review by Michael R. Bussière
Toxic Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder casual tour around a high-end A mall like the Rideau Centre reveals the scale of the cosmetics
lawyers, regulators and victims, explore the links between off-the-shelf products and hormonal disruption in baby boys, industry in the western world. A 2018 developmental delays, low sperm count, market projection anticipated that total infertility, cancer, diabetes, obesity and sales of beauty and skin-care protects, skin disease. The film incorporates overwhelmingly targeting women, two documentary narratives to further would top a staggering $C20 billion in Ellis draws upon an impressive roster of humanize the case against what Ellis Canada alone in 2020. Mac, Sephora, experts to build her case, and a terrifying calls “Big Cosmetics”. One is a set of Nordstroms, Kiehl’s, The Body Shop, storyline derived from decades of news class-action lawsuits, ongoing in the and the latest addition, Aesop, are all reports dating back to 1982, when US and another allowed to proceed signifiers of a huge effort to get women world-renowned epidemiologist, Dr. by the Québec Superior Court in to paint their faces, nails, and hair to Daniel Cramer, linked Johnson & 2018, alleging damages by Johnson and an extent never before seen off the Johnson’s baby powder to ovarian Johnson. Ellis sums up the concern Broadway stage, all while fighting the cancer. J&J ignored the evidence. In by asking, “If the most trusted brand appearance of ageing. Somehow, the in the world could cause cancer, appearance-faking process has been what other products are we using linked to women’s empowerment. daily that could cause harm?” The If the most trusted brand in An award-winning film by writer/ second, and even more shocking the world could cause cancer, director Phyliss Ellis exposes an aspect to the film is bravely even more sinister side to the whole what other products are we using daily expressed by an experiment manipulative affair. conducted by Boston University that could cause harm? medical student Mymy Nguyen, Toxic Beauty is Ellis’s documentary who applies over 27 products exposé about the hidden health while scientists monitor the impact. risks of applying a loosely-regulated, Think Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 ever-growing catalogue of products film Super Size Me! 2004, UK scientist Dr. Philippa Darbre to one’s epidermis, the evolutionary found parabens, a chemical preservative purpose of which is to protect the body Perhaps the most important issue in the in many cosmetics, in breast tissue. In from infections and environmental film is posed by scientist Dr. Ami Zota 2018, the American National Institute pathogens. Canada’s Food and Drugs who suggests changing “these beauty of Health examined the association Act defines a cosmetic as "any between “usage patterns of beauty, hair, norms so women don’t have to choose substance or mixture of substances, and skin-related personal care products between their health and trying to look manufactured, sold or represented for beautiful according to these arbitrary and breast cancer.” "Moderate" and use in cleansing, improving or altering standards.” It seems that every decade "frequent" users of both beauty and the complexion, skin, hair or teeth and since David Bowie first donned, then skin care products had increased risk of includes deodorants and perfumes." dropped, theatrical make-up in the breast cancer relative to "infrequent" Regulations require warnings about any early 1970s, fashionistas predict that users. The study did not draw specific product that may cause skin irritation men will embrace cosmetics. It has links to chemicals, and did not consider or inflammation, and chemicals such never happened, and God forbid it ever correlated behaviours, but it did sound as mercury or its salts and chloroform will. The dangers, the falsehood, and some pretty loud alarm bells. are prohibited from what must be a the environmental and health impacts displayed ingredients list.The American as articulated by Ellis’s brilliant film Ellis’s interviewees, among them industry is entirely self-regulating. Ellis exceptionally knowledgeable scientists, need to be curtailed, not expanded n argues that this falls far short of what new scientific evidence is revealing to be a cesspool of toxic health threats. Her film poses the question: “Are cosmetics and personal care products making us sick?”
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