The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has released an alarming study that’s found levels of carcinogens and other toxic materials, including lead and hormone-disrupting chemicals, in cosmetics made for children:
Children’s makeup and body products (CMBPs) are widely marketed to children throughout the US; however, little is known about how and why children use them. We administered a survey to parents/guardians of children aged ≤12 years about the use of CMBPs. Among all the children (n = 312) of survey respondents (n = 207), 219 (70%) have used CMBPs in their lifetime. Older children used CMBPs at higher rates than younger children, and female children used CMBPs at higher rates than male children. Children of Hispanic/Latinx parents/guardians used CMBPs more often and for shorter durations and a greater proportion used lip, hair, and fragrance products than children of non-Hispanic parents/guardians. Approximately half the children that use CMBPs were reported to use them with play intentions. Compared to children of non-Hispanic parents/guardians, children of Hispanic/Latinx parents/guardians reported more play motivations for CMBP use.
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Major gaps in the regulation include a lack of mandatory pre-market safety approvals for products and ingredients other than color additives, lack of transparency in fragrance ingredients, limited recall of products, and under-reporting of adverse events [5,6]. Additionally, cosmetics are often marketed with vague terms such as “natural”, “organic”, “non-toxic”, and “hypoallergenic”, which are not defined by the FDA for cosmetic products [7,8].
In part due to these regulatory limitations, ingredients of concern have been found in adult cosmetics and CMBPs. For example, heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and chromium have been found in children’s face paints [9]. Endocrine disruptors such as phthalates, parabens, and perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are also widely used in adult cosmetics and CMBPs [10,11,12]. Even when concentrations of individual chemicals are low in products, the potential for interactive effects from multiple toxicants is important to take into consideration [13]. Allergic reactions, such as contact dermatitis, are some of the most frequently cited negative health outcomes associated with the use of cosmetics [14]. Natural rubber, fragrances, preservatives, dyes, and metals are classes of allergens commonly found in cosmetics [15]. Rastogi et al. (1999) found that in certain CMBPs, fragrance allergens were frequently detected, occasionally at unsafe concentrations [16].
Children are particularly vulnerable to adverse health risks associated with makeup and body products. Behavioral patterns such as hand-to-mouth activity may increase exposure to products through ingestion. Additionally, children’s small body size, rapid growth rate, developing tissues and organs, and immature immune systems make them biologically susceptible to the effects of toxicants [17].…
More than half of the children of respondents used CMBPs at least monthly and approximately one-fifth typically use CMBPs for 8 h or more. Frequent and lengthy exposures to CMBPs in early life warrant concern about the safety of their ingredients. Child behaviors such as hand-to-mouth activity and inappropriate application could further increase exposure to harmful ingredients. One-third of children were reported to have ingested CMBPs in the last year, and many children were reported to wear CMBPs applied by another child, increasing the risk of incorrect application and exposure to harmful ingredients. Our results suggest that the risk of exposure to CMBP ingredients may be affected by ethnicity, as children of Hispanic/Latinx parents/guardians were reported to use CMBPs significantly more frequently but for shorter durations and to ingest CMBP at lower rates than children of non-Hispanic parents/guardians. A limitation of investigating the average length of CMBP use across all products is that some products (e.g., nail polish) are intended to be used on longer time scales (i.e., weeks as opposed to hours).