Un-cream

While studying for crazy no-good exams last week, I did find a little time to procrastinate on the internet (surprise!). A friend who is in environmental law passed along the following useful and also somewhat disconcerning link: Environmental Working Group's Guide to Safe Cosmetics. Turns out, the ingredients (i.e. chemicals) used in various cosmetic products are not very researched and very poorly regulated. There are no FDA-like approvals for what can or cannot be mixed into our creams, sprays, and gels to be smeared all over our bodies. Hence, the cocktail of chemicals made to smell vaguely like "rose" can be hazardous to our skin, eyes, and lungs. Yikes!

The Environmental Working Group put together a database of products, while thoroughly checking their ingredients and then rating their danger level. As you might imagine, upon receiving this information, I immediately ran into our bathroom, scooped up all the possible products in there and began to look up each rating obsessively. Besides discovering that my favorite French hand cream rated in the high-danger zone and freaking out accordingly, I realized that, when my husband uses shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant as his general grooming products, I use shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face moisturizer, toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream (sometimes), hand lotion, face lotion, lip balm, makeup (eye liner, mascara, powder, lip gloss), makeup remover (sometimes), sunscreen (sometimes). And I bet I am even in the lower end of "feminine self-care". I know plenty of women who use way more makeup, shower/bath, skin, and perfume items on a daily basis. And apparently, we are all slowly poisoning ourselves.

But besides this being a general health issue, I think this is also a feminist issue. An issue in which I ask, Why are we even using so many products on our bodies to change ourselves to adhere to some beauty ideal? Sure, makeup, creams, and other various body enhancements have existed for ages, but have everyday women worked quite this hard to keep their lashes long and dark, their hair nice and sleek, their skin baby-smooth? All this is just so exhausting, dangerous, and well, disempowering. It seems that there are the general necessary protections (soap, toothpaste, sunscreen) and the over-the-top (acne-controlling, dandruff-reducing, super-absorbent) extras. And the line is a fine one. So let's keep ourselves and each other in check on how we treat our bodies; they are so much more than vessels for chemical hazards.