Finally, a bill is being proposed to protect consumers from toxins in beauty products that cause reproductive harm, weight gain, hormone imbalance and more. This is long overdue!! Learn what you can do to foster this change.
In a recent piece of legislature, California is trying to pass a new act called the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act. California is often ahead of the curve when it comes to regulations around food and drug safety.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What Is California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act?
- The dangers of the 12 chemicals being proposed to be banned
- What products you should watch out for
- What you can do to support the legislation around this bill
- How to address toxins from decades of conventional toxic cosmetics use
What Is California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act
The Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, also called Assembly Bill 2762, is a piece of legislation that will ban 12 of the most harmful ingredients found in cosmetics in the United States. This bill, which is currently being passed through the California legislature, is the first step in the process of ensuring that manufacturers keep the safety of their products in mind as they formulate.
It’s very exciting that this long overdue bill and its proposed regulations are finally seeing the light.
The regulations for the cosmetic industry at present are, in a word, abysmal. This willful underregulation allows ingredients that have been shown to be harmful to human health to be added to personal care products across the board.
Both state and federal laws have no guidelines that require manufacturers to test their products for safety before entering the market. That means that these manufacturers have free reign to put whatever chemical compounds they want into your personal care items, with no consequences. It’s basically the wild west out there.
As a consequence, this results in weight gain, hormone disruption, sleep issues and the cascade of health problems that follow as a result of these issues.
To put things into perspective, in the US, the FDA has banned eleven chemicals from use in the cosmetics industry. In the EU, on the other hand, more than 1,400 chemicals have been banned for use!
It’s clear that something has to change here. The government must step in and protect its citizens. And YOU must vote with your dollars by buying products that are nontoxic to human health.
With the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act, we’re taking our first and very significant step towards cleaning up the cosmetics industry and holding manufacturers accountable for their formulations[1]. It’s very exciting!
The Dangers Of Chemicals in Thousands of Beauty Products
The 12 chemicals that fall under the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act include[1]:
- Phthalates, which are hormone disrupting chemicals.
- Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen[2].
- Paraformaldehyde, a type of formaldehyde.
- Methylene glycol, another type of formaldehyde.
- Quaternium-15, which releases formaldehyde[3].
- Mercury, which can affect your nervous system and kidneys[4][5].
- Dibutyl and diethyl hexyl phthalates, which disrupt hormones and cause damage to the reproductive system[6].
- Isobutyl and isopropyl parabens, which can disrupt estrogen and other endocrine hormones, as well as pose potential carcinogenic effects[7][8].
- PFAS, which is a family of chemicals that can harm your immune system, and interfere with normal growth and development[9][10].
- M- and o-phenylenediamine, which may damage DNA and irritate sensitive skin[11].
These are not always going to be on the label. So you have no idea what is in most of the products you are using.
The potential risks associated with the use of products containing these chemicals far outweigh the benefits (like a cheaper price tag, or longer shelf life). Most disturbing is the fact that many of your everyday products contain these harmful compounds, and you would never know.
What Products To Watch Out For
The 12 chemicals mentioned above can be found in products like:
- Hair conditioner and shampoo
- Baby shampoo
- Creams
- Lotions
- Cleansers
- Shaving gel
- Eye drops and contact solution
- Household cleaning products
- Nail polish
- Hair gel
- Hair dye
- Body soap
- Colored cosmetics
How You Can Support California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act
As you can see, these chemicals are pretty much everywhere. That’s why choosing to support the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act is such a crucial cause. If you’re reading this article, you likely are already aware and are perhaps already doing your part to avoid these chemicals by purchasing natural personal care products.
But what about the rest of the country? For the vast majority of people out there, this information will never reach them. I take the responsibility of sharing vital information like this very seriously, but I can only reach so many people.
By supporting this bill, we are protecting the large group of Americans that are slowly, unbeknownst to them, being poisoned by these chemicals.
Backers of this bill include the EWG (Environmental Working Group), CalPIRG, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, and Black Women for Wellness.
There are two powerful ways you can lend your support to this cause:
#1 Sign The Petition
Voicing your support takes less than five seconds. Simply add your name and email to the EWG petition and stand in solidarity against harmful chemicals being added to your personal care products. I signed and I want you to also!
#2 Share This Information
As mentioned previously, many Americans are unaware of the toxic compounds that are hiding in their everyday personal care products. By sharing posts like this, you’re helping to spread awareness and empowering those you care about to take charge of their health and wellness.
How To Detox From Years of Toxic Beauty Products
Even if you are living a clean life and using clean cosmetics today, that doesn’t mean that your system isn’t burdened with toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Think about it. You’ve likely been slathering toxic products on your skin and body every day for decades.
You have been bioaccumulating these toxins your entire life from before your established cleaner living habits through diet, clean water, personal care products, and cosmetics.
I am sorry to say that, if you haven’t been detoxing, those toxins you were exposed to as a kid (or even a few months or years ago)…are likely still in your body and in your fat tissue.
That’s why I recommend that everyone do some kind of regular detox. Even myself! I’m a clean living expert and I regularly engage in daily detox because I know the dangers posed from a lifetime of bioaccumulated toxins! Not to mention toxins from our environment, exposure to which we do not have any control over.
If you are looking for a well-rounded, very effective, simple, relatively inexpensive way to detox, I recommend taking my CitriCelanse toxin binder.
CitriCleanse is a 3-in-1 detox solution that restores your mineral balance, pulls toxins and heavy metals out of your bones, cells, and nervous system, and binds those toxins so your body can flush them out easily.
It’s like a sponge for toxins that anyone can easily do without detox symptoms.
It is also very safe and very gentle on the system. Learn more about CitriCleanse here.
The Bottomline on the Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act
The Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act could change the way the cosmetic industry formulates their products and would mark a huge step in the direction of clean-labeling. Typically when a large market like California forces change in products it means reformulation of products that are sold throughout the US.
Get involved and sign the petition! Sign your name to the EWG petition.
Vote with your dollars by buying nontoxic beauty products. Spend a little more and get a healthier product. You get what you pay for. You are worth it!!
Demand that beauty brands replace toxic ingredients with healthier ones. Demand they care about their customer’s health.
If you want a list of products I love and trust, you can check out my article Wendy’s Favorite Nontoxic Beauty Products.
Are there any nontoxic beauty products you cannot live without? Leave us a link in the comments below.
