Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (Paperback)

by Stacy Malkan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible? Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful they’ve kept themselves unregulated for decades. Not Just a Pretty Face chronicles the quest that led a group of health and environmental activists to the world’s largest cosmetics companies to ask some tough questions:

• Why do companies market themselves as pink ribbon leaders in the fight against breast cancer, yet use hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals that may contribute to that very disease?
• Why do products used by men and women of childbearing age contain chemicals linked to birth defects and infertility?

As doors slammed in their faces and the beauty myth peeled away, the industry’s toxic secrets began to emerge. This scathing investigation peels away less-than-lovely layers to expose an industry in dire need of an extreme makeover. The good news is that while the major multinational companies fight for their right to use hazardous chemicals, entrepreneurs are developing safer non-toxic technologies and building businesses on the values of health, justice and personal empowerment.

About the Author
Stacy Malkan is communications director of Health Care Without Harm, and a media strategist and cofounding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition working to eliminate hazardous chemicals from personal care products. Stacy is a former journalist and newspaper publisher, and a longtime environmental health advocate who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers; 1 edition (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865715742
• ISBN-13: 978-0865715745
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,780 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Beauty & Fashion > Cosmetics
  #18 in	Books > Reference > Consumer Guides
  #38 in	Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Natural Resources

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposes link between chemicals in cosmetics and cancer, October 20, 2007

By	Linda of Zosimos Botanicals (Gaithersburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Stacy Malkan bravely exposes the link between toxic ingredients in mass produced cosmetics to infertility and breast cancer. It is a call to action for people to join the grassroots movement that has been fighting for change. Malkan questions why the fight against breast cancer is focused on Curing those that have the disease rather than Preventing people from getting cancer in the first place. Numerous medical studies are cited throughout the book. Anyone who wears makeup should educate themselves about what chemicals are in the products they wear, this book gives the resources to do that. It also touts natural alternatives.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Another Pretty Face, November 6, 2007

By	momofngandag (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

Now I have a rational reason why I don't like make-up and other cosmetics. I bought this to give my daughters the first time they come to me asking to wear make-up. The teens in this book are so bold - what a great way to learn independence and empowerment - the cause is real, they are the market, and they will change it. I hope by the time my daughters are actually old enough to buy these products, the market will have transformed and they won't need to worry about chemicals in their shampoos, nail polish, and blush. Get this for everyone you know, male, female, young or old to uncover what's behind the cosmetics industry push to be "pretty."

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Revealing & Empowering, November 2, 2007

By	Teresa "Teresa" (Glenside, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This book gives users of everyday products information, resources and tools to make informed decisions and motivation for smarter purchasing. It uncovers truths about the lack of regulation for items we apply to our faces, heads, and bodies. Yet it also provides inspiration for making changes at the checkout lines and at the policy level. The book shares the personal stories of consumers affected by undisclosed ingredients, researchers investigating the dangers, and the author herself, who once was a make-up diva, as they are faced with revelations of the beauty industry. It is the book for people wanting to protect their health, make safe choices, and be empowered to do something. It's an easy read and should be in the hands of every teen and adult in America.