If you are worried about what toxic chemicals are lurking in your makeup’s ingredients, you’re not alone. In a recent poll, 64 percent of Americans indicated concern over hazardous chemicals in their beauty products.
In a recent roundtable, President and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund Jeanne Rizzo, RN, CEO of Seventh Generation, John Replogle and best-selling author Deepak Chopra, MD, this issue was addressed head on.
According to Rizzo, “Exposure to toxic chemicals in our everyday products may increase risk for many diseases.” And, she adds, “About half of every gallon of petrol chemicals are not used for gasoline; they’re formulated into products to clean with, for lipsticks, and they disrupt the hormonal system. They’re in about 20 to 30 products we use every day.”
Some of these products include our shampoo, soap, hygienic cleaning supplies and yes, some makeup, but not Red Apple Lipstick.
Rizzo believes that “when knowledge comes, responsibility comes. Behaviors do matter and they drive change in business. [With more] curiosity about our health—we can change behavior.”
And another bit of food for thought about fragrances’ implications: “the word ‘fragrance’ can mean thousands of chemicals in a label,” according to Replogle.
Chopra says, “This is an emergency. It takes time to change behavior; the first thing is to create awareness. We can all participate globally in this conversation to change the global mindset.”
Parabens and phthalates are two chemicals commonly found in personal products, namely makeup—but not our products.
Parabens are preservatives that imitate estrogen and have been discovered in breast cancer tumors. Similar to BPA found in some plastics, parabens have been called endocrine disruptors—harmful toxins that hurt hormonal growth and can have an effect over generations.
Phthalates are commonly used to make soft, pliable materials in foods, plastics and some makeup. They have been known to cause problems with reproduction in mammals, as well as male reproductive diseases.
Again, you won’t find parabens or phthalates in Red Apple Lipstick. All of our products are, as always, allergen free, soy free and vegan. We believe that women can and should be beautiful without having to use harmful products that are widely available and not yet viewed as such.