We’ve invented a word because Canada is having a great week on toxics regulation. According to Environment Canada, BPA has been added to the agency’s toxic substances list—a big, big deal, especially after the disturbing revelation last week that 90% of the people tested had the hormone disruptor in their urine. (A similar study in the United States found it in 93% of those sampled.)
The American Chemistry Council is predictably miffed, and last year said that classifying it as a toxic is “pander[ing] to emotional zealots.” Well, color us emotional zealots because we are thrilled.
BPA, in case you have been living under a rock, has been linked to obesity, neurological issues, impaired thyroid function and other hormonal issues. Humans are exposed to it from soda cans, canned foods, baby bottles, school lunches, in plastics and more.
This is pretty game-changey. We’re excited to see what happens next, and we hope Environment Canada is ready to duck, because we imagine there’s going to be some mudslinging.
Luca with a BPA-free bottle (and Siobhan)
Grab a bottle, any bottle, and flip er over. On the ingredient list, you are very likely to see cyclopentasiloxane. It’s a sleek, smooth and revolting silicone that makes your hair shine and your foundation go on even and your antiperspirant slip on in a nice thin layer. It’s used in thousands of beauty products, and according to Skin Deep, it rates pretty low on the human-toxics scale. It’s also an evil fish killer, apparently.
Quoting: “Government assessments show [cyclopentasiloxane] could be killing fish and other aquatic life after it washes down the drain and into the water supply.” Nice, right?
And so Canada might be banning it—an effort they’ve had underway for a couple of years already. It’s pretty wild to think about what would happen if Canada succeeded in restricting or banning this stuff. Hopefully, if it happens, the companies that reformulate without cyclopentasiloxane will take it as an opportunity to get smart about ingredients and not just throw in some other chemical we know even less about.
Silicones are on our no-no list, and we hope they’re on yours—if not because they’re gross, then for the fishes.
It’s a bit of a slow Monday on the nets, so we have to thank our friend—one of those guys who knows way more about China than the rest of us—for turning us onto a recent controversy over there that we’d somehow missed.
You see last month, the discovery that China’s BaWang Shampoo contained the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane sent the company’s stock tumbling. Here’s the thing though:
The amount of 1,4-dioxane in BaWang (10 parts per million) is pretty much on par, if not lower than, the levels discovered in products over here. Kudos for the public outrage, but it’s definitely not a China-only story.
This, however, may be: After coming under fire, the company spokesperson finally broke his silence on the subject. According to the Shangaiist this is what Jackie Chan had to say: “I have always been very careful with what products I endorse. But there are some media who are specifically gunning for me and a few other artistes, I am not sure why, as though it is better that we all just died.”
Either something got lost in translation here, or this is the oddest slash funniest attempt at media damage control we’ve ever seen. Anybody want to guess which?
This is going to be a new series if the news keeps up the way it’s been going, and we suspect it will. Tipped off by a super famous dermatologist on Twitter (where else?), we were lead to a scientific study about Brittle Nail Syndrome, a condition wherein people’s nails are brittle, and so they sometimes break. In addition to weakening the nails, we learned from the abstract, the Syndrome can also affect people’s quality of life. Hey, now. What’s this?
“Although impairment of life quality has not been evaluated for patients with brittle nail syndrome, the reduction of life quality in other nail problems has been studied and is evident.”
Anyway, women are twice as likely to have this problem and apparently it is sometimes caused by dehydrated nails and damage to the matrix. You know what can cause dehydrated nails and damage to the matrix? The toxic chemicals in nail polish.
Just sayin’!
According to a new study, young girls are developing breasts as early as 7 and 8 years old these days. As the New York Times is reporting, a survey of 1,239 girls aged 6 to 8 found the following:
At 7 years, 10.4 percent of white, 23.4 percent of black and 14.9 percent of Hispanic girls had enough breast development to be considered at the onset of puberty.
At age 8, the figures were 18.3 percent in whites, 42.9 percent in blacks and 30.9 percent in Hispanics. The percentages for blacks and whites were even higher than those found by a 1997 study that was one of the first to suggest that puberty was occurring earlier in girls.
Reasons for the racial disparity are inconclusive, though obesity definitely plays a role in early onset puberty because body fat can produce sex hormones. But the author of the study, Dr. M. Frank Biro, doesn’t think weight tells the whole story.
Exposure to environmental chemicals—many of which are estrogen-mimickers—may also be playing a role. You know where this is going right? Several suspected hormone disruptors are found in personal care products.
Among the many reasons this study is so disconcerting? Seven and 8 year old girls are not psychologically ready to be in women’s bodies, let alone deal with the attention that engenders. We couldn’t say it better than the Dr. Biro:
“I think we need to think about the stuff we’re exposing our bodies to and the bodies of our kids. This is a wake-up call, and I think we need to pay attention to it.”
We bet you do. A whopping 70 percent of us bottle our blondes, reds and chestnuts, and it’s not hard to understand why. But here’s something: Hair dye is pretty toxic. Even conservative experts say as much (never a good sign) and it’s also bad for your hair. And yet I love me some highlights. So what to do?
As with all things, we think it’s important to be informed, and then calculate the risks. If you do the math and you still want to dye your hair, then for the love of god, eat your broccoli.
A few things worth noting:
—Hair dye has been linked to lymphoma in hair stylists, whose rates of exposure are much higher than the average four-times-a-year highlighter.
