Is Your Makeup Toxic?

We’d be happy if we could wake-up in the morning and hide all signs of sleep-deprivation with a little concealer, bronzer, and lip-gloss—without having to worry about poisoning ourselves in the process. But, considering all the wonky ingredients in most skincare products, this isn’t the case.  

According to Environmental Defence, the folks who led the charge for the ban on BPA’s in baby bottles, “before you even make it to the breakfast table, you’ve probably used almost 15 personal care products with over 100 toxic ingredients.”

Yuck!

These include cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting, allergy-inducing substances, which they say should be banned altogether. “It’s time to give the Canadian beauty industry a long overdue makeover.”

But how?

To begin, Environmental Defence has launched an ad campaign to help raise awareness and push the government to make a change. This includes a cheeky commercial—“How To Look Pretty Without Poisoning Yourself”—that depicts a game-show contestant attempting to choose a cosmetic product that doesn’t contain toxins.

They also re-launched the website for their Just Beautiful campaign, which includes tons of useful information and stats including: “Over 1,700 substances have been banned or restricted in European personal care products. But, many of these same harmful substances can still be found in Canadian products”

After watching the commercial and browsing the website we were left feeling outraged…and a bit freaked out. The thought of putting all that toxic junk on our skin before 9 a.m. does not make us happy! But, what does make us happy is knowing there’s actually something we can do:

First, sign the petition asking Health Canada to give the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist and ingredient disclosure in Canada a major makeover!

Second, educate yourself using this glossary of toxic ingredients and take this knowledge with you next time you visit the cosmetics counter using this handy downloadable pocket guide.

The chemicals in your face cream, diaper cream, shampoo, and lipstick have been linked to cancer, birth defects, infertility, and a long list of health concerns. Since we’ve all got enough things to worry about in the morning, we’re happy to know Environmental Defence has got our backs when it comes to health—and beauty.