While most consumers worry about the healthy, organic products they are purchasing at the supermarket, the health and safety of our personal care products are often forgotten.

It has become a wide misconception that the Food and Drug Administration oversees the regulation and approval of all cosmetic and personal care products. However, neither the FDA nor any other governmental committee, hold the authority to approve or review the ingredients used to make beauty and personal care products. This has led to consumers being misinformed and misled about the safety of the products they use every day. Seeing as no one is looking out for the personal health of consumers, the Environmental Working Group has taken matters into their own hands by creating the most extensive and informative cosmetic database, Skin Deep. This database strives to provide consumers with information regarding health concerns of ingredients in a variety of products. The products are ranked by the concentration of hazardous products, and inform consumers on a variety of ingredient concerns, including animal testing, cancer risks, development & reproductive toxicity, allergies & immunotoxicity, and use restrictions. Ultimately, the goal is to inform and support consumers to make smarter and healthier choices in buying personal care products.

Beauty products are not exclusive to make-up, but also include personal care products such as shampoo, lotion, deodorant, shaving products, perfume, and cologne; nonetheless, reminding us that these items do not solely pertain to the daily lives of women, but also to men. It is quite scary to learn how many chemicals and toxins have been used on your body all of these years without ever thinking twice about it! However, there are various companies that are holding the safety of their consumers to the utmost importance. Herbacin, for instance, is a German company that only creates natural cosmetics by cultivating their own plants and herbs as the principal ingredients for their products. Herbacin consistently turns out products that consumers cannot stop raving about, specifically their lotions which are known to be significantly moisturizing. Similarly, Olivella is a company that uses virgin olive oil to create an all natural personal care line for men and women. In using natural olive oil, Olivella’s products are rich in nutrients and antioxidants Vitamin A and E.

It is important for consumers to maintain a personal regulation of their products’ expiration dates. Using expired products, especially those that contain harmful toxins, can cause terrible skin rashes and harmful effects. Disposing of your old and toxic products should be done immediately and in the most controlled manner possible. These products are not only harmful to our bodies, but to our environment as well. An increasing environmental problem is the water pollution due to the release of chemicals from cosmetic products being discarded down the drain. Additionally, disposing of beauty and personal care items in the garbage leads the toxic products to be dumped into landfills, which then threaten to contaminate water sources through runoff. However, seeing as personal care products are not being properly regulated, neither the government nor the companies themselves have created a safe alternative to disposing of the chemically infused products.