Get the skinny on skin-care products

I just learned that the lotion I’ve been using every day for years is hazardous to my health.

The culprit is probably the 11th ingredient, triethanolamine, which according to the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic safety database is toxic to human skin and respiratory and immune systems—and may be carcinogenic, to boot.

It could also be any of the other inscrutable ingredients, but in any case, I’m not buying any more fragrance-free Lubriderm. Especially since, as I also learned from Skin Deep, the manufacturer of the moisturizer, Pfizer, conducts animal testing and has not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ pledge that represents a promise to meet European Union standards prohibiting the use of chemicals known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutations, or birth defects.

And why, you may wonder, is an American public-interest group encouraging the use of European standards? 

Because we don’t have any.

Yep, that’s right. Our government (specifically, the Food and Drug Administration) does not require cosmetics and personal-care products to be tested before they are put on the market. Given that the skin is the largest, most permeable organ in the human body, that strikes me as insane.

I encourage everyone to check out Skin Deep—but be warned: you may not like what you learn. It’s a great site, though, because it gives you healthier alternatives to the same type of product you’re investigating. There’s also a guide to children’s products, which I suspect I’ll be using more and more often in the months to come.

I also recommend spending some time on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ site, which has links to stories with headlines like “Mercury in Mascara” and “Lead in Lipsticks.”

Happy horror-finding. And remember, if you ever encounter 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol in a dark alley (or in your body wash), run the other way!