WHY SAPPHO COSMETICS & WHY NATURAL MINERAL MAKEUP
A deeper understanding of the true nature of cosmetics began while working on The L Word with both Mia Kirshner and Jennifer Beals asking for skin care products that did not contain Parabens.
Included on this website are a series of excerpts arranged to give you some background regarding the preponderance of evidence of how toxic the situation is. I encourage you however to do your own homework and come back!
Sappho Cosmetics meets the European Union criteria for safer cosmetics and is committed to full disclosure of ingredients.
ARTICLES DISCUSSING THE EFFECTS OF CHEMICALS IN MAKE UP
The following excerpts have been chosen to give the reader an overall look at the necessity for paraben and phthalate free cosmetics.
For your self and those you love please read on.
"The blood was quietly collected by the Red Cross workers and sent to two independent laboratories to be analyzed for chemicals. The results were similar to previous studies: each person’s body was contaminated with hundreds of industrial chemical compounds, including pesticides, stain repellents, flame retardants, plasticizers, even PCB’s that were banned in the 1970’s. But the subjects of this study were unlike any of the others. These were newborn babies, fresh from the womb. The babies were born in US hospitals in August and September of 2004 and chosen at random. " i
"EU countries have eliminated 450 chemicals from their cosmetics that are known or strongly suspected of being carcinogens or reproductive toxins. In the US only nine have been banned." ii
"The US Centers for Disease Control had just released new research from their study of the levels of toxic chemicals in the bodies of average Americans. The CDC scientists found seven different types of phthalates- a set of industrial chemicals linked to birth defects in the male reproductive system- in 289 people tested, every single person had dbutyl phthalate (DBP), the most toxic of phthalates, in his or her body. But the biggest surprise came when they broke down the data by age and gender. In their paper, the CDC researchers reported that women age 20-40appeared to have the highest levels of DBP in their bodies." iii
"July 2002 - The lab had found phthalates in nearly three quarters of the 72 products tested popular brands of hairspray, deodorant, hair gel, body lotions and every single fragrance tested. Brands included Cover Girl, Pantene, Secret and Vidal Sassoon (by Procter and Gamble); Dove, Escape, Eternity, Suave and Salon Selective (by Unilever); Clairol, L’Oreal and Revlon. None of the products had the word `phthalate, on them." iv
"According to a 1997 survey more than 220 tons of personal care products were sold daily in the state, including 52 tons of hairspray, 24 tons of styling gel, 12 tons of fragrance and more enough products to fill two tanker trucks per day with cosmetic chemical compounds, in just one state."v
"The average woman applies 126 ingredients and chemicals onto her skin daily, the majority come from fewer than 15 products: soap, cleanser, toner, face cream, foundation, mascara, body cream, hair product, shampoo and conditioner." vi
"In a 1994 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers examined the relationship between the use of permanent hair dyes and fatal cancers in 573,369 women and concluded that women who use black hair dyes over a long period of time may have an increased risk of fatal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. These products remain on the shelf today, in spite of recent studies indicating that they may cause bladder cancer in humans. Many other countries, including Japan, have banned carcinogenic hair-color ingredients, the most notorious which is phenylenediamine (PPD). " vii
"The world’s richest cosmetics companies take the position that small amounts of hazardous chemicals are safe to use in cosmetics. He (Dr John Bailey, spokesperson - cosmetics industry) compared them to salt in cooking. Unfortunately, mixtures of chemicals with various toxic properties become more complicated than salt. A little bit of hormone-disrupting chemicals mixed with carcinogenic contaminants in the baby shampoo, the bubble bath and the body wash add up day in day out. The cosmetic companies insist their products are safe, but what do those claims really mean? They typically mean the product has been tested to ensure it doesn’t cause short-term obvious health effects, such as rashes, swelling and eye irritation. Most chemicals in cosmetics have not been tested for their potential to cause long-term health problems such as cancer or reproductive harm. The US FDA has little authority to ensure the safety of cosmetics or to remove unsafe products from the market. The way the system works in the US is that the cosmetics companies get to decide for themselves what’s safe."viii
"`Contrary to popular belief, industrial chemicals in consumer products are essentially unregulated in the United States. Jane reported. `Except for chemicals added directly to food, there is no legal requirement for health and safety testing or human exposure monitoring for any chemical in commerce." ix
"A word of warning: the words `natural, organic or `pure won’t necessarily mean your cosmetics and toiletries are safe and environmentally friendly. Like food labelling is a tricky business, meaning you need to look below the surface to see what you are really buying. There are no legal definitions for the words `pure, `natural, or `green on cosmetic labelling, which means a product can proclaim itself green and natural but when looked at closer will contain only small numbers of natural ingredients and still contain plenty of chemicals. This means that in order to ensure your product is green; you need to read the small print." x
SAPPHO COSMETICS PROMISES TO DISCLOSE DISCLOSE ALL INGREDIENTS HONESTLY
