Drop Dead Gorgeous

When CDC scientists found high levels of DBP in some women’s bodies, they speculated that cosmetics might be a source. In a study published in November 2000 (EWG 2000), the Environmental Working Group identified popular nail care products that contain DBP, including polishes, top coats, and hardeners made by L’Oreal, Maybelline, Oil of Olay, and others. Eight months later, Urban Decay, a California-based company whose DBP-containing nail polish was highlighted in EWG’s study (EWG 2000), announced it had reformulated its entire line of nail polish to be DBP-free, and called on other cosmetics companies to "eliminate this dangerous chemical from their formulas" (Urban Decay, June 11 2002). But our updated survey shows that most companies have not been as progressive: in a limited, online drugstore search conducted last month, we found that 67 percent of the nail polishes surveyed (16 of 24) contain dibutyl phthalate (Table 1). Phthalates in nail polish are subject to federal labeling requirements, and therefore they appear on ingredient lists posted on the back of nail polish bottles or on the box. Not so for the 72 other products we tested in this study, none of which listed the "phthalate" chemical on its label. In these products, phthalates are claimed as fragrances or as a part of trade secret formulas, and are exempt from federal labeling requirements. We spent $175 per product to determine if phthalates are present, a cost hardly within the budget of most pregnant women trying to steer clear of myriad products that could potentially harm a fetus. Drop Dead Gorgeous Tweet