Asbestos-Tainted Makeup Should Be a Wake-Up Call
The FDA’s oversight powers on cosmetics are so weak, even the industry is complaining.
Red alert?
Photographer: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
The beauty industry has come a long way since the days of arsenic scrubs and lead-based face creams. But maybe it hasn’t come far enough. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that asbestos — a known carcinogen that’s unsafe at any level — had been found in eye shadow, foundation, and other make-up products marketed to pre-teen girls. Even worse, because the FDA had no power to force a recall, some tainted products may have remained on sale at malls across America long after reports of danger emerged.
It didn’t have to happen this way. The tale of the asbestos-tainted makeup shines a bright light on the failures of cosmetics regulation, which is so lax even the industry itself is pushing for stronger oversight.