What does my lip balm have to do with cancer?

About two-and-a-half years ago, when I began working at an environmental health organization, I discovered something that has changed the way I look at everything around me, especially those that go in or on my body. What I realized is something that I think I had always known but never taken seriously or really considered before. I found out that most of the things I put on my body, eat, and use contain lots of chemicals, many of which are extremely hazardous to my health and the health of the planet.
I learned through the work of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (my organization is a founding member) that the FDA’s testing standards for personal care products are limited. Basically, if a subject uses some hand soap and doesn’t break out in hives and their hands don’t fall off, it’s called safe. This testing doesn’t account for long-term health effects, timing of exposures (are you a baby? post-menopausal?), or the fact that low-dose exposures to certain chemicals can sometimes be just as harmful as swimming in a vat of them all day. So many of the mainstream products you find at the pharmacy, grocery store or beauty supply contain toxic chemicals that, over time, can contribute to cancer, birth defects and many other serious health concerns.
I had a bit of a freak-out at first: like I was in some cheesy 50s horror film where the woman suddenly realizes that everyone around her is a zombie and the walls start to close in. I felt betrayed and fooled. I wanted to throw out everything I owned: my toothpaste, shampoo, dish soap, even my damn favorite lip balm came into question. I was mad that I had ignored this for so long, mad that these huge corporations are willing to pump their products with toxins just to save a buck and make my hair shinier, and mostly mad that my government isn’t trying to protect me and my fellow citizens from this onslaught. I felt so powerless to do anything…if I went my whole life without realizing this, how difficult would be to inform an entire population of women? It seemed impossible.

However, after a while I was able to take a step back and rationally take some actions toward a healthier life with less chemicals and more awareness of what is going into my body. I had been eating organic when possible for a while, so now I just make it a priority to get as much as I can organic, hormone-free and fair-trade. I replaced many of my products at home with safer ones using the safety rating system at the Skin Deep cosmetics safety database through the Environmental Working Group. Instead of replacing everything at once, I took it one step at a time and found the safer products that work best for me. I realized that I don’t really care about the brands of many of the things I use. For me those were hand and body soap, shampoo, toothpaste, dish soap, and lotion. I switched those out right away, and then went on the hunt for safe versions of more important products to me like lip balm, conditioner and mascara. Eventually I found my favorites and now (mostly) everything I use is much safer for me than it was before.
I encourage everyone I know to try to make some healthy changes like this in their own lives. You can visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics site for information on how you can get involved in encouraging politicians, corporations and others in charge of things to better regulate what gets into the products we use and for tips on how to create a healthier future for yourself and your family.
It is also important not to adopt the defeatist “well, everything gives you cancer these days” attitude, because it doesn’t have to. The reason we are surrounded by toxic chemicals is because it’s cheaper and easier for manufacturers to use them than to find safe and natural alternatives. It is possible for change to happen. Look at the European Union. They were able to pass two huge regulatory directives which together banned over 31,000 chemicals from use in products for personal use (the EU Cosmetics Directive and R.E.A.CH.). How many chemicals have been banned in the U.S.? Nine. This means that cosmetics manufacturers actually use different formulations for their products in the EU than they do in America; and ours aren’t the safer ones. This tells me that we can do something about this and maybe ensure that our children and grandchildren have a chance of avoiding the pain and devastation of cancer or other illnesses. Here’s to a healthier generation of women.