The reality of today's cosmetics industry is that stuff we slather over our skin or lather into our hair isn't subject to much government oversight. While there are some regulations on labeling and ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t require that most over-the-counter beauty products be approved before they hit the market. As a result, it’s up to shoppers to figure out if a product is a healthy choice for them.

But that could change.

Today, a new bill package has been introduced in Congress that asks for sweeping reforms to and industry that, some say, is shrouded in too much mystery. It’s called the Safer Beauty Bill Package and, as the name implies, it’s aimed at making your skin, hair, and makeup products better for you. Here’s what you need to know.

The package is made up of four different bills and is spearheaded by four lawmakers: House Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Lizzie Fletcher, Doris Matsui, and Ayanna Pressley. The bills are designed to remove certain chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products, increase transparency about what’s in products as well as where they came from, and protect the health of at-risk populations who use these products. The package includes these:

Toxic-Free Beauty Act: This act would ban two classes of chemicals, along with 18 hazardous chemicals like lead, mercury, formaldehyde, asbestos, phthalates, and parabens from cosmetics and personal care products due to their links to cancer, brain damage, and reproductive harm. (Worth noting: Most of these are already banned in the European Union and some U.S. states.)

Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color & Salon Workers: The act highlights the disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals in cosmetic products that are marketed to salon workers and women of color. The bill would provide $30 million in research, public education, and safer alternatives, as well as direct the FDA to oversee the safety of synthetic hair products that are often used by Black communities.

Cosmetic Hazardous Ingredient Right to Know Act. This legislation would require the disclosure of hazardous fragrance and flavor ingredients on product labels and brand websites. Businesses that include these ingredients would also need to provide links to safety information on any ingredients with a risk of causing health issues.

Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act: This act would require information about ingredients used in the cosmetics supply chain to provide more transparency and allow manufacturers and brand owners to make safe decisions about their products.
Why is this needed?

For some, this legislation is long overdue. "People assume that the personal care and beauty items they use are safe, but with minimal oversight, many of the care, beauty, and salon products sold across the country actually contain toxic chemicals," says Representative Lizzie Fletcher, a bill co-author.

The package is part of a movement toward transparency over the last few years. In 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) added more regulatory oversight to the FDA over ingredients, labeling, and safety. But it doesn’t change the safety of ingredients in these products. “This law is a good first step, but much more is needed,” bill co-author Representative Jan Schakowsky says. “Today, it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 chemicals used to make beauty and personal care products and, on average, men and women use six to 12 personal care products a day, exposing themselves to hundreds of unique chemicals daily.”

Representative Schakowsky points out that the European Union bans thousands of chemicals, while the FDA has only banned or restricted a “handful” of chemicals in cosmetics. This bill package aims to fix that. “More and more science is showing beauty and personal care products contain chemicals linked to many health concerns, ranging from hormone disruption and infertility, to respiratory harm, cancer, and more.”

Dermatologists are on board, too. “This bill is a great idea,” says Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine. “Making beauty products safer and increasing transparency is definitely needed.”

Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital, agrees: “Cosmetic skincare products are currently loosely regulated, so I think greater oversight over these products is a good thing.” But he's quick to point out that more research is needed to establish a clear connection between personal care products and potential health harms. Many of the studies cited have been conducted on animals in a lab setting. “It is important for there to be definite data in humans showing that ingredients are truly harmful,” he says. “Current animal research suggesting that high levels of specific compounds are harmful to your health is quite different from real-life exposure in humans.”

What happens now?

This just a package of bills at this point. From here, they will need to be debated, studied, and voted on in the House of Representatives, before moving on to the Senate. If the bills pass the House and Senate, they will go on to the president to be signed into law. There’s a lot that can happen in the process—this is just the first step.

Still, Rep. Schakowsky says she hopes a lot will come out of this package. “We must continue to strengthen our nation’s cosmetic safety laws by banning the most toxic chemicals found in personal care products, closing the fragrance and flavor loophole, and protecting communities that are most vulnerable to unsafe chemicals hiding in their beauty and personal care products,” she says. “We all deserve a government that protects us from toxic chemicals in the beauty and personal care products we use every day.”

View this article in Women's Health Magazine.