The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found these chemicals linked to cancer in L’Oreal products on store shelves:
- Benzophenone-1 in L’Oreal Colour Riche and Maybelline Color Show nail polishes
- Carbon black in L’Oreal eye liner
- Titanium dioxide (in inhalable form) in L’Oreal eye shadows and Maybelline blushes and pressed powders
- Formaldehyde releasing preservatives
- DMDM hydantoin in L’Oreal Kids shampoos
- Imidazolidinyl urea in L’Oreal mascaras, eye shadows, and both L’Oreal and onMaybelline brand eye liners
- Diazolidinyl urea in facial toner, BB cream
- Quaternium-15 in Maybelline Great Lash mascaras
In addition, the Campaign found four ingredients that are possibly contaminated with carcinogens:
- Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which can be contaminated with PFOA in L’Oreal eye shadows and Garnier anti-aging products; and
- Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl ether, which can be contaminated with PFOA in L’Oreal eye shadows
- Polyacrylamide, which can be contaminated with acrylamide in Garnier anti-aging products
- Talc (in inhalable form), which can be contaminated with asbestiform fibers in L’Oreal eye shadows and Maybelline blushes and pressed powders.
Consumer demand for safe cosmetics is changing the marketplace. According to industry analysts, natural cosmetics reached $30 billion in global sales in 2013 an increase of 10.6 percent. This trend is due in large part to growing consumer concerns about toxic chemicals in cosmetics.
L’Oreal is the second target of the Campaign’s Cosmetics Without Cancer Campaign. In October, the Campaign called on Procter & Gamble (P&G), the nation’s largest maker of personal care products, to remove carcinogens from its products. More than 100,000 people sent letters or signed petitions asking Procter & Gamble to take immediate action to eliminate cancer-causing chemicals from its brands including Cover Girl, Max Factor, Pantene, Olay, Herbal Essences, and Miss Jessie’s hair products.
Due to an outdated and weak federal law regulating the safety of cosmetics, none of the cancer-causing chemicals identified in L’Oreal products have been banned – or are even restricted – for use in cosmetics in the U.S., despite the fact that all have been identified as carcinogens by respected, scientific authoritative bodies.
A legislative proposal to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s more statutory authority to regulate cosmetics, including banning cancer-causing chemicals, was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Il) in 2009, 2011 and again in 2013.
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Resources:
Link to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic's action alert to L'Oreal: http://bit.ly/EyeOnLoreal
Link to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics L’Oreal research findings: http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=1195
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