How many personal care products did you use on your body today? Shampoo, deodorant, lotion, hair gel … we all use these products, and some of us are even obsessed with them. As I confess in my book, I was a Seventeen Magazine reading make-up diva desperate to fit in. The Osco Drug cosmetics aisle was my comfort zone. I loved my beauty products, I trusted them, I used lots of them: about 20 products a day all topped off with an enormous cloud of Aqua Net Extra Super Hold in the big pink metal can.

Recently, I looked up the products in my former teen beauty routine--in the Skin Deep database--and I was surprised to discover that I had been exposing myself to 230 synthetic chemicals a day -- before even getting on the school bus!
So what’s in this stuff that we rub on our bodies on a daily basis?

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has been researching that question, and we’ve uncovered the ugly truth about the beauty industry.

Carcinogens in baby shampoo; lead in lipstick; hormone-disrupting chemicals in fragrance and after shave… these are just some of the surprises lurking in everyday products. Disturbingly, many body products are made with toxic petrochemicals linked to cancer, infertility, learning disabilities and other health problems that are becoming epidemic.

In just my lifetime, 40 years, the risk of getting breast cancer has nearly tripled. What's more, companies aren't required to list the dangers of these chemicals on their packaging. Some even take advantage of shoppers' interest in healthier products. They label and advertise them as "natural" or “organic” when they contain harmful chemicals.

In the United States today, one in two men, and one in three women, are expected to get some type of cancer in our lifetimes. We obviously need to reduce carcinogens and other pollutants in the environment and in our homes – starting with the products we use on our bodies.

The good news is, companies already know how to make baby shampoo without carcinogens – and some of them do. So why do so many products still contain these unnecessary toxins?

In short: because it’s cheaper and because they can. Surprisingly, companies are allowed to put nearly any chemical into personal care products sold in the U.S. with no required safety testing. The European Union bans 1100 chemicals from personal care products because of concerns about cancer and reproductive harm. The US bans only 10.

Even products labeled ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ may contain harmful synthetics, since the US has no standards for personal care products.

It’s time to make American products as safe as they can be.

You can help give the beauty industry a makeover by taking two actions today. First, shop smart. You can find safer products on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database at www.SafeCosmetics.org. Secondly, we need to pass new laws that require companies to make safe products. Visit us at SafeCosmetics.org to learn how you can get involved – so that all of us, even the make-up divas, can buy any product and know that it’s safe for our families and our health.

About Stacy Malkan

Stacy Malkan is a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of the new book, “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry,” an exposé about toxic chemicals in personal care products.

This commentary is part of a partnership between CSRwire and Corporate Watchdog Radio. Click here for the audio.