Eu

[Donna]

I found the following 2 paragraphs on ewg.org:

American consumers are not generally aware that, unlike for medicines, the FDA does not require cosmetics to be tested before marketing. A spokesman for the regulator said: “There is no mandatory reporting. We do not regulate them before they come to the market.”

That contrasts with Europe, where prior testing by manufacturers is required by law. In the UK, the Department of Trade and Industry requires new products to be tested against a list of known hazardous substances.

Does this mean that the cosmetics manufactured in Europe and the UK might be safer than U.S made products?

[drtodorov]

What do you mean by "tested against a list of known hazardous substances"? Is simply checking that a product ingredient list does not contain known toxins? Or is it chemical analysis for presense of known toxins?

[Donna]

It is pre-emptive screening for toxicity--This paragraph from safecosmetics.org

The EU law requires that cosmetics companies stop using chemicals that are known or highly suspected of causing cancer, impaired fertility or birth defects, such as the phthalates DBP and DEHP used in some fragrances, hair sprays and nail polishes. Companies were required to stop placing such products on store shelves by January 1.

[drtodorov]

I see, but this doesn't mean that this law prevents EU companies from using substances whose effects on the skin are unknown or untested, right?

[Donna]

True. And isn't it true that certain ingredients might be fine on their own, but in contact with other substances in a formula can form nitrosamines or other toxic substances? So, is it possible that a product can pass a safety test but months later when the consumer has exposed it to air and degradation, it can turn toxic?

[drtodorov]

That's true too, at least in theory. But without data, it is hard to say how common and how significant is skin damage, if any, from by-products of skin-care ingredient cross-reaction and/or degradation.

[Diane]

after reading all the articles I am questioning if applying facial creams
is good ? they say to apply sunscreens every day to protect the skin from aging & yet after reading the articles on sunscreen it is scary ?
My husband & most men never apply creams to their face & they seems to be just fine !

[drtodorov]

All things being equal, it is better for the skin to avoid the sun than being in the sun while covered with sunscreen. But there is a downside to having no sun exposure: you may develop vitamin D deficiency (unless you yake supplements and/or drink D fortified milk) and/or miss out on the enjoyment of outdoors. It is a trade off. However, being in the sun without sunscreen is clearly the worst choice for he skin.

FYI, most women have better skin than men, although whether it is due to skin care, estrogens, lack of testosterone or other factors is unclear. Perhaps some of the factors that allow women to live longer benefit female skin as well.