Everyday beauty and hair products on drugstore and supermarket shelves can contain chemicals known to be harmful to human health. Ingredients like PTFE, phthalates, parabens, and parfum hide in make up, shampoo, and other products – and have been linked to cancers, reproductive harm, and endocrine disruption. 

Yet cosmetics and hair products in the US are “largely regulated” and subject to an “increasingly outdated set of federal cosmetics laws,” said Congressional Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), in a statement to Health Policy Watch.

Schakowsky and several other US lawmakers are spearheading stricter standards and regulations of cosmetics and beauty products. A Bill introduced at the start of the Congressional session aims to give consumers “peace of mind” about the products they buy.

“Today, the US only bans or restricts 11 chemicals compared to the European Union, which bans nearly 1,700 chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation, reproductive harm, or birth defects. The US has a lot of catching up to do,” said Schakowsky, who sits as a ranking member of the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade House subcommittee. 

The push for safer cosmetics – and the lack of federal oversight – has led a half dozen states to create their own legislation. California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act bans 24 chemicals from cosmetics sold in the state, including mercury, formaldehyde, 13 PFAS chemicals, and several parabens and phthalates. 

Although states have created a patchwork set of chemical bans, advocates like the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners hope to see laws to bolster the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to regulate cosmetics.

“We all deserve access to personal care and beauty products that are free from cancer-causing and other harmful chemicals, no matter where we live, work, or shop,” the advocacy and research group said. 

“Fewer than 10% of breast cancer cases are due to family history,” the group said. 

Instead, it’s often chemicals in our environment that increase the risk of certain cancers, according to another breast cancer research organization, Silent Spring Institute, a Boston-based research non-profit.

‘Largely unregulated’

Four years ago, the US had updated its federal regulation of cosmetics for the first time in 84 years. Congress enacted the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulations Act of 2022 (MoCRA) to authorize the FDA to regulate fragrance allergen labeling, standardize testing methods for detecting asbestos and talc-containing products, ensure Good Manufacturing Practice requirements for cosmetics factories, and publish assessments of PFAS in cosmetics.

However, “there is still work to be done,” said Schakowsky. “While MoCRA significantly increased FDA’s oversight, we still must prioritize banning toxic chemicals linked to hormone disruption, cancer and other health problems once and for all.”

She also noted the need to “provide full ingredient transparency for consumers and manufacturers; and protect the health of women of color and salon workers, who are among the most highly exposed to toxic chemicals because of the products marketed to them or commonly found in their workplaces.”

The lack of transparency in ingredients in the US has meant that states, rather than the federal government, have picked up the slack in regulating cosmetics.

In addition to California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, the state also banned an entire class of PFAS from being added to cosmetics. These chemicals are added to improve consistency and texture in products like shampoos and foundations. 

Exposure to the PFAS in these products can happen through ingesting lipsticks, absorption of mascara through tear ducts or lotion through the skin, and inhalation or spray on products and powders, according to a University of Notre Dame study.

The researchers found that the ingredient lists of most products tested “did not disclose the presence of fluorinated compounds”, exposing a gap in US labeling laws.

“We must focus on transparency and ingredient disclosure,” said Schakowsky. “The FDA needs to require disclosure of ingredients and additional safety information between entities in the cosmetic industry supply chain. Consumers deserve to know that the products that they are using on themselves and their kids are safe and what exactly is in them.”

Hair extensions ‘laden’ with chemicals 

The average American woman will use 13 personal care products a day. Teenage girls use, on average,17 products. The gap between men and women is shrinking; men now use 11 products daily, which is double the figure of two decades ago.  

But the toxicity of these products, especially in hair extensions, has been largely unexplored. 

Researchers at Silent Spring Institute examined 43 common hair extension products for a range of toxic chemicals in a recently published study. 

Their analysis revealed that weaves, wigs, and other products are laden with flame retardants, phthalates, pesticides, styrene, tetrachloroethane, and organotins – chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, developmental problems, and effects on the immune system. 

“While prior reports have found some chemicals of concern in hair extensions, there’s still much we don’t know about their overall chemical makeup. We wanted to get a better picture of the extent of the problem,” said lead author Dr Elissia Franklin, an analytical chemist and research scientist at Silent Spring Institute, in a press statement. 

“This is an industry that has long overlooked the health of Black women, who should not have to choose between cultural expression, convenience, and their health.”

“[C]ompanies rarely disclose the chemicals used to achieve these properties, leaving consumers in the dark about the health risks from prolonged wear,” Franklin said. 

Fibers made from synthetic materials or even human hair are often treated with these chemicals to make them waterproof or antimicrobial. But woven onto wearers’ heads, they sit on the scalp and neck for extended periods of time. Franklin’s team used a non-targeted analysis to screen these samples and a combination of gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry to detect the toxic chemicals. 

The authors noted that all but two of the 43 samples contained hazardous chemicals, with nearly 10% harboring organotins – a compound typically used to heat stabilize PVC. 

For Silent Spring, the finding that 17 chemicals related to breast cancer were found in more than 80% of the products tests, were especially poignant, as the group was founded to focus on breast cancer prevention through uncovering the links between everyday chemicals and women’s health. 

A global market – and unequal exposure

Worn for convenience, cultural, and personal reasons, hair extensions are now a global market projected to surpass $14 billion in 2028. The US leads in global imports. However, other regions, including Africa, are expected to start to make up a larger part of the market share.

The globalization of hair products – from sourcing in India to chemical treatment in China – has also meant an increase in everyday exposure for millions of women.

More than 70% of Black women reported wearing hair extensions at least once in the past year, according to a University of California Berkeley study. Less than 10% of women of other racial and ethnic groups use these products, meaning that the burden of exposure is unequal. 

Beyond hair products, Silent Spring notes that “studies show women of color face higher exposures to toxic chemicals relative to White women, regardless of socioeconomic status.

“Black women and children also have increased rates of hormone-mediated health conditions. For example, in the United States, Black women have higher rates of diabetes, experience earlier menarche, more prevalent fibroids, and more aggressive forms of breast and endometrial cancers.”

Schakowsky also underscored this disparity. Part of her bill package funds research, education and outreach, and the development of safer chemicals to protect the health of women of color and salon workers – and requires the FDA to regulate the safety of synthetic braids, which can contain toxic chemicals.

“Professional salon workers and communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of toxic exposures because of where they work, the products they work with, and the toxic products marketed to them,” she said.

And while the package was introduced last year to little traction, Schakowsky and her team are still optimistic that clean cosmetics have plenty of supporters in Congress.

“I strongly believe consumers should not have to wait another 84 years to get the cosmetic safety protections they want and deserve,” Schakowsky said.

Image Credits: S. Samantaroy/HPW, Whitehead et al, Unsplash, Unsplash.