Lawmakers Push For Harsher Make-Up Regulations, Consumer Protection
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- The items in your make-up bag could be bad for your health and lawmakers are taking action.
When you walk through the make-up aisle and peruse through hair care products what you're buying isn't federally regulated and could potentially harm you, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
Dermatologist and plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Katz said the United States is behind the times as a country.
"If you look at Europe, they ban over a 1,000 different products -- here in the United States maybe 10 or 11," he said.
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced The Personal Care Products Safety Act that would up regulations and food and drug testing on our beauty goods.
They've already made a list of five potentially dangerous chemicals to be reviewed. CBS2 found the ingredients right on the shelves.
Lead acetate is in hair dyes and has been found to cause reproductive issues.
"Obviously it should be banned, but we continue to see it in products as well," Katz said.
Other common ingredients like propylparaben and mica can be found in everything from foundations to lipsticks.
"Dermatologists have been asking that companies remove parabens for years," Katz said. "If [mica] is inhaled enough and certainly when it's on your lips, you can inhale it-- can 'cause scarring and respiratory problems in the lungs."
The bill would pass the cost of testing onto manufacturers, some cosmetic companies said it would "stifle innovation in the cosmetics and personal care industry."
Consumers said it's time someone started looking out for them.
"Anything that goes into our bodies or on to our bodies should be tested," one shopper said.
Right now the Food and Drug Administration can only ask companies to voluntarily recall products. If this bill were to pass, the agency would have the power to pull unsafe personal care products from the shelves.