May 21, 2008 12:38 pm US/Eastern
CBS4 I-Team: Cosmetic Concerns
Ingredients In Personal Grooming Products Not FDA Approved
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
If you looked in your purse or bathroom cabinet, chances are you'd find a ton of lotions, creams and cosmetics.
But what if your favorite product was linked to cancer?
If you are like most people, you slather on sunscreen and lotions without much thought. Men also use hair coloring and women use make-up. But are these products really safe?
Stacy Malkin, the author of a new book titled "Not Just A pretty Face: The Ugly Side of The Beauty Industry" says that many of the ingredients are linked to cancer and reproductive harm.
And as Dr. Betty Bellman from the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine says, "the FDA does not regulate the personal care products that we use as consumers. They are just regulated internally by the cosmetics industry and a lot of these chemicals have not really been tested. Many of them are hazardous to your health and the environment."
Of course, we use small amounts on a daily basis. But Dr. Bellman claims that, "if some of these products are absorbed, even a little bit over a lifetime, it can potentially increase our risk for cancer."
CBS4 I-Team reporter Laurie Stein spoke to tennis coach Elise Van Der Reis about the sunscreens she uses every day. She tells Laurie that she chose each one carefully; one is non-greasy and another is made for kids. But when Laurie enters the product information into a database at
www.cosmeticdatabase.org, she finds that several of Elise's sunscreens scored a 7 out of 10 on the hazard scale.
Laurie also spoke to some people who work in the cosmetic industry. Ron Robinson from Fred Segal Skin Care in Los Angeles says that manufacturers are starting to realize that this issue is important to consumers and many are choosing to reformulate their products. Tamra Gordon from Cream in South Miami agrees. She says she has seen some baby products with ingredients linked to toxicity. When she told the manufacturer that her customers would not purchase such a product, she says the manufacturer offered to change the ingredients.
Click Here for more on information on cosmetic safety.
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