There has been a lot of ink on California’s recent ban of four food additives, but less press on their new law banning 26 chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and personal care products. This year’s ban (Assembly Bill 496) piggybacks on California’s 2020 law banning toxic chemicals in cosmetics (the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act), which bans 24 other commonly used chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products. The original law goes into effect in 2025, and the new law will be implemented in 2027, giving companies time to revamp products. The state took their lead from the European Union (EU) which bans not only the 26 chemicals in California’s new law and the 24 chemicals they banned in 2020, but a whopping 1,600 chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and personal care products in the U.S.
The banned cosmetic chemicals (including preservatives and emulsifiers) have been linked in scientific studies to a variety of serious health consequences including cancer, reproductive problems, organ damage, eye damage, birth defects, skin infections and infertility. This year’s law prohibits the manufacture, selling or delivery of any cosmetic product containing the banned ingredients commonly used in shampoo and conditioner, hairspray and dyes, hygiene products, makeup products like foundation and primer, lotions, fragrances such as perfumes and laundry powders, soaps and more. See the list of all 50 banned chemicals here.
Aren’t these personal care products already regulated for safety by the federal government? No. Though there will soon be a bit more paperwork required of manufacturers*, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only regulates cosmetics under the antiquated 1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and (with the exception of color additives) and says products and their ingredients intended to cleanse or beautify are not subject to FDA pre-market approval. Currently, companies need only complete a pre-market application to the FDA stating they have their own “scientific documentation” that demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of a product or device.
All consumers in the U.S. win: This latest ban is good news not just for California consumers but consumers of cosmetics and personal care products all across the U.S. Why? Because it would be far too costly for manufacturers of cosmetic and personal care products to reformulate, warehouse and ship one special version of their products just to a single state. It is far less costly and cumbersome to make the change to their products across the board for all U.S. consumers.
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*The 2022 Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, or MoCRA, established new requirements for manufacturers and enforcement authorities for the FDA. These conditions include requirements to report serious adverse events within 15 days, to register facilities with the FDA and renew registrations every two years, and to list each marketed cosmetic product and its ingredients with the agency and provide annual updates. Cosmetic companies also have a legal responsibility to ensure their products and ingredients are safe, as “neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients,” according to the FDA.
LM,ed.
Chemical Free Life 