Higher Hazards Persist in Personal Care Products Marketed to Black Women, Report Reveals
Overview
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Beauty justice research shows the use of certain personal care products may increase Black women’s exposure to hazardous chemicals.
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Products like hair relaxers and dyes are linked to elevated risks of several diseases, including breast and uterine cancer, especially for Black women.
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Since EWG’s 2016 report on products marketed to Black women, policy and product formulation changes have spurred some safety improvements – but there are still fewer low hazard products marketed to Black women compared to the market as a whole.
Out of 4,011 personal care products marketed to Black women, only 21 percent rate as low hazard in EWG’s Skin Deep® cosmetics database according to this newly updated EWG analysis co-authored with BLK + GRN
The analysis shows that disparities in personal care product safety persist almost a decade after EWG released its first report on products marketed to Black women in 2016. And the hazards are found in several categories of popular items like hair care products, some moisturizers, and certain types of makeup.
EWG and BLK + GRN’s updated analysis underscores the scope of the problem, demonstrating that Black women may have fewer low hazard product options.
While policy and product formulation changes since release of the 2016 report have helped improve personal care product safety, disparities still exist between products marketed to Black women and products without demographic marketing.
