Chemicals are not coming back to style!

I had an opportunity to attend Beauty and Sustainability panel discussion last night hosted by Opportunity Green (Thank you Laura for being the date:) The event was hosted at Lululemon athletica in Beverly Hills.

Did you know 60% of lipstick contains lead?? It was one of many number that were discussed in the speech given by Stacy Maulkan the author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. Societies (especially women) are cultured to pay a lot of money to look beautiful but none of the cosmetic products are regulated by FDA. So cosmetic company can slip the toxic industrial chemical into some of their products and advertise them as the most wonderful thing women can purchase (skin whitening, shampoo, lotion, anti-aging... you name it) causing cancer and other serious illness. Even some of the baby products are highly toxic... 

These numbers are so real that it's impossible to reevaluate some of the existing habits we all have.

At the same time many of the audiences realized that we have a choice. Choice to look carefully into what we put on our skin, choice to proactively research these cosmetic products (Check out Skin Deep Cosmetic Database), and choice to avoid unnecessary pain caused by the price of beauty.

The audiences were mix of people who came for the free manicure and people who were there to learn about this issue and make some actions.  Many of them seemed very involved in the cosmetic market. (as consumers). Felt that there was great signs of awareness toward beauty and eco. Like one of the panelist Reneta Helfman says, "Chemicals are not coming back to style!"