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What’s Really in your Beauty Supplies?
2/17/2015
When you’re using cosmetics or having your hair colored by a professional hairstylist, you probably don’t really think about what’s in the products that are being used. Sure, they may smell strange, and some hair coloring products might burn a little, but they can’t really be that bad, can they? After all, aren’t all of these produced regulated and approved by some powerful federal government agency that knows what’s good and bad for people?
Actually, no, they aren’t that tightly controlled. Because cosmetics aren’t labeled as medications or drugs, the regulations surrounding them are only loosely regulated. This means that there are many products that people use on a regular basis that contain ingredients that can be harmful if used regularly or in large quantities.
According to surveys, many people in the U.S. use between 8 and 10 cosmetic products every day. These products include lipstick, nail polish, lotion, deodorant, shampoo, hair conditioner, and hair dye.
Some of these products are more dangerous than others. Temporary hair dyes, for example, aren’t quite as bad as permanent dyes because they don’t contain chemicals that are as powerful. It takes stronger bleaches and pigments to create permanent hair color, and those chemicals can irritate the skin, eyes, and, if breathed in, even cause problems with your respiratory system. Some of the most dangerous can even lead to cancer.
Nail polish is just a bad, especially nail polish remover. Because nail polish works almost like paint, the remover is very similar in content to paint remover. It’s highly flammable and often contains phthalates, which are incredibly harmful.
Some perfumes and other fragrances are protected under copyright laws that say their formula is intellectual property. What this means is that they don’t have to list all their ingredients. While some of these ingredients may not be harmful, others could be incredibly toxic.
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