banned just two types of phthalates, but cosmetic companies continue using the rest of them. There’s
evidence that those other types are even more toxic, especially when used in combination.”
Some cosmetic brands, includingBody Shop andAveda, both segments of the Estée Lauder beauty
empire, and Urban Decay, part of Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), have already volunteered
to remove phthalates from all their products. But the majority of United States–based cosmetic
companies are balking at the proposed ban. The U.S. Cosmetic, Toiletry, and FragranceAssociation
(CTFA) calls the European regulation “unnecessary” and dismisses research on phthalates.
“We are facing increased regulatory clout from the European Union, which is affecting our industry
on a global basis, notably in China,” noted Marc Pritchard, chairman of the CTFA board of directors
and president of global cosmetics and retail hair color at Procter & Gamble, in the annual report in
2005.
Phthalates have many high-profile defenders. “Health-related allegations about cosmetic
ingredients are generally based on the results of high-dose laboratory testing in animals and have
little relevance for humans,” wrote Dr. Gilbert Ross, the medical and executive director of the
American Council on Science and Health, in his 2006 paper, “A Perspective on the Safety of
Cosmetic Products.” The paper goes on to say that “The health-related allegations involving specific
chemicals (e.g., phthalates, parabens, and 1,3-butadiene) fail to consider important scientific studies
and recent regulatory conclusions about these chemicals, which have found that they are not
hazardous.”
While the National Toxicology Program listed many phthalates as carcinogens in 2003 (NTP-
CERHR Monograph 2003), medical studies directly link phthalates to a higher risk of cancer in
humans. Dibutylph-thalate (DBP) was found genotoxic when German scientists investigated the
development of squamous cell cancer (Kleinsasser et al. 2000). Di-n-butylphthalate altered breast
cells, particularly genes involved in fertility, immune response, and antioxidant status in a study
conducted by theMolecular Epidemiology Team at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (Gwinn et al. 2007). Both di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
(DEHP) appeared to promote drug resistance to tamoxifen in breast cancer, South Korean scientists
found in 2004 (Kim et al. 2004).
While American cosmetic manufacturers refused to reformulate their products and remove phthalates
from products sold on American soil, in 2004 they agreed to use substitutes for phthalates in beauty
products shipped to Europe.
Today, nail polishes made by Revlon, Procter and Gamble’s Max Factor and Cover Girl, and
Estée Lauder’s Clinique and MAC are phthalate-free. That is pretty much it. United States’ cosmetic
companies are not required by law to mention phthalates or many other chemical compounds on their
labels. Hundreds of bestselling beauty products, including foundations, blushers, hair sprays, leave-
on hair conditioners, fragrances, baby shampoos, and lotions, as well as bestselling MP3 gear, are
still loaded with gender-bending phthalates.
Aluminum: No Sweat About It
Going around with wet and smelly underarms for most of us is just as unthinkable as rinsing freshly
brushed teeth with water from the toilet basin. Clearly, there is nothing less attractive and socially
unacceptable than sweaty underarms. But rubbing your freshly shaven underarm skin with a zesty-