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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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11

5 Ugly Beauty Biz Facts

Toxic chemicals lurk in products

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(Newser) – The beauty industry banks $500 billion a year by helping people hide the epidermal truth—so it should come as no surprise that the biz glosses over a few facts. Treehugger lists five:

  • Skin-toxic chemicals lurk in many skincare products, "and trigger skin problems such as rashes, redness, acne, and other symptoms of contact dermatitis."

  • Carcinogens exist in products by companies that give to breast-cancer research: "Cosmetics companies, including Estée Lauder, Revlon, and Avon, are some of the worst offenders."
  • Cosmetic products sold in the US are required to pass no safety tests: "Period."
  • Toxic chemicals aren't listed on labels of personal-care products. Lax laws allow many of them off the label, but watch for oft-contaminated chemicals, like sodium laureth sulfate, urea, and quarternium-15.
For the fifth, click on the link below.

A woman takes a sniff of a perfume from Chanel.
A woman takes a sniff of a perfume from Chanel.   (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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11 comments
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andyb
Sep 13, 09 9:08 AM CDT
we all die eventually, so why not die pretty? Reply
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Reader64481089
Sep 13, 09 9:16 AM CDT
A very long time ago a little female cousin of mine had her mom, my aunt purchase a skin cleanser still sold off the shelf today. The young girl applied it just as directed and was in the Emergency room within an hour. Seems the crap contains mercury on a higher level, the young teen almost lost her sight due to the chemical reaction not to mention her life. I wouldn't trust anything off a shelf promising results, they are just a pile of lethal chemicals waiting for your body to absorb them. Get a decent bar of soap and scrub like mad, cleanses the pours and less chance of a chemical buildup and yes, there are a very few pure soaps still so support them before they also disappear
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Mad
Sep 13, 09 10:45 AM CDT
Well, I'm sure it contained something your cousin was highly allergic too, but I'm sure it was not mercury. Cosmetics aren't allowed to have mercury. As I understand it, it's available overseas as a whitening agent, but even then, its damn rare
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prowlerzee
Sep 13, 09 12:00 PM CDT
from the link... many of these major cosmetics firms have developed their own "green" product lines. "The Origins brand by Estée Lauder, for example, brags that it is free of a long list of hazardous chemicals," says Malkan. "So if Estée Lauder has already figured out how to make products without the harmful chemicals, why do they continue to use those chemicals in all their other product lines?" Reply
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prowlerzee
Sep 13, 09 12:00 PM CDT
Good question.
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beauty • Estee Lauder • carcinogens • Revlon • chemical

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