Don’t worry your pretty little head about a little bit of mercury and lead in cosmetics
It’s hard to believe, but beauty industry spokesman John Bailey is now defending the use of mercury in personal care products. “It’s added at very low levels, and for good reason,” Bailey told the Associated Press. There is a good reason to add a known neurotoxin to mascara? As toxicologist Carl Herbrandson explained in the story, mercury can retard brain development in children and fetuses, and can also cause neurological symptoms in adults. “Mercury is bad, basically in all forms that get into the body,” Herbrandson said.
Obviously, cosmetics don’t need to be one more source of mercury exposure. Yet John Bailey and the billion-dollar beauty companies he represents never met a toxic chemical they won’t defend. In the San Francisco Chronicle, Bailey defended lead in lipstick, yet said: “The principal concern about the safety of lead is ingestion by children.”
Where does Bailey think children come from? That’s right, from the bodies of women of childbearing age, who are at risk of getting exposed to lead and mercury from personal care products — for no good reason. Stacy Malkan
December 14th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I wonder how this guys sleeps at night. Seriously.
December 28th, 2007 at 3:35 am
I am always shocked by the poisons in cosmetics and toiletries. I don’t wear make up but it can be so difficult trying to find moisturiser, face cleanser etc that don’t contain any harmful chemicals. How the industry can defend this practice is beyond me…
January 27th, 2008 at 7:35 am
This doubletalking sleazeball John Bailey is quoted in today’s Washington Post as saying, re lead in lipstick:
“Lead is in our environment … It’s part of the earth … I don’t think it really warrants these alarmist conclusions.”
Arsenic is in our environment and part of the earth too. It used to be ingested, for cosmetic reasons, to produce a lovely pallor that advertised “Here’s a woman who doesn’t have to work outside all day hoeing rutabagas!” They would’ve been better off hoeing rutabagas rather than slowly killing themselves with chronic arsenic poisoning.
Plutonium, too, is part of the earth. Perhaps Mr. Bailey is planning to introduce a line of plutonium-enriched lipstick called “Cosmic Lip Glow” or something.
Manure is also in our environment and part of the earth, and Mr. Bailey is contributing far more than his allotted share.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:37 am
This entire industry needs to stop deceiving the public. Putting their salaries over the health and safety of the population is inexcusable. Unless they have tested the maternal and fetal cord blood at the time of delivery these products should not be used by pregnant women at any level.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:47 am
The site notjustaprettyface.org is good site, thanks, admin.
By.
March 24th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I’ve never given this a try, but I think it’s about time I do.