Representatives Janice Schakowsky (IL), Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Edward Markey (MA), introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 to the House July 20, which hopes to expand the FDA’s powers to regulate the ingredients in cosmetics.
The FDA does not currently have authority to regulate the materials used by cosmetics companies in their products prior to the release of the product. The FDA requires individuals to report an adverse event in order to evaluate and assess a specific ingredient further, but the new bill in the House of Representatives hopes to require increased regulation.
“It is the responsibility of cosmetic manufacturers to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients in their products prior to market,” said Linda Katz, director for the Office of Cosmetics and Colors of the FDA.
The bill would be an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the regulation of cosmetics, requiring that companies establish a list of prohibited or restricted ingredients and a list of ingredients that are safe without limits for use in cosmetics. It also requires that manufacturers use minimum data requirements and test protocols assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients.
According to an FDA Law Blog article written July 21 by Kurt R. Karst, there is no requirement that a cosmetic establishment register with FDA or that a cosmetic ingredient get approved from or list with the FDA prior to use in production or distribution.
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 has been referred both to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Education and Labor.
According to a May 15, 2007 press release by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), there are many dangerous materials that people use without knowing the potential harm, and the bill can help protect consumers from the danger of cosmetics.
“Under federal law, companies can put virtually anything they wish into personal care products, and many of them do,”  said EWG Research vice president Jane Houlihan in the press release. “Mercury, lead, and placenta extract — all of these and many other hazardous materials are in products that millions of Americans, including children, use every day.”
To raise awareness, the EWG has created Skin Deep, a website that gives consumers brand-by-brand safety ratings for personal-care products in order to facilitate easy access of products’ risks in detail and allow individuals to make informed decisions based on the potential for harm.
“Mothers shouldn’t have to worry about what is in the baby lotion they use, and now they don’t have to,” Houlihan said.  “The new Skin Deep database provides information on nearly 25,000 personal-care products, so people can find out for themselves which products are the best choices for them and their families.”
The proven risks include everything from neurotoxicity, which is the disruption of the nervous system and the deterioration of key cells that transmit to the brain, to cancer.
“I think that girls rely on makeup too much and are not aware of the risks,” junior Kamran Partovi said.
 After learning the risks of cosmetics, some students have reevaluated their choices in choosing makeup.
“I think it depends on what kind of makeup you use,” sophomore Aveeda Biparva said. “If I knew my makeup caused cancer, I’d stop using it.”
Activist and filmmaker Annie Leonard and Free Range Graphics produced a seven-minute video called “The Story of Cosmetics” to gain support for the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 and reveal the toxic side of the beauty industry.
“You can’t change your genetics, but you can change your habits,” said Eva Szabo, chief of the NIH Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Cancer Research Group.