Eye Opener 4: Environmental Working Group

Summary of the Eye-Opener

The Skin Deep website is brought to us by the Environmental Working Group, and is  a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products.  Skin Deep is a nonprofit organization and is the largest integrated data resource of its kind.  They simply keep this website up and running for one reason: because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their own products for safety. Therefore, the researchers at Environmental Working Group do it for them. 

The Environmental working Group uses the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.  EWG is also a nonprofit organization that advocates for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.  

My Results

I chose to search Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner Always Smooth.  This is the shampoo I have used for about 7 years.  I don't use conditioner, so I thought this would be a really good product to search since it is something I use everyday, and have been using for an extended amount of time.  

The Pantene Pro-V product I use seems to have lots of concerns according to Skin Deep. It got a score of 5, which means that it is a moderate hazard since the scale goes to 10.  I learned that 41% of conditioners and 49% of shampoos have lower concerns. Ingredients in Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner have been linked to:

1. cancer
2. developmental/reproductive toxicity
3. violations, restrictions & warnings
4. allergies/immunotoxicity
5. other concerns such as: neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation, enhanced skin absorption, and contamination concerns. (To name a few...)

The manufacturer of this product Proctor & Gamble has not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, and they also conduct animal testing. Knowing this information tells me that they haven't yet jumped on the bandwagon of making their products "green" and making them safer.  

Some other information I found on this website is that 92% of the ingredients in my shampoo have no data about them or have a high level of uncertainty.  92% of the ingredients have not been reviewed by the FDA, and 42% do not have any industry review.  Finally, 3% of the ingredients are labeled as 'high hazard". Talk about scary...

My Opened Eyes

The website gave me TONS of information regarding Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner; in fact, so much information that I didn't even summarize it all on this blog.  I guess what is of main concern to me is the fact that there are so many other products out there that are less risky.  It is hard for me to take in all of the information and decide what is important and what isn't.  To me, its all important enough to know, but not important enough to change the shampoo I have been using since middle school.  However, since 49% of the products out there are better for me than this one, I feel like I have been motivated to make a change.  I think that next time I am at the store I will buy something different.  Recently I have been considering switching to Dove Products anyways because of their AMAZING campaign for real beauty. I thought this was a really good activity to do, it has helped me so see exactly what I am doing to myself and to the environment by the products I am choosing to use.