We ask a lot of questions at Evelyn Kay Club. Questions about health, wellness and we ask a lot of why’s; as in WHY are so many chemicals allowed and “safe” here in the US but banned in Europe? WHY would 28 countries agree that 1328 chemicals from cosmetics, deodorants and antiperspirants are harmful and need to be banned over the past eleven years, yet only 10…yes ONLY 10 of those same chemicals have been banned in U.S.? These banned chemicals found in our cosmetics and deodorants can cause cancers (breast and endocrine related cancers are a couple examples), some have been related to birth defects and even organ damage. When it only takes 26 seconds for your skin to absorb these chemicals into your body and blood stream, WHY are these toxic chemicals still allowed?

In a nutshell, The FDA is in charge of regulating cosmetics. The interesting part of that is, the FDA does not test the chemicals in cosmetics, does not test the chemicals for safety in cosmetics and cannot recall a product. According to the FDA’s own website: “Cosmetics are required to be safe when consumers use them according to directions in the labeling, or in the customary or expected way. Product testing is just one of the things a manufacturer might do to ensure the safety of a cosmetic product.” The Cosmetic companies (the manufacturers) are responsible for their own safety testing: NOT the FDA. This could make it quite difficult to ban toxic chemicals and ingredients from our beauty products.

This is not the case in places like Europe. Twenty Eight countries united together under the EU umbrella have given a very specific definition of what a cosmetic is and requires that these products “must not cause damage to human health when applied under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use.” The more protective, narrower and stricter laws in Europe allow for more testing and regulation of these products and their ingredients; thus the vast difference in the number of chemicals banned.

With the status quo not changing anytime soon. It is time we start to ask questions and demand better! At Evelyn Kay, we ask these questions because we believe that education equals empowerment. When we become empowered, we can demand better for ourselves, our family and our friends. It is our time to demand better! Come join us: Educate and Empower yourself!