The FDA is Getting More Complaints About Beauty Product Side Effects

The beauty industry is unregulated by any outside entities, except for a few products like sunscreen and acne creams, which the FDA has some jurisdiction over because they're considered drugs. Otherwise, it's a free-for-all out there, with the industry regulating itself. This never seems like a good idea, right? Look what happened in banking.

A new study published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that people have been increasingly reporting adverse events related to cosmetics to the FDA. An adverse event can be anything from a rash to your hair falling out to death. From 2004 to 2016, there were a little over 5,000 cosmetics-related events reported, which, if you think about how many cosmetics products are used on a daily basis, is not that many. This also doesn’t mean that more adverse events actually have been happening, just that more people are emailing the FDA about it. Also, there’s no way of knowing exactly what it is that gave people whatever issue they were reporting — but they were assuming it was the result of a product. But the biggest increase in reporting came in 2016, when 1,591 beauty-product adverse events were reported to the FDA. A lot of this increased reporting came as a result of the FDA putting out a call to consumers to report issues they’d had with Wen cleansing conditioners. Back in 2014, shoppers started complaining that the products were making their hair fall out. According to the JAMA authors, the FDA received 127 complaints about Wen from consumers, but found out that the company itself had received about 21,000. This just puts into high relief the ridiculous fact that cosmetics companies are under no obligation to report these issues, and the FDA cannot mandate that they issue a recall like it can with, say, contaminated lettuce. You can still buy Wen conditioning cleansers! With a series of recent beauty lawsuits, like the Johnson & Johnson $10 million talc suit and the icky Eos lip balm mold lawsuit, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need more regulation. I already pointed out that with the current anti-regulation White House, this looks about as likely as Ivanka Trump selling off her clothing business — but there’s a bright spot of hope.  Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are co-sponsoring a bill called the Personal Care Products Safety Act this year. This isn’t the first time they’ve tried it, though; Feinstein and Collins also introduced this bill in 2015, but it went nowhere. The large players in the industry were on board, but smaller cosmetics companies were not, saying it would hurt them financially. But maybe now we have the public impetus needed to get it through, especially since this bill has bipartisan support. The bill would allow the FDA to issue recalls, increase labeling requirements, and help small businesses meet new mandates. It would also require the FDA to test up to five ingredients per year. Right now, the natural beauty industrial complex gets new customers primarily based on fear of the unknown. Some cosmetics ingredients are untested (although many more have years of research and safety data) or have poorly designed studies showing questionable bad outcomes, so so-called natural beauty companies capitalize on this with a “better safe than sorry” selling tactic. If we actually had solid, concrete data, perhaps then we would know for sure that our beauty products are not killing us. Either way, it’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out, no sketchy hair product needed. - Cheryl Wischhover, Senior Beauty Reporter Racked.com

The Body Deli

The Body Deli is the pioneer in fresh, organic, raw superfood enhanced personal care products. Two "foodies" with an extensive background in nutrition, raw food, wellness and beauty, envisioned a personal care brand so different, fresh and unique that they started their own healthy skin care products. 

The raw beauty magic happens in the Coachella Valley, California in the city of Palm Desert. They handcraft premium quality skin & haircare products in small batches daily in their state of the art Cosmetic Kitchen. Their products deliver real results because they use the purest and most potent raw and organic superfoods available. 

My friend Missy introduced me to The Body Deli. I loved everything about this company from the minute I opened the website, thanks Missy! All of their products are vegan, never tested on animals, non-toxic, and handmade in California using real raw ingredients. 

From June 26th - July 10th, the entire Thai Lemongrass collection is 20% off. Fresh lemon and lime will revitalize & awaken your senses.
The Body Deli Zest Fest Sale. 

If you sign up for the VIP Club, you will receive exclusive offers. Be the first to know about specials, new products and rewards. They usually have a different product line on sale every month. Trust me, you will love all their products. 

Monat 'The Champ' Dry Shampoo

If you pick friends like I do, then dry shampoo is also your best friend. Its a lifesaver. I only wash my hair every other day or every two days. I'm not going to lie, I go three days more than I like to admit. On the days I don't wash, I use dry shampoo. There are tons of dry shampoos on the market and I have tried quite a few of them, Bastiste, Blow Pro, Kenra, Oscar Brandi, Alterna, Not Your Mothers, Dove, Living Proof and Acure. I never liked any of these because i could always feel the product on my scalp and roots.

Once I went chemical free, I started making my own dry shampoo. Don't get my wrong, I still like this one, but it requires a little extra work. Since I make it with vodka, water, corn starch and essential oil, it's a wet spray. You have to spray it in, wait a minute for it to soak in, rub it in, then blow it dry it. You can find the recipe in the Hair Care tab above.

I decided to give Monat's, The Champ, a try. It's amazing, absolutely amazing. I was shocked at how much I like it. It has a fresh clean scent and goes on so light. I don't feel any product at all on my scalp and makes my hair feel like I just washed it. You just spray it in, brush your hair, and you are done. I can honestly say this is the best dry shampoo I have ever used. I might never wash my hair again...kidding.

The Champ Conditioning Dry Shampoo

Tarte Deodorant

You all know by now that I'm a huge fan of Tarte products. The Tarte line contains chemical free makeup, chemical free skincare, and now a chemical free deodorant. Clean Queen is their new aluminum & alcohol-free natural deodorant.

This hypoallergenic, cream-to-powder formula, leaves no white marks, streaking or wetness behind. It's a very light formula that goes on smooth. It contains natural plant starches to fight odor and soothing aloe to cool and condition. It has a very light clean smell. As always, Tarte products are formulated without parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfates, and gluten. 

I just picked it up at Sephora for $14. I have only used it a couple times but i'm already a fan. If you click on the Deodorant tab above, my other favorites are Lavanila, Crystal and Primally Pure. Clean Queen is comparable to Lavanila. They are in the same size and shape bottle with the same price tag. I think Clean Queen is a lot lighter and goes on much easier than the Lavanila. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Lavanila too, but I'm a sucker for trying new things. 

                                              Tarte Clean Queen Deodorant