Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on AB 2762 last week, which bans 24 chemicals found in cosmetics starting in 2025. The chemicals are also banned by the European Union, according to a press release.
“Every day, Californians are exposed to hazardous chemicals hiding in their cosmetics and personal care products,” said Gov. Newsom in a statement online. “Children, communities of color and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to these ingredients, which are not actively regulated by the federal government.”
The chemicals also adversely impact hair stylists in beauty salons who tolerate continued exposure to products containing chemical-based fragrances. Hairdressers and beauticians have a 47-fold higher risk of fragrance skin allergies, according to the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), which is one of the associations that influenced Gov. Newsom to sign the legislation.
“Reputable companies will look at that list and remove those ingredients from their products but there's a lot of disreputable companies out there and there's a lot of counterfeit products,” said Rex Parris, chairman of the board of Carthronix, which manufactures an anti-aging skin regeneration product called Heraux. “It remains to be seen how well this will actually improve things in the industry.”
For example, Parris said Carthronix personal care products are all-natural.
“The primary ingredient is the HX1 molecule, which modulates inflammation,” he said. “A very small amount of inflammation is good and then you want to stop it. That's why it's a modulating effect but it's proven to thicken the skin meaning to regenerate the skin and it works on the DNA.”
Parris added that banning harmful chemicals is not enough.
“It's one thing to make a law,” Parris told the Southern California Record. “It's another thing to enforce it. There have been laws about mercury for a long time and the enforcement of these laws has always been slow in the uptake.”
The NCRA further reports that more than 95% of shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, antiperspirants, shaving products, fine fragrances, body spray, and lotions contain fragrance chemicals.
“The reason they put chemicals in these products is that they have the appearance of a beneficial effect like mercury for skin lightening,” said Parris. “You're accomplishing what you want but the downside takes years and years to manifest itself is why these laws are so necessary. A lot of these chemicals are very effective.”
Gov. Newsom also signed SB 312, which requires companies selling beauty or personal care products to report the presence of hazardous ingredients but Parris is doubtful that, without testing, SB 312 will be effective.
“I have found that these reporting laws are so frequently gotten around,” he said. “Somebody is going to have to be sending these personal care products to a lab to see if there are hazardous chemicals in them. What I think some companies will do is just take it off their list of ingredients but continue to use it. Until there's an enforcement mechanism that is effective, I don't know how beneficial these laws are.”