Unveiling Hidden Risks: Safeguarding Your Beauty Choices this Holiday Season

Understanding Cosmetic Ingredients and Ensuring Safe Celebrations

As the holiday season approaches, it's wise to reconsider the makeup choices we make before attending festive gatherings. Many commonly used cosmetics, including waterproof mascaras and foundations, often contain a multitude of chemicals that remain largely untested for their safety. This issue becomes more concerning, particularly as younger women increasingly engage with cosmetics at earlier ages, influenced by social media's relentless promotion of an idealized appearance (as highlighted in this study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-019-0170-1).

Recent studies have revealed the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in numerous cosmetic products available in the US and Canada. PFAS have raised health concerns due to their potential adverse effects, and their detection in makeup products is worrying. The lack of safety testing for many cosmetic ingredients, combined with their potential impact, especially on younger demographics, underscores the need for increased awareness and scrutiny of our choices. Another recent study found 27 PFAS chemicals in cosmetic products sold manufactured in China.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have earned the moniker "forever chemicals" due to their remarkable persistence within the human body, lingering for decades without any established removal methods. These chemicals, pervasive in various consumer products, have been associated with severe health implications for unborn babies, young children, and adults, including a heightened risk of certain cancers.

Studies have found that nearly every US citizen now carries traces of PFAS in their bloodstream. This prevalence can be traced back to the extensive use of products like Teflon pans, waterproof items, fire-fighting foams, and industrial manufacturing, which have led to the pollution of drinking water sources. The alarming realization is that PFAS, unbeknownst to many, exists in numerous other products, including cosmetics regularly applied to our bodies. The concerning part is that items like mascara and eye shadow, frequently used by younger individuals, pose a direct route for these chemicals to enter the body, particularly considering their application close to the eyes. This revelation amplifies the urgency for greater awareness and stricter regulations concerning the presence of these chemicals in everyday items.

It's troubling to note the recent developments regarding the regulation of cosmetics by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cosmetics encompass a wide range of products, from baby powder to aromatherapy items, soaps, tanning lotions, and tattoo dyes, making it essential for robust regulatory measures to ensure consumer safety (source: https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/paper-registration/cosmetic-product-category-codes). Despite the FDA's step in 2022 to provide information on PFAS in cosmetic products, there has been a significant lack of regulatory action to minimize public exposure to these substances.

Earlier this year, the FDA discontinued the Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP), and announced an unexpected further delay in implementing a new program until July 2024, essentially leaving the cosmetic industry unchecked and without oversight.

There's a pressing need for swift action in this regard. Consumers have the right to be informed about the presence of PFAS and other potentially harmful chemicals in products to make informed purchasing decisions. While the ideal scenario would involve mandatory disclosure of all chemical ingredients on product labels or, better yet, a prohibition on the use of PFAS in cosmetics, even reinstating a voluntary reporting system would be a step forward from the current lack of oversight.

Ensuring transparency and safety in cosmetic products should be a priority, and regulatory bodies like the FDA play a crucial role in safeguarding public health.

We are calling on the FDA to prioritize facility registrations and product listings mandated by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). Making facility registrations and product listings easily accessible to the public would empower consumers by providing crucial information for informed decision-making when it comes to cosmetic purchases. This transparency not only ensures consumer safety but also encourages accountability within the cosmetics industry. Providing this information in an easily accessible manner allows individuals to make choices aligned with their health and preferences and fosters trust in the products available in the market.

Mindi Messmer is an environmental and public scientist and author of Female Disruptors that is available on Amazon. Please let us know if you wish to arrange a speaking engagement to learn more about this and other issues.

For more information:

VCRP Monthly Status Report

Because the law does not currently require cosmetic firms to register their establishments or file their product formulations with FDA, participation in this program is voluntary. For this reason, the information below does not indicate the total number of companies manufacturing or marketing cosmetics in this country, or all cosmetic products on the market.

Registered Product Activity for February 2023

• Number of online accounts activated this month: 165

• Number of products filed this month: 222

Total activity since the launch of the new online system, September 20, 2018

• Number of active online accounts: 8,317

• Number of active cosmetic establishment registrations: 4,728

• Number of labelers that have filed product formulations*: 2,063

• Number of filed products: 30,908

• Number of product formulations discontinued**: 2,718

• Number of product formulations rejected***: 2,438

Total activity since the VCRP was established, in 1972

• Number of active cosmetic establishment registrations: 5,176

• Number of labelers that have filed product formulations*: 2,336

• Number of active products on file: 35,102

• Number of product formulations discontinued**: 134,082

• Number of product formulations rejected***: 2,783

Modernization act

Because MoCRA requires certain companies to register their facilities and list their products with FDA, FDA is creating a new system to handle the large number of submissions that will result. FDA therefore will no longer use the voluntary registration system, and is no longer accepting and processing submissions to the VCRP.  We request that cosmetics companies wait to register with FDA until we announce the availability of the new system. Information in the VCRP will not be transferred to the program being developed for facility registrations and product listings mandated by MoCRA.

Available information

Certain information from the VCRP database is available through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). For example, FDA sometimes receives such requests from consumers or healthcare providers who wish to identify products that do or do not contain certain ingredients. Proprietary business information, however, is not releasable under FOIA. https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/freedom-information/how-make-foia-request.