Support Safer Beauty For the BIPOC Community

As we honor Black History Month throughout February (and beyond), it has us reflecting on the journey of Black hair care. 

Studies show Black women, who embody the largest demographic of beauty product consumers, have higher rates of health-related issues associated with using conventional, toxic hair products. In the workplace, women of color who predominantly make up the professional nail and hair salon industries also suffer from higher levels of toxic exposure. Though more and more Black women are opting to embrace their natural texture as opposed to relaxing or chemically straightening their hair, most beauty companies leave consumers to their own devices to read ingredient lists and navigate the murky world of hair care. This is mostly due to the fact there aren’t any legal regulations: In the U.S., we don’t have any safety standards when it comes to cosmetics. In fact, the last time Congress acted on cosmetic safety was the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1967, which is supposed to prevent mislabeling, but it doesn’t require cosmetics to have FDA approval. In other words, beauty companies call the shots.

Now, advocates for safer beauty are making progress for more meaningful ingredient transparency across the beauty industry.
Breast Cancer Prevention Partners proposed four new bills that have been introduced in Congress as part of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics — a coalition that Innersense Organic Beauty’s founders, Greg and Joanne, actively support as board members. This campaign finally puts more product transparency on the map:

• The Toxic-Free Beauty Act: Bans 11 of the most toxic chemicals including mercury, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, phenylenediamines. These are the same chemicals banned in the European Union, but they are currently allowed in the U.S. market.

• Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Right to Know Act of 2021: Requires the disclosure of unlabeled ingredients in personal care products.

• Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act: Requires suppliers of raw materials, ingredients, and private label products to provide full ingredient disclosure and safety data.

• Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color and Professional Salon Workers: Ensures meaningful protections for the BIPOC community by providing transparency of ingredients in their products. Hair and nail salon progressions are predominantly made up of women of color and are the most vulnerable to daily toxic chemical exposure without their consent. 

We’re particularly excited for next steps for the Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color and Professional Salon Workers, which will create a healthier world for BIPOC workers and consumers. According to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, this specific bill would federally mandate ingredient disclosure at salons, give workers access to translated safety data sheets, fund research to identify chemicals of concern and their health impacts, fund the development of safer alternatives in the beauty industry, and get the FDA involved in reviewing ingredients.Thousands of chemical are used to make personal care products that BIPOC communities and professional salon workers use up to 10 hours a day and have been linked to cancer, skin irritation, allergies, asthma, and other adverse health conditions.

At Innersense Organic Beauty, clean beauty has always been a part of our DNA — and safe, natural products should be accessible to you no matter your hair texture, background, race, or gender. We feel passionately that the more you’re thoughtful about the ingredients you incorporate into your hair care routine, the more clean living expands to other parts of your life — clean skin care, detoxed diets, and clear minds. 

Want to be a part of the change? Write a letter to your congressional representative urging them to support the Safer Beauty Bill Package. And you can start to take your hair care into your own hands with the help of existing clean beauty brands:  Innersense Organic Beauty discloses all ingredients without using “proprietary” blends. Our formulas have no phthalates, no parabens, nor do they contain ethoxylates, sulfates, silicones, 1,4 dioxane, petro compounds, propylene and butylene glycol, PEG, MEA, TEA, MIA, EDTA artificial dyes, synthetic fragrances and more. In fact, we restrict over 2,000 chemicals that are banned in the European Union. Your hair — and heart — will thank you.