The wrinkles are here, and more are surely coming. Time for potion intervention.
But trying to figure out not only which cosmetics work, but also which ones are good for me and the planet is so complicated that it's just producing more wrinkles.
I thought all I had to do was find products not tested on animals. Now I realize that many products are, in effect, being tested on me.
And on my surroundings. Traces of personal care products are being detected in waterways.
All those products to make our hair shinier, lashes longer, cheeks pinker, and underarms sweeter may be more trouble than they're worth.
Lead, a neurotoxin, is in many lipsticks. Formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen, is used as a preservative in baby shampoo. And something called 1,4-dioxane, another probable carcinogen, is found in products that make suds. All are in tiny amounts.
Last week a coalition of organizations calling for safer personal care products - not just girlie stuff, but also things men use, and even creams we rub babies with - revved up their activism.
This coincided with the introduction of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, which would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to ensure that the products we slather on our skin don't have harmful ingredients.
"Only a fraction of the ingredients have been assessed for their safety" by researchers independent of the companies, said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), a cosponsor.
The industry pushed back vigorously, saying its products are safe.
Lezlee Westine of the Personal Care Products Council contended the legislation was not based on "credible and established scientific principles," and would mandate "unachievable" goals that would require hundreds of additional agency scientists and millions of dollars of funding.
The industry, by the way, has its own proposal to "modernize" the FDA's cosmetics regulatory structure, which is about 70 years old. It is requesting more oversight, including a formal process for FDA review of ingredients in cases where the public or others request it.
One thing is clear. There's a lot less FDA oversight than many people think. Just ask Linda Katz, director of the agency's Office of Cosmetics and Colors. In an online video on the FDA website, she noted that "consumers think we approve cosmetics, but we don't." She said the FDA regulates "in a post-market arena. We look at the safety issues once it's on the marketplace."