"One of the major problems with synthesized cosmetic materials is that they tend to be contaminated or to form by products during manufacturing, storage or while on the skin. For example, the cosmetic chemicals listed on labels as TEA, DEA, and MEA or their full names, which end in amine like triethanolamine, were found in 1998 by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) to form nitrates, which cause cancer in mice. PEG or polyethylene glycol, a common synthetic emollient, is often contaminated with dioxane, another known hormone disruptor and a carcinogen that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined to be dangerous even at low-level exposure. Quaternium-15, a common cosmetic preservative, can release formaldehyde, another carcinogen, and cause rashes¿ Formaldehyde has dozens of aliases (most have the word ¿form¿ in it, like formalin, lysoform am formalith); again, other chemicals can release formaldehyde as a by product, such as imidazolidinyl urea, a common preservative in shampoos." xi
"`Women are the canaries in the coal mine in a lot of ways. By biology and for other reasons, we are disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution, she said. `As the ones who bear children, breast feed, live in greater numbers in low-income polluted communities and deal more directly with sick kids and relative, women have more first hand experience with the health consequences of toxic pollution. As the primary buyers of household goods and the largest voting block in the US, women also have the power to change the situation by demanding better laws and safer products." xii
"Hormone disruption can cause uterine cell changes cell proliferation, and other signs of elevated estrogen activity. More recently hormone-disrupting substances have been linked with genetic changes believed to increase obesity risk." xiii
"The paper cites several reports linking hormone-containing personal care products to premature sexual development. In one case, Black toddlers began to develop breasts and pubic hair when their parents applied hair pomades to their scalps. `When they stopped using these products, the breasts went away." xiv
"Yet both companies were singled out in the 2005 Skin Deep report, which included a list of Top 20 Brands of Concern based on toxicity. Revlon’s Ultimate 11 and the Estee Lauder brand were 8 and 9 on the list, respectively. Both companies make products that contain suspected carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals, as does Avon, which claims to be the larges corporate supporter of the breast cancer cause in the U.S. Through their trade association, the CTFA Association, the companies (those just previously mentioned) opposed a California bill that would require cosmetic companies to disclose their use of chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects." xv
"`Major loop holes in federal law allow the $20-billion-a-year cosmetic industry to put unlimited amounts of phthalates into many personal care products with no required testing, said the Not Too Pretty Report." xvi
PINK WASHING
"They make the chemicals, they run the treatment centers, and they’re still looking for `the cure’ -no wonder they won’t tell you about breast cancer prevention." xvii
"The co-founder and major sponsor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is AstraZeneca (formally known as Zeneca), a British based multinational giant that manufacturers the cancer drug tamoxifen, the most widely prescribed breast cancer drug. Until 2000, the company was also a leading manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, including the carcinogenic pesticide acetochlor. When Zeneca created National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985, it was owned by Imperial Chemical Industries, a multi-million dollar producer of pesticides, paper and plastics. The company was named in a 1990 lawsuit by the federal government for allegedly dumping DDT and PCB’s into the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. After buying up cancer clinics around the country, Zeneca merged with the Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra in 1999 to form Astra-Zeneca, the world’s third largest drug company." xviii
"You’ve got a company that’s a spin-off of one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of carcinogenic chemicals, they’ve got control of breast cancer treatment, they’ve got control of the chemoprevention (studies) and now they have control of cancer treatment in eleven centers-which are clearly going to be prescribing drugs they manufacture." xix
"After a much harrowed fight with the cosmetic companies fighting against legislation in California there was some good news. Under the new legislation, which went into effect January 1, 2007, cosmetic companies must disclose to the state if their products contain ingredients linked to cancer or birth defects; the state can also demand health-related information about cosmetic ingredients from manufacturers, and regulate products to protect salon workers if a risk is determined all of which are good first steps but hardly revolutionary. It’s a lot of drama for a bill that seems rather modest, since it wouldn’t ban any ingredients or require new labeling." xx
"Only 11% of the 10,500 chemicals in your cosmetics have been screened for safety."xxi
THE SPIN
"It appears in response to the Environmental Working Group’s work, the European Union’s stance, the multitude of other women’s groups protesting the CTFA’s stance on the ¿safety¿ of cosmetics the CFTA not to ban chemicals or demand thorough testing but to launch a new safety initiative for how companies should demonstrate the safety of their products." xxii
"Consumer Commitment Code; All CTFA members would be required to sign the Code; however, Bailey stressed that compliance with the program is voluntary.
