M 2.2- Personal Care Products

Product 1

Essie Nail Polish

Link: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/677898/Essie_Nail_Polish/#.Wa9pysiGMow

Overall score: 6 moderate hazard

Data available: limited

Product summary:

•      Were you surprised to find out the toxicity rating of your personal care products?

Yes, I was somewhat surprised when I looked at the ingredient concern chart. I knew before that nail polish is harmful for the body when you breathe it in. But I honestly didn’t know that the concerns for the cause of cancer, and the developmental and reproductive toxicity are this high. After learning about this, it makes sense to limit the use of nail polish because of all the toxic and harmful ingredients that are in it.

• ·    Did you decide to change any of your consumer behaviors based on your findings?

To be honest, I don’t often use nail polish to paint my nails but my mom, female family members, and friends do use them more than I do. I think the need to look for a better nail polish brand that is less harmful and more environmental friendly is imminent. Even though non-toxic nail polish might be more expensive than Essie but I believe if my family and friends are going to keep on using nail polish, it’s worth it to pay more in order to prevent any possible health concern in the future that might be caused by these toxic chemicals.

• ·    Should everyone know about this risks and why don’t they?

I think everyone need to know about the health risks associated with frequent use of nail polish. I think everyone might have been aware that it’s harmful to breathe in the nail polish fume but I don’t think people actually know how much toxicity there are in a bottle of nail polish. This could be because people go to nail salons to get their nails done and aren’t fully informed by the store about the type of products that are being used on them. Another reason could be because consumers when purchasing nail polish only look at the availability of colors and prices that they forgot to check the ingredients that are in the nail polish itself.

Product 2

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Link: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/599549/Aveeno_Daily_Moisturizing_Lotion/#.Wa-AuciGMow

Overall score: 2 low hazard

Data available: fair

Product summary:

•        Were you surprised to find out the toxicity rating of your personal care products?

I was surprised and relief to find out that the overall hazard for Aveeno body lotion is considerably low. But I did notice that the use restrictions is moderate to high due to the moderate level of allergies and immunotoxicity that some of the ingredients in the lotion can cause.

•  Did you decide to change any of your consumer behaviors based on your findings?

Based on the findings, I’m considering looking and switching to a different brand of moisturizer that has a low overall hazard rating and a low use restrictions as well because this the one product that I apply onto my skin frequently specially during the fall and winter seasons. Hence, now that I have the information and the tool to help me easily find a better product, I think I should definitely try another brand.

• ·    Should everyone know about this risks and why don’t they?

I think as consumers of this product, we should all be aware of the good and the bad associated with using this moisturizer because we’re being constantly exposed to these ingredients on the daily basis. One of the reasons why people aren’t aware because of what they read on the label of the bottle. They could have seen “Dermatologist recommended” on the bottle and assumed that this product is safe to use because a doctor said so.