Cosmetics Labelling Violations in Canada

Deciphering the ingredients list on a cosmetic product is never an easy task, especially when the manufacturers make a point of using ridiculously miniscule print. Some small products such as eye-shawdow, eye liner and lipstick do not even carry ingredients list because the product is not large enough to bear a long list of chemicals. When the cosmetic companies violate labelling laws it makes it even harder for the consumer to establish precisely what is lurking within their beauty products.

CanWest News Service recently published a story into widespread cosmetic labelling violations in Canada, using Health Canada inspection reports. At Read more

Reeling in the Tweens and Teens

Sadly those days are gone or at least on their last legs. The sexualisation of children by the media is not about to abate, with padded bras for girls as young as 8 years old, frilly knickers with adult-themed slogans on for toddlers, spa treatments for pampered little princesses and now the adult female market for beauty products is saturated, cosmetics companies are Read more

Europe Bans Two Chemicals From Cosmetics

The European Union has prohibited two chemicals from being used in cosmetic products, in a recent amendment to the European Cosmetics Directive. From November 5, 2009 companies are barred from using diethylene glycol (DEG) or phytonadione. This action has been taken following the discovery of high levels of DEG in some toothpaste products from other markets. Although a representative of the industry trade association, the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association (CTPA) suggested that reputable brands do not use DEG, trace levels are often present as an impurity in widely used ingredients such as glycerol.

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Petrochemical Compounds: An Introduction

A petrochemical compound is an organic (based on carbon) compound derived from crude oil (petroleum) or natural gas, which were formed millions of years ago in the earth’s crust from decayed plants and animals.

These two primary classes of petrochemical are olefins (e.g. ethylene, butylene and propylene) and aromatics (e.g. benzene, toluene and xylenes) produced by chemical cracking (breaking large hydrocarbon molecules into simpler molecules, aided by a catalyst and high temperatures) and catalytic reforming (used to convert low-octane naphthas into high-octane gasoline blending components and often benzene, toluene and xylene aromatics for Read more

Terressentials: Obstacles to Natural Beauty

 Diana Kaye and James Hahn, Founders of organic beauty brand Terressentials, explain the story behind their company and expose the flaws in the ‘natural’ beauty industry.

“Diana found herself highly reactive to synthetic chemicals after her successful, but highly toxic, experimental chemotherapy treatment for cancer almost twenty years ago. In researching how the cancer originated and how we could keep it at bay, at first we thought, we’ll just use natural products from a health food store. But, when we scrutinized the ingredients in those Read more

Alpha Hydroxy Acids: Miracle Workers or Skin Wreckers?

Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) are lauded by the cosmetic industry and even dermatologists for their alleged anti-ageing properties. AHAs are a group of acids derived from a variety of sources, including fruit and milk sugars. There are a range of AHAs used in cosmetic products, including: glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, ammonium glycolate, ammonium alpha-hydroxyethanoate and alpha-hydroxyethanoic acid. They are used in cosmetic products as exfoliants to remove the outer layer of skin, supposedly revealing fresher, younger, smoother looking skin underneath, and as moisturisers and emollients. Dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons use AHAs in much higher concentrations than cosmetic products Read more

Personal Care Products Council: Resisting Regulation

The Personal Care Product’s Council (PCPC) was founded in 1894 (as the Cosmetics Toiletry and Fragrance Association or CTFA) and is the leading trade association for the personal care products industry, representing the companies with the most sales of personal care products in the U.S.¹ One of their stated aims is to protect “the freedom of the industry to compete in a fair and responsible marketplace”¹ The association also claim to be committed to ensuring that cosmetic products are safe for consumers, “accomplished by promoting voluntary industry self-regulation.”¹ Over the years the CTFA has strongly opposed attempts to overturn self-regulation and re-iterated the argument that cosmetics are safe, the industry’s voluntary Read more

Canada Bans Two Toxics From Cosmetic Products

The Canadian authorities have added two cosmetic chemicals, isoprene and epichlorohydrin to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist (a document featuring prohibited and restricted ingredients modelled to a degree on the restricted lists in the EU Cosmetics Directive). The cosmetics industry isn’t exactly reeling as these ingredients are hardly used anyway, but Health and Environment Canada are scrutinising 200 ‘high-priority’ chemicals over the next year.

Siloxanes D4 and D5, commonly used in deodorants and numerous other Read more

Essential Oils: A Human Health Hazard?

Recent research conducted by Lina Hagvall from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden has indicated that essential oils may become allergenic on contact with oxygen in the air. This may potentially cause contact allergies in sensitive individuals, even if the pure form of the oil doesn’t present a problem. Lavender oxidises to form hydroperoxides which are very potent allergens and geraniol oil reacts with the skin enzymes as well as the oxygen in the air, forming in both instances, the allergen and irritant geranial.

Many of those who are avoiding conventional cosmetic products are turning Read more

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