Personal Care Products
Did my adolescent personal care practices affect my reproductive health? Harsh realities still exist in today’s highly unregulated beauty industry.
Personal care products vary in many ways including who they are made for and marketed to, such as hair products. One factor, however, that isn’t highlighted enough in discussions around closing these disparities is the health outcomes related to the actual chemicals in products that Black women use, which have been linked to various health issues and premature death!
With few exceptions, current federal law does not require makers of cosmetics and other personal care products sold in the United States to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before their products go on the market.
With few exceptions, current federal law does not require cosmetics manufacturers to get approval from the FDA before their products go on the market.
The NWHN considers the prevention of disease to be a central priority. We hope that women can be as educated as possible when it comes to personal care products that have the potential to be harmful or disease inducing.
Cosmetic manufacturers have a legal responsibility for the safety and labeling of their products, but many cosmetic products marketed and sold in the U.S contain toxic chemicals. These unsafe, unregulated products pose unique risks to Black women.
The NWHN and 42 organizations sent a letter today to the House Energy and Commerce Committee applauding their work on a bipartisan discussion draft to address cosmetics safety.
Gynecologists interviewed about the differences between organic, reusable, and regular period products agree that the specific product usually doesn’t matter, but how it’s used does.
Amidst the hard-fought battles to protect and expand access to basic reproductive health care, including abortion care and contraception, we don’t often stop to connect the dots between reproductive health and environmental health. This is due partly to the siloed nature of our two movements, and to the historically defensive nature of work to protect environmental and reproductive health and rights.
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