By Momo Chang

When you shop for moisturizer or shampoo, you probably don't stop to think about the chemicals that lurk within or the health risks they may pose. But ingredients linked to cancer and birth defects could be in products you use every day – and you wouldn't necessarily know by reading the labels.

State senator Carole Migden is pushing a bill, S.B. 484, that would require cosmetic companies to tell the state when they use ingredients California has deemed dangerous. It would also allow the Department of Health Services to monitor and regulate products that contain the most suspicious ingredients, starting in 2007.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not test or approve cosmetics before they go on the market, leaving the industry to monitor itself. "The federal government regulates the air we breathe, the water we drink, but for some reason, what we put on our dermis is not regulated," Eric Potashner, Migden's deputy chief of staff, told the Bay Guardian.

Concern about the effects cosmetics may have on our bodies has focused on chemical compounds called phthalates, which are often used to give lotions, nail polishes, shampoos, and antiperspirants a creamy consistency. The state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which investigates whether chemicals are unhealthy, has already determined that one phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), causes "reproductive toxicity." Another phthalate commonly used in nail polish, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), may soon be placed on the list of hazardous chemicals.

"Phthalates are linked in studies mostly to birth defects in male genitalia," Lauren Sucher of the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group told us. "They affect the male reproductive system, so it affects the testicles and penis and reduces sperm count."

Cosmetic companies challenge the notion that phthalates are dangerous. Gerald McEwan, vice president of science for the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, the lobbying group for the multibillion-dollar industry, said, "There have been no findings that there is any risk to the consumer from exposure to phthalates used in cosmetics."

McEwan also said that in studies on rats, the effects of DBP "were caused by such massively high consumption that there's absolutely no possibility, under any circumstance, that a woman could get that amount – even [by] eating her nail polish."

Kimberly Rawlings, a spokesperson for the FDA, told us, "There's no compelling evidence that phthalates pose any health risks as used in cosmetics."

But FDA chemist Jean Hubinger acknowledged that the amount of exposure to phthalates could add up: "Phthalates come from different sources, like hair spray, antiperspirant, and nail polish, so it could be a health concern, depending on how much a person is exposed to them." People who work in salons – in California, they are staffed largely by immigrant women – are likely to be exposed to these chemicals at much higher, more dangerous levels.

Phthalates are still used in many personal care products – though it's hard to say exactly how many. Right now, products on the shelf at the local drugstore might contain phthalates but describe them on labels as "fragrances" or "flavorings." And those formulas are considered trade secrets that companies don't need to reveal, Sucher said. Two years ago, the FDA examined 48 cosmetic products and found that 2 out of 3 contained at least one type of phthalate.

Migden wants people to know what risks they are taking by using or working with particular cosmetics – and also hopes that knowledge will eventually lead to safer cosmetics. "We're seeking disclosure of ingredients, including what constitutes 'flavorings,' 'fragrances,' and 'other ingredients,' with the mind's eye that the disclosure of a carcinogen would eventually lead to its removal," she told us. (A Senate bill that would have completely banned the use of DBP and DEHP in cosmetics made or sold in California failed to pass out of committee in April.)

A few manufacturers have already eliminated phthalates from their products. L'Oreal USA and Revlon recently announced they are in full compliance with the European Union's ban on phthalates and other questionable ingredients.

Tali Woodward contributed to this story.

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