Cosmetics – A ‘Free’ Market
Perhaps the most ardent debate of the moment pertains to how little or how much the government controls and sanctions our daily life. While it grasps nearly every aspect of modernity, from business regulation, taxation, even healthcare accessibility, there is one prevalent market that remains less frigid – cosmetics.
One of the U.S. government's first forays into business, the Food and Drug Administration was created in 1904 and vested with litigation of companies that broke purity laws. One would think in 2022, our government could only ensure the purest of products are touching our bodies daily; however, in this rare case, our oft over-bearing lawmakers put that power in self-regulating cosmetics manufacturers.
A ‘regulated’ lotion and powdered wild, wild west.
Presently, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) defines cosmetics by their intended use, as "articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body...for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance" [FD&C Act, sec. 201(i)].
Under this definition:
o The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market, but there are laws and regulations that apply to cosmetics on the market in interstate commerce.
o Companies and individuals who manufacture or market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.
o Under the law, manufacturers are not required to register their cosmetic establishments or file their product formulations with FDA, and no registration number is required to import cosmetics into the United States.
In relatively low standards, these topical treatments merely need to be properly labeled to comply with regulations. But, many of us, untrained, do not know good or bad ingredients. Natural versus “naturally” created. Somatic Beauty does not hope to sell but educate all genders on the science of our skin and the reactions to current ingredients that saturate the market as well as those found simply in nature.
Source
Photograph: Irving Penn, Dewy Skin, New York, 2001 / Gelatin silver print © Condé Nast