This is just one of many numerous facts in Stacy Malkan’s new must-read, Not Just a Pretty Face ($15.95, New Society Publishers).

Quite frankly, this book has illuminated my understanding that the safety standards, or complete lack thereof, of the products we constantly smear, spray, and slather all over ourselves are complete and utter BULLS#&!. My apologies for swearing and using the electronic form of yelling, but it’s a justifiable concern.

Furthermore, it has become scientific fact (Malkan’s appendix includes a hefty section of references) that our everyday personal care products have become full of unnecessary toxic chemicals. I have never become so enraged yet simultaneously grateful for such knowledge after reading a book before.

Malkan, the Communications Director of Health Care Without Harm and co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org), has compiled years of investigative research and campaigning into a book that should have been written 30-40 years ago, when sales of personal care items slowly but surely started to increase.

Unfortunately, ginormous corporations like L’Oreal, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, and Johnson & Johnson have been getting away with allowing “safe levels,” according to them, of toxic substances like formaldehyde, which is used as a shelf-life extending preservative, for years. Honestly, what kind of BS is that? “Safe” levels of formaldehyde? No wonder you find it in everything including anti-aging products; hell if it keeps dead bodies looking good just imagine what it does for your precious, living skin.

All snarkiness aside, perhaps one of the most interesting topics covered is the fact that “in January 2003, the European Union amended its [existing] cosmetics directive so that it bans any chemical strongly suspected of cancer, mutation, or birth defects.” So huge corporations like the ones listed above had to alter their ingredient concoctions so as to not include any of these chemicals.

But, do you think that they changed the ingredients in their U.S. products? Not so much.

Malkan’s research team sent numerous common skin care and cosmetic products to an independent lab for testing, and the majority of them tested positive for toxic substances. Even though these products contain chemicals that have scientifically been shown to have side effects such as cancer, birth defects, and hormonal imbalance, the monoliths of the industry continue to maintain that the levels are low enough to be safe.

Well you know what I say? Who gives a rat’s ass if the levels are low? If many of these products were already reformulated for the EU, why not just pass the safety buck onto American consumers? What is the problem here, you evil, monolithic cosmetic companies? The problem is that these companies are making more money by selling a product made with cheap, synthetic chemicals.

If you’re anything like me, what you really want out of this is a clear-cut list of ingredients to stay away from when reading product labels. Ultimately, that is the best way to protect yourself, given the limited amounts of true information coming from the U.S. Cosmetics Ingredient Review Panel (the “self-regulating” panel that juries product ingredients and safety).

*Fragrance: Even though companies are required to list ingredients, there is a loophole that does not require them to list the ingredients in a fragrance, because fragrances are granted trade-secret status. This means that any number of nasty things could be in them. So your best bets are products are fragrance-free, or only contain scents from natural essential oils and flowers.

*Triethanolamine: “Also used in floor polish, pool cleaners, rug cleaners, laundry detergent,” and according to “a Material Safety Data Sheet, [states] “Warning! Harmful if swallowed, causes skin irritation and severe eye irritation.” You could assume the levels in your lotion are safe, but I would just stay away from this stuff.

*Parabens: This includes ethyl-, methyl-, propyl-, and butylparabens, which function as preservatives, but is a synthetic chemical that mimic or disrupt hormone production and function in the body.

*Placental Extract: Anything placental certainly contains hormones, and when used in hair or on skin can also mimic estrogen.

*1,4-dioxane: This is a petroleum-derived contaminant that is carcinogenic, and found in the following ingredients (usually shampoos, soaps, and detergents): sodium laureth sulfate, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, polysorbate, -eth- or –oxynol-.

*Formaldehyde: The following ingredients contain this nasty chemical, and it stands to reason why they should be avoided: 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15.

Another good bit of advice is that less is more. Products with fewer ingredients are better. If you are currently putting four products on your face every morning, try to cut one or two of them out of your routine. Only use what you need.

Your other best bet is to simply read this book! It is educational, unsettling, and inspiring. Personally, I have made several changes in the products I use and the quantity. Another valuable tool for information is the Skin Deep Database (www.cosmeticdatabase.com), where you can search the site for your favorite product, or search by ingredient, to get a hazard rating between one (low hazard) and ten (high hazard).

For example, my favorite cheap-o ChapStick Strawberry Lip Balm earns a hazard rating of 8, which means it went into my trash can. My Dove bar soap earns a 2, so it stays as it stays.

If knowledge is power, then you now should have a little more of both to keep you on the path to a bathroom full of non-toxic products. Godspeed!

Anne Vickman, April 12, 2008