LISTEN: A new study from the Environmental Working Group suggests nearly 80% of the beauty products marketed to Black women are linked to elevated risks of diseases like breast and uterine cancer. GPB’s Ellen Eldridge has more.
Scientists analyzed more than 4,000 products like makeup, shampoo, hair relaxers and dyes, and found that 74% presented moderate to high health hazard risks.
Hair relaxers remained one of the more hazardous product categories, but, "one good thing that we did see in between our 2016 and our 2025 report is that the average rating for hair relaxers went from an 8, which would be a high hazard in our database, to a 5, which is a moderate hazard," said the Environmental Working Group's Alexa Friedman, who co-authored the study.
The group's free Skin Deep database ranks products from 1 to 10 based on their ingredient and product safety, with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst.
The 2016 report identified several hazardous ingredients that, nearly 10 years later, 8 out of 9 of those hazardous ingredients have decreased in use substantially.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has the authority generally to regulate cosmetic products and their ingredients, but the regulations stop pretty short, she said. Personal care products like cosmetics and shampoos don't have to prove their safety before going to market.
In 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Act (MoCA) updated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by requiring better labeling and disclosure of some allergens.
"That gives a little bit more power to the FDA to substantiate the safety of personal care products," she said. "But it still overall falls short."
Products that were marketed toward Black women had phrases such as "for use on melanated skin" or for certain curl or textured hair patterns, she said.
"When those products have that marketing language, 80% of them scored moderate to high hazard in our database," Friedman said. "When we look at products without that demographic marketing, we still see that 74% of those products score moderate to high hazard. But that difference of six percentage points, you know, is something that should be considered."
The report makes recommendations for safer alternatives and offers resources for people to reduce their chemical exposure, not only in their personal care product but also in their drinking water or in their cleaning products, she said.
"We are not trying to dictate what someone should or shouldn't use" Friedman said. "The goal of this report is to empower consumers to make decisions and find safer alternatives where they would like."
