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The Story of Cosmetics

Ever wondered what’s in your shampoo, anyway? Annie Leonard explores the toxins in our bathrooms, and what to do about them.

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posted Jul 21, 2010

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The Story of Cosmetics, flim still The average American woman uses 12 health and beauty products each day; the average man uses six. But how healthy are they?

Annie Leonard, the creator of The Story of Stuff, The Story of Cap & Trade, and The Story of Bottled Water, turns her trademark clarity to the subject of chemicals in cosmetics. Why, she asks, do we allow unregulated, untested chemicals—many of which have been linked to cancer, birth defects, or brain damage—into the products we rub into our skin every day? And most importantly, what can we do about it?

Video produced by Free Range Studios and SafeCosmetics.org.

See more of Annie Leonard's videos:

The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff will take you on a provocative tour of our consumer-driven culture—from resource extraction to iPod incineration—exposing the real costs of our use-it and lose-it approach to stuff.
The Story of Cap & Trade
Asking tough questions about who cap and trade really benefits—and whether it will make a difference in averting catastrophic climate change.
The Story of Bottled Water
Should you be worried about your tap water? Yes, but not for the reason you expected.

Learn more about safe cosmetics:

Toxic Beauty
How can you spot—and avoid—dangerous chemicals in your cosmetics?
Sunscreen Safety
What's the difference between mineral and chemical filters?
Hair Colors from Nature
Changing or enhancing your hair color doesn’t have to jeopardize your health.

YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps. brooke. (2010, July 21). The Story of Cosmetics. Retrieved February 09, 2012, from YES! Magazine Web site: http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/the-story-of-cosmetics. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License

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Reader Comments

sodium laureth sulfate

Posted by Mark at Jul 22, 2010 12:08 PM

is sodium laureth sulfate dangerous? it's in pretty much every soap and shampoo i've used daily for about the past 10 years, so i was just wondering.

thanks!

articles on sodium laureth sulfate

Posted by Christa at Jul 27, 2010 04:51 PM

Hey Mark-- There are differing opinions on this. Here's an article from the Natural Health Information Center on the risks of sodium laureth sulfate: http://www.natural-health-i[…]sodium-laureth-sulfate.html
On the other hand, the International Journal of Toxicology has claimed it safe, apparently: http://ijt.sagepub.com/content/2/5/1

sls

Posted by Mark at Jul 29, 2010 04:17 PM

Thanks, Christa! Both sources are helpful but also leave a lot to be desired. All the more reason we need a robust FDA to filter out the dangerous stuff before it gets to us. It sounds like the main risk is skin irritation, which doesn't apply to me if I've been using it for 10 years plus. The other risk is skin absorption. I guess I can talk to my doctor to see if I am showing any signs of too much oestrogen. (Is that the same as estrogen?) In the meantime I will use olive oil soap more often which is much cheaper than the stuff that web site is hawking.

The video is deceptive.

Posted by Louise Parke at Aug 04, 2010 04:07 PM

This video was the launch for the Safe Cosmetics Act. It is unlikely to affect the big producers, since it's there money that is felt in elections and lobbying. It will affect those that are truly dependent on this business category. So take a closer look at this bill.

You may know someone that makes soap or lotion. Someone who only uses the most natural products she can find. These folks will become subject to truly draconian reporting requirements... like reporting every supplier they they purchase from, no matter how minor. Disclosing formulations without any guarantee of confidentiality as well as reporting every company/mom and pop who re-sells their products.

On top of that, the bill requires labels to include every element that is in the product.....a product with Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil and Lavender Essential Oil would look like this:

Ingredients: Olive Oil (Tri-Glycerides of Palmitic, Di-Glycerides of Palmitic, Palmitoleic, Stearic, Oleic, Linoleic, Arachidic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Squalene, Beta Carotene, Campesterol, Methylenecholesterol, Stigmasterol, Sitosterol, Fucosterol, 28-Isofucosterol, Stigmadienol, Brassicasterol, 7-Cholestenol,Ergostadienol, Avenasterol, Triterpene Alcohols, Tirucallol, Taraxerol, Dammaradienol Beta-Amyrin Germanicol, Butyrospermol, Parkeol, Cycloartenol, Tirucalladienol, 24-Methlene 24-Dihydroparkeol, 24-Methlenecycloartanol, Cyclobranol, 4-Methyl Sterols, Esters of Tyrosol, Esters of Hydroxytyrosol, Vitamin E (Tocopherols), Carotenoids, Oleuropein) Cocoa Butter (Tri and Diglycerides of Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Lead, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Isoleic Acid, Beta Carotene, p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid, Vanillic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Syringic Acid, Phenylehtylamine, Theophylline, Aliphatic Esters, Aromatic Carbonyls, Caffeine, Theobromine, Diketopiperazines and Alkylpryazines), Lavender Essential Oil ( Cineole Octanol, Octanone, Alpha Bisabolol, Alpha Cadinol, Alpha Humelene, Alpha Phellandrene, Apha Pinene, Alpha Terpinene, Alpha Terpineol, Alpha Terpinyl Acetate, Alpha Thujene, Alpha Thujone, Beta Bisabolol, Beta Pinene, Beta Thujone, Borneol, Bornyl Acetate, Camphene Camphor, Cineolealpha Terpineol, Carvone, Caryophyllene, Carophyllene Oxide, CIS Alpha Terpineol, CIS Alpha Bisabolene, CIS Carveol, CIA Linalol Epoxide, CIS Ocimene, Citronellal, Citronellol, Coumarine, Cuminaldehyde, Eugenol, Furfural, Geraniol, Geranyl Acetate, Geranyl Butyrate, Hexanol, Hexyl Tiglate, Isoborneol, Lavandulol, Lavandulyl Acetate, Limonene, Linanlol, Linalyl Acetate, Methyl Heptenone, Myrcene, Nerol, Neryl Acetate, Oleanolic Acid, P Cymene, Rosemarinic Acid, Sabinen, Terpinenol, Terpinolene, Trans Carveol, Trans Epoxy Linalyl Acetate, Trans Linanol Epoxide, Trans Ocimene, Ursolic Acid).

Is this an ingredient statment that anyone can really understand? Unfortunately it all adds up to stricter reporting requirements than exist for our food supply and illustrates a case of using a nuclear bomb to kill an ant. And, as always, there will increases in cost for all of the reporting to the government, a cost that will be transferred to the consumers of cosmetics.

Beautiful, natural and safe alternatives are out there...vote with your dollars and teach those that make the cosmetics with the offensive chemistry a lesson that puts them in the natural business or out of business.

The Safe Cosmetics Act could work for all who make these products, but it doesn't work the way it is written. Independent, natural product producers will be in trouble. You may be accustomed to seeing a soapmaker at your local farmers market, but it's likely she won't be in business long if this bill passes as written.

Thanks for reading my comment. When you take action, please consider that this bill is like the cosmetics you have concern over...the bill has some good ingredients, but contain many that are truly toxic.