but the salon workers are subjected to them day in and day out.

• Reproductive rates are at an all time low and there are thousands of products containing “endocrine disruptors”. The two biggies are supposedly phthalates and BPA’s. Endocrine disruptors can cause infertility, liver disease, and diabetes. Phthalates are usually listed as “fragrance” in products, and they are found in many skin care products to “hold the scent” - there is no labeling requirement of the fragrance industry whatsoever. They are found in shampoo, lotions, makeup, deodorant, baby products and perfume. This has happened when chemical scent replaces natural scent.

• Another problem with the industry is the packaging. BPA’s are found in plastics. They are notoriously housed in plastic containers - much of this ends up in the five enormous garbage patches floating in the oceans. Plastics end up as microplastics and are now in our water system and soil and us. Plastics mostly come from petrochemicals and the beauty industry is one of the biggest buyers.

• The US is way behind Europe in the banning of harmful chemicals. I’m not a huge regulatory fan, but some regulation might be called for?

• The documentary also claims no regulation at all on hair relaxer or curl enhancing products. You may have heard of the DevaCurl story. Supposedly the FDA was not interested in hair loss, ear ringing, migraines, menstrual issues, exzema or alopecia. Anything that goes on your scalp will end up in blood or breast milk. So it’s worth looking into.

Cleaner lines to look at…

• Jones Road

• Ilia

• RMS Beauty

• Cera Ve

• Westman Atelier

• DHC

• Tata Harper

• Tarte

• True Botanicals

• Beauty Counter

• Thrive

• Oak Essentials

• Avene

• It Cosmetics

• Trestique

avoid products with…

• toluene

• formaldehyde

• parabens

• phthalates

• BPA’s

• sulfates

• triclosan

• benzophenene

• animal testing

Suggestions for you!

• Beware of “fragrance” as a listed ingredient. I sometimes will email a company and ask if their products contain phthalates. Look for things that are scent-free.

• Avoid plastic packaging - buy glass or refillable containers.

• Buy bar soap instead of liquid soap. Buy solid moisturizers instead of plastic bottles or tubes.

• Try to only buy plastics that are #1 and #2 - they leach less than the others and are more recyclable.

• While we’re on the subject, don’t use dryer sheets or fabric softener. Period. They are coated in “fragrance” and a cocktail of other chemicals. (Plus they make your towels much less absorbant.)

• You can go to EWG’s Skin Deep site and see if your products are rated also. Other sites are Detox Me and Clearya.

• If you are so inclined - write your congressperson about the Safer Beauty Bill package that was brought up in 2021 and has since languished. Another bill has been introduced, called the Modernization of Cosmetics Act of 2022 - the first step forward here since 1938! You can read about that here…

Some of my favorite products rate really well and some don’t. I’m concerned and pro-active but I’m not perfect. I love things with scent! I firmly believe that knowledge is power and the more you know, the better decisions you can make. Consider this your early Earth Day post!

👉🏼 I will be out of the office on a girls’ trip to Charleston the rest of the week, so I will see you next week with posts about fashion, landscaping, painting projects, artwork and travel. Stay tuned girlfriends!