Companies would agree to:
1. Inform the FDA of any serious and unexpected adverse experience from the use of the product in the US (hospitalization, disfigurement, etc.).
2 .Maintain a summary of information about product and ingredient safety. Bailey explained the criteria for documenting safety: if there is a Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel conclusion on an ingredient stop there, you don’t have to go any further. If there were no CIR conclusion, it would be sufficient to use something in your file that talks about the safety of ingredient of that product, such as a statement for a supplier or your own risk assessment.
3. Make the safety information available to the FDA upon request. Requests must be made in writing by an FDA district director. Bailey assured the companies of the CTFA will make sure these are legitimate requests and not just fishing expeditions. These will be pretty rare events. I don’t think they’re going to be lining up at the door, but in talking to my former colleagues, at the FDA, they are aware of this and they are going to be knocking at some doors.
4. New industry website: The new CTFA website will enable consumers to search for cosmetic ingredients and get the message about safety. We will craft that message in different ways. Bailey said, with information that will tell both sides of the story the more difficult to deal with information would be `put in a context of products and safety. Enhancements to the CIR Review panel: the CIR panel will `move faster through ingredients with transparency and enhance communications to make their website more user-friendly." xxii
"Recent research detected 5 types of intact Parabens in human breast tumors, an indication that Parabens penetrate the skin and remain in breast tissue. Animal studies indicate the Parabens may also affect pre-natal development of the male reproductive systems. Parabens are not only found in skin care. They are found in many personal care products: deodorants, shampoos etc. Therefore, researchers show concern for daily chronic exposure and the cumulative effect of this exposure." xxiii
"Parabens have been known to cause allergic reactions for a long time, but recently it has been discovered that they can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. These chemicals can also transfer to the uterine lining and cause reproductive abnormalities. Young boys exposed to such chemicals either prior to puberty or a fetuses also may be at an increased risk for un-descended testicles, testicular cancer, sperm abnormalities and prostrate disorders."xxiv
Ethical and Organic Beauty
WHAT CAN YOU DO:
1. Eliminate unnecessary products- i.e. bubble bath especially for babies
2. Use your nose as a guide if a product smells chemically then it probably is chalked full of them the word fragrance is a dead giveaway stay clear!
3. Buy from companies you trust do some investigating!
4. Start with high exposure products, lip and hand products are a good place to start
6. Reject these ingredients:
a) Synthetic fragrances,
b) Synthetic emollients, such as mineral oil or petrolatum
c) Synthetic preservatives such as Parabens, methylparaben,propylparaben
d) synthetic carriers and emulsifiers, such as glycols and polysorbates.
Footnotes
i Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty Face. Canada,2007. 1-2
ii Naik, Anita. The Lazy Girl's Guide to Green Living. UK, 2007. 45
iii - v Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty Face. Canada 2007. pgs 16,23,12
vi Naik, Anita. the Lazy Girl's Guide to Green Living UK, 2007. 47
vii James, Kat. The Truth about Beauty. New York, 2007, 236
viii - ix Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty Face. Canada, 2007. 19
x Naik, Anita. The Lazy Girl's Guide to Green Living. 53-54
xi James, Kat. The Truth about Beauty. New York, 2007. 237
xii Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty Face. Canada, 2007. 21
xiii James, Kat. The Truth about Beauty. New York 2007. 234
xiv - xxii Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty Face. Canada 2007. 79,81,24,83,83,84,92,93,114
xxiii Source Breast Cancerfund.org
Bibliography
1. James, Kat. The Truth About Beauty. New York: Atria Books/Beyond Words Publishing, 2007
2. Naik, Anita . The Lazy Girl's Guide to Green Living. UK: Piatkus Books Ltd. 2007
3. Malkan, Stacy. Not Just A Pretty FAce. Canada: New Society Publishers.2007