Daily Loaf

The $500 billion beauty industry is embraces a message that tells women they must correct, conceal and camouflage. Peel away the glitz and glamour, says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, and you’ll expose the toxic truths lurking beneath the beauty industry’s seedy underbelly. Malkan shares five of the biggies that the major beauty purveyors would rather keep under wraps.

1. Many skincare products contain chemicals toxic to the skin

“A mind-boggling array of products contain chemicals that sensitize skin and trigger skin problems such as rashes, redness, acne, and other symptoms of contact dermatitis”, says Malkan, who notes that doctors often misdiagnose these problems as eczema and prescribe drugs such as steroids or immunosuppressants. Then, of course, there are the toxic chemicals that are known or suspected causes of long-term health effects such as asthma, infertility, learning disabilities, and cancer—ingredients that companies persist in including despite the fact that they “already know how to make great products without these hazardous chemicals,” she says.

2. Companies that donate to breast cancer research still use carcinogens in their products
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Injection of pesticide at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course in Tampa attracted the attention of neighborhood activists, who worried it was making them sick. (photo courtesy of Debra McCormack)

Tucked away in a northern Tampa neighborhood is a golf course named after the greatest figure in women’s golf history, Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias, better known as Babe. The champion golfer died of colon cancer in 1956, so it seems fitting that, when the turf of her namesake course was being injected with a pesticide believed to be a human carcinogen, three activists fought passionately, persistently and (ultimately) successfully to stop it.

It took years to win. This is how they did it.

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Haven’t had the cash to upgrade to an Xbox LIVE Gold account, Mr. or Mrs. Silver Member? Well, it’s time to dig through the nether reaches of your couches and wrangle up a dollar as Microsoft has extended Silver Members the chance to snag one month of Gold Membership for 100 pennies. What’s the catch, you say? If forgetful gamers do not cancel their membership they will be billed $7.99 each month for their Gold subscription. So long as you don’t forget to unsubscribe, we would recommend taking advantage of this offer, Mr. or Mrs. Silver Member. What if you “like the goods” and wish to be a monthly subscriber? If you like being charged $95.88 a year as apposed to $49.99, we’d suggest becoming a monthly subscriber. Otherwise, you can stick to the $49.99 for a year of Gold Membership plus a bonus month.

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