U.S. Cosmetics Include Countless Chemicals Banned in Europe

Countless chemical ingredients are present in U.S. cosmetics despite the fact that the European Union has banned them, according to a recent report from The Guardian.

In comparison to standards in Europe, the United States is far behind in terms of banning potentially harmful ingredients.

The E.U. has banned or restricted the use of more than 1,300 chemicals simply in cosmetics. In contrast, America has only banned 11 ingredients in cosmetics.

Some lawmakers view that the United States is falling behind when it comes to protecting consumers from harmful ingredients.

In Connecticut, State Senator Alex Bergstein put forward a bill that would require the state to “meet the chemical safety standards established by the European Union.”

Although it is unlikely that the bill will move forward, Bergstein, who previously served as the chair of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai, aims to draw attention to the stark difference between American and European regulations.

“Many Americans are unaware that they are absorbing untested and unsafe chemicals in their products,” Bergstein told The Guardian. “Generally, the EU has got it right. In the US we have a strong favouritism towards companies and manufacturers, to the extent that public health and the environment is being harmed. The pendulum has swung in an extreme way and it’s really going to take a general awakening by the public.”

The E.U. requires manufacturers to show that their products are safe before allowing them to be sold. This prevents toxic and harmful ingredients from entering the market.

Although the U.S. has a similar process for new chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly lags behind the E.U. when reviewing the thousands of toxins already in use.

Some consumers have taken legal action against the EPA, arguing that the agency continuously fails to protect consumers from harmful chemicals.

A 2016 amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires the EPA to review risk chemicals, but the process has reportedly been halted – meaning that countless toxic chemical remain in use while the EPA drags its feet in reviewing.

With the safety of various chemicals coming into question, consumer advocates have started looking into the safety of cosmetic ingredients.

The skin is often overlooked as the largest organ in the body and most consumers forget that the skin can absorb ingredients deeper into the body.

Sunscreens recently came under fire when scientific studies revealed that some ingredients in sunscreens may be absorbed into the skin where they can make their way into the bloodstream.

Chemical sunscreen ingredients such as avobenzone, oxybenzone, ecamsule, and octocrylene can reportedly be absorbed through the skin, according to a pilot study published by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot do much on this matter while research is pending. Although the agency is in charge of regulating cosmetics, it does not have the authority to require the rigorous testing expected of drug manufacturers.

Until an ingredient is proven to be harmful, the FDA’s is tied up in the red tape of the U.S. regulatory process.

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