Jessica Assaf looks like an ordinary teenager; this early February day she wears a beige hooded sweater, a small top underneath and tight jeans. Every highlighted piece of her hair lays perfectly where it should. Her dark blue eyes are framed with a thick layer of charcoal eyeliner and her eyelashes are covered with mascara.

Yet, she is quite unusual because none of the products she uses contains toxic chemicals and she knows that it’s not enough to trust the companies’ own labels when it comes to that decision.

“It’s a matter of what you know and what you don’t know,” she says.

And she argues the difference could play a role in life or death.

Assaf, 17, used to think that cancer, among other diseases, was something inevitable – something that just happens to people. Then she got involved with Search for the Cause, an organization based in Marin whose foremost purpose is to investigate how exposure in our daily lives can increase the risk of cancer. Assaf, who is one of the front figures for Teens for Safe Cosmetics, a teen led coalition and program under Search for the Cause, started to realize how strongly people’s health is connected with their environment – the toxins they inhale, eat, drink and smear on their bodies everyday - 24/7.

Assaf also used to take for granted that the beauty products she bought and wore were tested and approved by the FDA before brought to the shelves. Then she learned that only 11 percent of 10,500 products on the market has been assessed for safety by the FDA.

The average person uses between 12 and 15 personal care products every day, which adds up to around 200 chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis – and that’s only from cosmetics.

The European Union has banned 1,100 ingredients believed to be carcinogenic; the FDA has so far only restricted the use of three chemicals and prohibited eight.
For Assaf, it’s much better to be safe than sorry. If a product is shown to be harmful or in case it has been misbranded, the FDA can react, but Assaf doesn’t believe that’s enough to protect U.S. citizens. She wants legislative changes, and on her way there she rallies more and more supporters. She makes appearances wherever she can to educate people about the issue and, she says she‘s having a blast.

With a steady gaze and a confident voice Assaf introduces the guests at the Second Annual Teens for Safe Cosmetics Summit at the Art and Garden Center in Marin County. The mid-day sun casts a golden shine on the peach colored room as this young woman receives praise from several of the attendees working closely with Assaf in her quest.

The “Dirty Dozen” is a term that often comes up this day. It’s a list of chemicals found in products people use on a daily basis that should be avoided. One of them is Phtalates; present in deodorant, nail polish, fragrance, hair spray, gel and lotions, associated with birth defects in boys and potential damage to the liver, kidneys, and lungs. Another one on the list is Parabens, which is used as preservatives and has been found in breast tumors. Talc, a primary ingredient in powder eye shadow, perfumed powder, baby powder, deodorant and soap, is a proven carcinogen and is believed to cause ovarian and lung cancer.

Dr. Maggie Louie, one of the panelists and an assistant professor at the Dominican University, explains that the chemicals absorbed into our bodies stay in the fat tissue and will have a toxic effect over time. A little bump sticks out underneath her black, long dress; she is pregnant with her second child and she is highly concerned with what products she buys.

“I got involved because of Jessica,” Dr. Louie says. “She is my source of inspiration.”
Jessica came to the department of chemistry where Dr. Louie works and talked about the possible carcinogenic effects of personal care products. That was the start of close collaboration between the two to advance the research in the cause and effect relationship between toxic chemicals and human health.

Another woman who works with a similar mission is Dr. Rebecca Sutton. She is one of the scientists at the Environmental Working Groups, a Washington D.C. based grassroots organization that plays a big role in providing science and educational tools for advocacy work against environmental pollutions.

Dr. Sutton refutes a common argument that the amounts of chemicals entering our bodies from cosmetics are so small that they can’t possibly harm a human being.
“We’re not just exposed to one chemical, our bodies absorb a soup of them everyday,” she says. “We don’t know enough on how they affect our bodies when they interact –but we should be concerned.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no substantial proof that chemicals in personal care products can cause cancer. And there isn’t. The research has not yet been able to prove their theories. The facts available now are based on studies on one chemical at a time and how they react in our bodies. It’s not until recently that scientists are testing mixtures of chemicals, says Dr. Sutton.

Assaf and the other guests at the Summit will not take any more risk and follow the Precautionary Principle, which essentially is about taking action before it’s too late.
Bruce Akers, a chemist and consultant to companies who want to go “greener," thinks regulations are too burdensome and people should first of all use their consumer power to make changes.

“Do the research and spend money on products that are good,” he says. “Take care of yourself – there’s an option.”

However, it’s not possible for everyone to use that power. In lower-income neighborhoods there are often no alternatives.

“There are no WholeFoods Markets or elephants pharmacies in the Bayview for instance,” says Brenda Salgado, program manager at Breast Cancer Action, a non-profit organization that, besides providing information to people with cancer, advocates for policy changes directed at “achieving true prevention through understanding and eliminating the causes of breast cancer.”

Salgado believes change can happen if people would organize themselves within their own communities and request that their local food stores or pharmacies start carrying more health conscious alternatives.

“The cosmetics companies could then no longer ignore the problem,” she says. “And they would have to spend more money on what’s in the product instead of how it looks.”

Assaf is only 16 and too young to vote, but through advocacy work she has found power in bringing people together and passionately works for an issue she believes in.

In the summer of 2005 she and some teens lobbied for a cosmetics safety bill in Sacramento. Their hard work paid off in Arnold Schwarzenegger signing the legislation into state law, requiring cosmetics companies to report use of any potentially hazardous ingredients to the California State Department of Health Services.

More and more people are becoming aware of these issues and a few politicians are supporting the cause as well. California State Assemblyman Jared Huffman is one of them. He has pledged to do what he can to push for a federal law.

However, there is yet to see if the FDA is going to use their newly won power and stand up against the beauty industry and request fair game, along with Assaf and the other activists who believe that no one should have to choose beauty over health.