—Many chemicals in dyes are irritants, some are suspected carcinogens and others still are immune system toxicants.
—Dark dyes are more toxic than blondes.
—Europe has banned a boatload of chemicals used in hair dyes that we still use on this side of the pond.
—You want to avoid dyes containing p-phenylenediamine, diaminobenzene, ammonia and peroxide (goodluckwiththat), and that means if you’re going to a salon, you’re going to be the girl who asks to see ingredient labels. Awkward, but advised.
—Have you met Miranda Priestly? Or Helen Mirren, for that matter? Gray hair on ladies is sexy!
Those of you who have the book may already know I’m an on-again-off-again highlighter (who had a horrific experience when I tried to go “natural” with my dye job), but in the past year, something weird happened. Sort of by accident, I stopped coloring my hair. It’s been more than eight months since I’ve touched it, and I’m kind of digging how it looks. The base seems to match my skin tone better—Stacy Malkan told me she had the same thought when she stopped coloring hers—and it’s healthier, obviously.
But we’re not zealots about such things. So we want to know—do you dye yours? How often? Do you worry about the chemicals involved?
We have a little secret. Maybe not something to bring up at a dinner party or in mixed company, but here among friends? Why not.
Alexandra and I both hate soap.
Aside from certain obvious body parts (the sexytime ones, and our pits), we don’t use the stuff. Basic hygiene, yes? Soaping up our…calves? And elbows? And the small of our backs? Why on earth!
Since we both stopped using soap, we find our skin much softer and naturally balanced, which obviates the need for body lotion. We like this, because it supports one of the central tenets in the book, which is that the fewer products you use, the fewer products you need. And when you’re buying less stuff, you can afford to get things you absolutely love when you do go shopping.
Back to faces for a second. We won’t use soap or anything foaming on our mugs. Our skin needs the natural oils that live on its surface and below. When we strip that with harsh, carcinogen-contaminated chemicals, our skin acts like a moody teenager.
Still, if you wear sunscreen and makeup, and who doesn’t, you obviously have to wash at the end of the day. I use a new Tata Harper cleanser some days, and an Evan Healy milk on others (reviews to come!). In the morning, I gently wipe my face with a clean wash cloth and water. That’s it.
Alexandra has lately been experimenting with honey. When she bothers to wash her face at all, she skews more DYI: a little honey as a cleanser here, coconut oil to remove makeup there. The point for both of us: Our bodies are marvellous! They do all kinds of magic tricks on their own. Let them be, and they work juuuust fine. And no, you won’t stink, we promise.
What about you? Do you use soap?
It’s been almost two months since that fated explosion off the coast of Louisiana, but the horrors of the BP spill are relentless. Predictably, the conversation around our nation’s “oil addiction” is getting louder as Obama tries to rally for clean energy. It’s hard not to feel a bit cynical about this—as in, where the eff was this conversation on March 31, when the president reversed the ban on offshore drilling. But it’s more productive to just seize the opportunity and talk about ways to reduce consumption. So here goes.
Did you know that most of your cosmetics probably contain petroleum-based ingredients? It’s not to take anything away from cars—driving less and using public transport more is one of the most effective ways for individuals to reduce their impact. But your carbon faceprint is probably way larger than you think, as this Huffington Post piece also points out.
Unless you’re really picky about your clean products, everything from your lip gloss to your face cream and concealer contain some version of oil. It’s just one more reason—health being the obvious other—to start making the switch to clean beauty. And of course, to read our book when it comes out in July: our guides will feature a wide array of petroleum-free products that you’ll love.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for ways to boycott BP in particular, check out this recent post from our friends at Eco Stiletto.
Last week my boyfriend’s mom tipped me off: Doctor Oz was finally rerunning his “Dangerous Beauty” segment. I’d heard about this episode back in February, and had frantically searched for it online to no avail—it didn’t seem to be making waves. The Oz had posted some pretty damning stuff on his website back then—calling out the FDA’s lack of regulation and the industry’s tricky labeling practices—but the focus seemed very product-specific. Regardless, I set my DVR, and yesterday hunkered down to watch.
Um, have any of you seen this? I don’t think my mouth closed for the first five minutes. It starts off with a newly recorded intro from the doctor, about how that day—June 2nd—might be a game changing day for all the women watching… He goes on to say:
“What if I told you your makeup could be hazardous to your health? That it could even hurt your beauty in the long run? Take a look at this…”
It gets even crazier. Here’s what he says in the intro voiceover, folks. Since I still can’t find it online, you’ll have to imagine both his soothing voice and the super dramatic, anxiety-inducing music:
“…that lotion you put on your face every day to fight wrinkles hasn’t been approved by the government at all. The FDA oversees this multibillion dollar industry, but it does not approve products before they hit store shelves. [The music starts getting crazy here.] Even more alarming? Cosmetics companies are only required to list intended ingredients on their products. These companies are in no way really obligated to list harmful byproducts that may occur during manufacturing. Think you’re safer buying ‘natural,’ ‘organic’ or ‘hypoallergenic’ products? Think again. There are no guidelines for those terms in the cosmetic world—they simply mean whatever the company wants them to…”
When the show begins, he talks directly with women about the most dangerous items in their cosmetics bags.
I have two things to say: 1. You’re a badass, Dr. Oz. And more important, 2. Why is nobody talking about this? Dr. Oz is the most famous doctor in America. If he can’t create a media maelstrom over this, who can?
