What is the unregulated Cosmetic Industry putting in your Shampoo?
Cosmetic manufacturers regulate themselves, require no FDA approval to sell products, and don't even have to register ingredients with the FDA. Americans spend roughly $22 billion a year to look and feel good through cosmetic purchases that pose unknown health risks. Each day you come into contact with about 200 chemicals and each week another 20 chemicals enter the market. Currently there are 25,000 chemicals used in the cosmetic industry.The cumulative effect of the use of chemicals may be the cause of many of the illnesses, cancers, and other medical problems currently in existence.
One of the most hazardous and common ingredients found in personal care products is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) / Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES).They are strong detergents and surfactants that can cause eye irritation, as well as permanent damage to the eyes, especially in children. SLS/SLES can also cause skin rashes, hair loss, flaking skin and mouth ulceration. When combined with other ingredients, they can form nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. They easily penetrate the skin and can lodge itself in the heart, lungs, liver and brain.
SLS and SLES are found in hair color rinses, body rubs, hand lotions, after shave lotions, and fragrances. These chemicals are used in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, and in 90% of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs, and the brain.
What is the intent of the cosmetic industry when it leaves numerous ingredients, many of them hazardous, off its label? If the ingredients were safe to use, wouldn’t they state that to gain a significant advantage in the marketplace?
If the FDA were to regulate this industry, would it be any better? Don’t count on it. For example, take the September 30, 2004, Merck withdrawal of VIOXX from the market because it could double the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Merck was recently told to pay out $253 million after a jury in Texas found the drug had contributed to a man's death and that the firm had been negligent (August 2005).
The FDA released a memo indicating that Vioxx® might have contributed to 139,000 heart attacks and deaths from 1999 through 2003 (Dr. David Graham, associate director of the FDA's office of drug safety). It was based on a sample of patient records from a study conducted with Kaiser Permanente. The memo concludes that people taking Vioxx® were more likely to have heart attacks or die from sudden cardiac arrest than people taking Celebrex®. Dr. Graham's e-mail and meeting notes suggests that his efforts to publish his views were delayed by top officials at the FDA. In fact, Merck had the time to sell Vioxx in more than 80 countries, including Canada, Europe, Brazil, Australia and Israel.
Several recent articles have also suggested that Merck and the FDA should have withdrawn Vioxx® from the market as early as 2000. Now Pfizer admits the widely used Celebrex, used for arthritis and pain, poses an increased cardiovascular risk (December 17, 2004). In October of 2004, Pfizer stated that Bextra, another painkiller similar to Vioxx, might raise heart attack risk in some patients having heart bypass surgery.
Before the dust even settled on these drugs, Naproxen users received a warning from the FDA after federal researchers from the National Institutes of Health found an increased number of heart attacks and strokes among users (December 20, 2004). Naproxen is commonly used in the brand name over-the-counter pain medication Aleve.
Even regulated drugs are far more dangerous than most people know. Prescription drug side effects are now the 4th leading cause of death in America. In fact, “The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that at least 80% of all cancer is attributable to environmental influences, specifically human-produced carcinogens.”
Can we trust the unregulated cosmetic industry?