A six-month computer investigation by the Environmental Working Group in the U.S. in 2004 evaluated the safety of over 10,000 personal care product ingredients and included 2,300 people. The investigation revealed the following information on personal care use:

• Each day, the average adult uses nine personal care products that contain 126 different chemical ingredients
• Over a quarter of a million women and one out of every 100 men use on the average of 15 products a day

• Only 28 of the 7,500 products in the study were completely tested by the cosmetic industry's self-regulating panel
• An astounding one-third of all the products assessed contained at least one ingredient that fell under the classification of human carcinogen
• 71 percent of the hair dye products evaluated had carcinogenic coal tar as part of their ingredients
• Almost 70 percent of the products reviewed were found to have ingredients that could be tainted with impurities related to cancer and other health complications
• 54 percent of the products violated the safety recommendations proposed by the self-regulating Cosmetic Ingredient Review Board. Some examples of the unsafe ingredients in these products were discovered in diaper cream, products on the market for damaged skin such as chapped skin and other ingredients found in spray products
• Over the course of keeping watch over the cosmetic industry, the FDA has banned a mere nine personal care products

Based on these findings, researchers agreed that the lack of monitoring by the FDA has led to a huge leniency toward the testing of cosmetic ingredients and has resulted in a large portion of products available on the market that pose health risks to the consumers. The same concludes for Australia.
We are bombarded with very clever advertising, trying to talk us into looking younger, getting more beautiful and clearer skin with products that are made from petrochemicals and synthetic substances that would most likely poison us if we ate them.

Fortunately safe alternative products are now easily available. To see if the products you are using are safe, it is a good idea to read the list of ingredients and compare it to lists in books such as “The Chemical Maze”, by Bill Statham.

For a great range of safe certified organic skin care, visit www.ebar.com.au.