Environmentalists Worry About Exposure To Chemicals

ABC Boston
Published November 4, 2008

Child psychologists and environmental activists alike are concerned about the increased marketing of makeup to children as young as three years-old.

The lure is clear. Young girls are drawn to makeup, marketed in colorful, cute packages bearing names like “bubble yum,” and Disney star “Hannah Montana.”

“It makes me feel like a teenager,” said one young girl we spoke with. But that, according to some experts, could be dangerous.

The Environmental Working Group recently tested 20 teenage girls from across the country for a buildup of chemicals that are found in many cosmetics. The group discovered that girls’ blood and urine tested positive for the presence of an average of 16 toxins.

While there is no definitive link that the chemicals did not come from other sources, as well, some of the chemicals have been linked to cancer. Others have been shown to alter hormones.

“That's really a great concern because during the teen years that's when bodies are maturing,” said Cindy Luppi of the group Clean Water Action, in Boston. “The brain, blood reproductive systems are developing.”

Local psychologist Sharon Maxwell has other concerns about girls getting hooked on makeup and beauty products.

“Think about the kind of daughter you want to end up having,” Maxwell said. “Do you want the sexiest girl in high school? Or do you want the most well-rounded, balanced girl we hope understands her sexuality in the context of all the other aspects of her life?”

An occasional bit of fun playing with makeup is fine, Maxwell believes, however, “It's quite another thing to make yourself up and go out there acting like a grownup with makeup on. That’s not play. That's the real world, you know.”

Maxwell believes that so-called “princess parties” advertised for young girls are “over the line."