What's really in your beauty products?
We spend around £5 billion each year in the UK on beauty products but can we trust that the products we buy are safe and can we trust that they really will do what it says on the bottle?
Cosmetics have been used by men and women since Egyptian times to enhance appearance and boost confidence. Today, according to the Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association, on average, everyone uses 5-6 cosmetics in their daily grooming routine.
Chemicals surround us in our everyday environment. We're made of chemicals and there are around 30,000 chemicals licensed for use in the UK today. The multi-million pound British beauty industry uses huge numbers of different chemicals in the manufacture of cosmetics. Most are written on the back of our products in their Latin name so when we read the label how well do we understand what we are putting on our bodies and do we care?
Scientists, researchers and toxicologists differ in their opinions about the safety of cosmetic chemicals but this has not prevented consumer concern. Of 100 people asked 86 were shocked to find that potentially harmful chemicals are included in such supposedly luxury items as beauty products*. Plus it is not just ourselves we worry about.
Research by YouGov last year suggests 89% of parents are concerned at some level that the chemicals in their everyday products might impact their children’s health and more than half would feel reassured by a better understanding of the ingredients in their products.**
*100 people aged 18-50 in Dorset, UK June 2010
** YouGov survey among 2013 UK adults aged 18+ carried out between 1st – 3rd April 2009
