Read the full article by Arlene Blum (Forbes)
“When you put on lipstick or foundation, you expect a little glamour—not a dose of harmful chemicals that could stay in your body for years and on the planet forever. Yet until recently, that’s exactly what many beauty products delivered. The good news? Initiated by a 2021 scientific study and some strategic science communication, change is sweeping through the global cosmetics industry.
This is the story of how evidence, advocacy, and a splash of media coverage helped turn mascara and lip gloss into a frontline for public health and transformed a multi-billion-dollar industry.
In 2021, the Green Science Policy Institute, working with researchers from Notre Dame, Indiana, and Toronto, tested hundreds of cosmetics. What our joint peer-reviewed study found was sobering: more than half contained fluorine—a red flag for the likely presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals.’ Waterproof mascara, liquid lipstick, and foundation had the highest levels.” …