Ventura’s claim of policy is that the FDA should be able to control the chemical substances that companies put into their products, particularly when the chemicals are known carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, or pose any other possible harm to the human body. In her article, Ventura admits that natural products don’t tend to be as satisfying as their harmful counterparts. The attractive properties of the beauty products that people desire are the result of the harmful substances being put into them. Moreover, the chemicals that companies use …show more content…
Nonetheless, Ventura states “but the truth is that some of the chemicals that improve our consumer experience can hurt our health” (Ventura, 2012). She supports this claim by providing an example from Siobhan O’Connor’s and Alexandra Spunt’s book No More Dirty Looks. The authors of the book experienced a harmful reaction to a keratin hair treatment that they purchased. The bad reaction was due to the presence of formaldehyde in the product and persisted indefinitely from its onset. Ventura asserts that the U.S is far behind in the matter of regulation of these products, with Europe already having banned over 1000 ingredients for use in personal care products while the U.S has only banned nine. In her own evaluation, Ventura came to the conclusion that while the companies who manufacture personal care products may claim that the level of toxic chemicals in them are so minute that they are …show more content…
During Ventura’s interview with O’Connor, she discovered that various daily personal hygiene and beauty products ranging from toothpaste and antiperspirant, to shampoo, lotion, and makeup contain ingredients that are linked to everything from acne and rashes, to brain damage, cancer and nervous system damage. Additionally, Ventura further supports her claim with evidence from O’Connor’s book where she states “scientists are finding that women with high levels of certain chemicals in their blood and urine - BPAs and phthalates are the two big ones - are having babies with genital birth defects in baby boys at much higher rates than people who have low levels of those chemicals” (Ventura, 2012). Ventura explains that there are not many laws regulating what substances companies use in their manufacturing processes, therefore giving the government insufficient power to ensure the safety of personal care products stocked on retail shelves. To combat such inadequacies, Ventura never leaves the house without her list of bad chemicals while shopping for