Just How Safe Are the Beauty Products You Use Every Day? Turns out, we put more than 160 chemicals on our bodies each day. photo via Shutterstock

Happy National Women’s Health Week! The initiative, now in its 16th year, is led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health in an effort to empower women to make smart choices to improve their health. All week, prominent figures in the media and the government are blogging for WomensHealthMag.com about the importance of making healthy decisions. Today’s guest bloggers are Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Senator Susan Collins of Maine. 

From shampoo to lotion, makeup to deodorant, hair dye to shaving cream, millions of American women use dozens of personal care products every day. A recent study found that on average, a woman puts 168 chemicals on her body daily.

Many women would be shocked to learn that federal rules designed to make sure those products are safe haven’t been updated for more than 75 years. No other products are so widely used with so few safeguards. What's more, the chemicals in these products aren’t reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration and companies aren’t required to report what ingredients they use and at what concentrations. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't even have mandatory recall authority for products that may cause serious harm. 

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That’s why we introduced a bill in the Senate called the Personal Care Products Safety Act, to address these gaps. Consumer advocates and large companies alike—including Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Revlon, L’Oreal, Unilever, Estee Lauder, Personal Care Products Council, Environmental Working Group, Endocrine Society, Society for Women’s Health Research, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, National Psoriasis Foundation, and HealthyWomen—support the legislation. They recognize the need to protect women’s health and create a modern regulatory process for the companies that make the products we use every day.

A key component of our bill is a review process for ingredients found in these products, to be conducted by the FDA. Consumer and health advocates are rightly concerned that many of the chemicals and their concentrations in personal care products haven’t been reviewed in decades. For example, propyl paraben is used as a preservative in a wide range of products. This chemical mimics the female hormone estrogen, and concerns have been raised that it may be appropriate only in certain concentrations.

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Scientific studies have shown chemicals that mimic estrogen may disrupt the endocrine system and have been linked to a wide range of health effects, including reproductive system disorders. Similarly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, short-term exposure to formaldehyde, used in smoothing hair treatments, has been reported to cause a range of negative health effects.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already requires salon owners to provide workers with protective equipment, including masks and goggles, when using products that contain this chemical. Short-term exposure has been reported to cause headaches and shortness of breath in women and the professionals who apply the chemicals, and long-term exposure has been associated with increased risk of cancer. 

The ingredient review process in our bill would address whether these and other chemicals can continue to be used in personal care products and if so, what the concentration levels should be and whether consumer warnings are needed. For example, a chemical may be deemed inappropriate for use in children’s products, or appropriate only for professional application in a salon.

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Companies would also be required to report adverse health events, follow good manufacturing practices, and keep safety records. These common-sense proposals are long overdue—women deserve to know that the products they use every day are safe.  

Dianne Feinstein represents California in the U.S. Senate. She is concerned about the prevalence of chemicals in commonly used products and is working to ensure their safety.

Susan Collins represents Maine in the U.S. Senate. With current federal regulations for personal care products that have not been updated in more than 75 years, Senator Collins wants to update these rules to empower consumers to make more informed decisions.