Cosmetics are getting safer, report says

Cosmetics that bring bright colors and silky textures can also contain hazardous chemicals, according to the safer chemistry nonprofit ChemFORWARD. Overall, though, the use of concerning chemicals in personal care products is modestly declining, says a new report from the group, a collaboration of personal care product makers, ingredient suppliers, and the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.Colored lipstick is the product type most likely to include high-hazard ingredients. The report calls out organochlorine and organobromine pigments as well as cyclic silicones, which reduce smudging and color transfer. Some organohalide pigments are hazardous when ingested, and silicones such as cyclopentasiloxane are under scrutiny for their persistence in the environment.The report gives each ingredient an overall grade that weighs environmental and human health hazards. Companies, academics, and educators can pay to access the underlying data in anonymized formats, says Heather McKenney, who leads the scientific team at ChemFORWARD. “Getting into the actual data . . . you can see what is driving the hazards,” she says. “But for the purposes of this high-level footprinting, it doesn't really matter why it's considered high hazard. We just know it's not considered safer chemistry, and we should move away from it.”The report’s authors analyzed more than 48,000 product ingredient lists, created or collected chemical hazard assessments for the 2,286 unique chemicals they found, and gave each one a letter grade that combines health and environmental hazards. Only 3.7% of those chemicals got a D or F, which means they should be prioritized for replacement. But 24%