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August 13, 2010

If you are a woman who uses coats of hair products, multiple face lotions, and brand name deodorant, you are indulging in a toxic chemical beauty routine, according to Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt, authors of the new book, "No More Dirty Looks." O'Connor tells Time magazine, "We just were so astounded by the information that we came across. We thought, if we don't know this, other women probably don't either."

Some of the surprising facts the women uncovered are:

• Many make-up products have not been vetted by an accountable health agency. O'Connor says, "The [U.S. Food and Drug Administration's] Office of Cosmetics and Colors really oversees the industry in name only. I think, among consumers, there's an implicit trust there that isn't exactly warranted."
• The FDA requires products to list their "intended ingredients," but as products sit on shelves long periods of time, chemicals react together, creating byproducts and unintended ingredients.
• The FDA doesn't require any proof of safety before a product is on the market. Companies have to "assure that their products are safe" but, O'Connoll says, "they don't actually have to submit that information to the FDA."

Since starting the book, the women say they have switched out all of their beauty products. They advice replacing your products as you run out with natural products or DIY remedies like coconut and olive oil for lotions. Spunt insists she and her co-author are happier and healthier since they stopped getting manicures and highlights, and have started using an all natural antiperspirant.

"We really, really like [the products] we use now better. We feel better about our choices. We feel like we look better -- and that was a really huge surprise to us," Spunt says. "Products have no expiry dates. They stay on shelves for years, so of course they're filled with synthetic preservatives and all these ingredients that are potentially toxic to us. But those ingredients aren't the active ingredients that actually do anything for our skin, so the discovery was that there's not a huge compromise. At the end of the day you can get more of an active ingredient when you do it DIY or you find a really clean product." Read more at Time magazine's Wellness Blog.

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