Forever chemicals here to stay
PFAS are another group of substances that beauty manufacturers and brands need to have on their radars, Frey said.
PFAS 101
Recent research has suggested PFAS may have a number of serious health impacts including increased cholesterol, changed liver enzymes, decreased infant birth weight, decreased vaccine response in children, higher risk of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women and increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer. Additionally, research estimates as many as 98% of American adults have PFAS in their bloodstream.
The No PFAS in Cosmetics Act, which seeks to ban the use of intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics, was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2021. The bill has been assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, but no hearing has been scheduled.
While PFAS are used in multiple industries, Frey said cosmetics are being singled out because they are sometimes added specifically to products like lipstick, mascara and eyeshadow to extend wear.
One of the issues with regulating PFAS is that they exist in everything at low levels. Sometimes they are added intentionally to products, but other times they enter the supply chain through water or the environment, Frey said.
“If these laws do get written, one of the issues for manufacturers will be how to deal with PFAS because to some extent it is outside their control,” Frey said. “There needs to be some sort of reality check.”
Even if the bill doesn’t make it into the statute books, plaintiffs and consumer groups are still intent on exposing the presence of PFAS in a variety of products. There are also several states passing laws to limit PFAS in consumer products, as previously reported by CosmeticsDesign.