{"id":5101,"date":"2025-03-24T23:14:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T03:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?post_type=program&p=5101"},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:00:05","slug":"beauty-inside-out","status":"publish","type":"program","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/programs\/beauty-inside-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Beauty Inside Out"},"template":"","class_list":["post-5101","program","type-program","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","program_tax-beauty-inside-out"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":5303,"program_type":false,"abstract":"Cosmetics and other personal care products are largely unregulated and many of the items you use every day contain toxic chemicals. Women of color face the greatest danger because they tend to use more of these products, due to racist beauty standards, and some of the most harmful products are marketed to them."},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_links","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_hero_links":{"title":"","abstract":"","links":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR COSMETICS, HAIR CARE, & OTHER PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCosmetics and personal care products are largely unregulated, and many of the items you use every day contain hazardous ingredients like mercury, lead, formaldehyde, and parabens. Toxic chemicals such as these can be found in products like hair relaxing shampoos, synthetic braiding hair, skin lightening creams, and eye makeup, to name a few. And ongoing daily exposure to hazardous products has been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, and developmental harm. Women of color face the greatest danger because they tend to use more of these products due to racist beauty standards and harmful marketing practices.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOur Beauty Inside Out campaign aims to reduce toxic exposure to chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products through research, education, and advocacy. WE ACT\u2019s campaign focuses on improving the health and well-being of communities of color who are most impacted by the harmful effects of toxic ingredients in products due to targeted marketing that perpetuates a racially biased standard of beauty<\/span>. Since the campaign's launch in 2019, we have hosted a number of webinars and other events which are available on our Beauty Inside Out YouTube playlist<\/a>.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Come to Our Beauty Justice Fair on March 6th<\/h3>\r\nCome to\u00a0WE ACT\u2019s 2026 Beauty Justice Fair<\/a>\u00a0and learn about the dangers, how you can help advocate for safer alternatives, and receive free non-toxic beauty items. You can also learn about colorism and racism in the beauty industry and the importance of passing the\u00a0New York State Beauty Justice Act<\/a>\u00a0while exploring hands-on activities, creative projects, and DIY stations. In addition, we will have local clean beauty businesses on-hand and offer free food, drinks, and merch!\r\n\r\nJoin us on Friday, March 6th from 5:00-8:00 PM in the NAC Ballroom at the City College of New York (160 Convent Ave.). Questions? Email\u00a0health@weact.org<\/a>.\u00a0RSVP<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Join Our Working Group<\/h3>\r\nIf you are interested in getting involved in the work we're doing regarding toxics in beauty and other personal care products, we encourage you to join our Healthy Homes Working Group<\/a>. We meet on the third Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM via Zoom. Click here<\/a>\u00a0to learn more and get involved!\r\n\r\n \r\n

Clean Beauty Database<\/h3>\r\nWe began our Beauty Inside Out campaign in 2019 to raise awareness and understanding of the health dangers of exposure to the toxic chemicals in personal care products, and we are now advocating for legislation such as the New York State Beauty Justice Act<\/a> to ban these harmful ingredients. We have even had some success with our bill banning PFAS and other toxic chemicals in menstrual products<\/a> being unanimously passed by the New York State legislature.\r\n\r\nThe question we are most often asked is what cosmetics and other personal care products are safe to use. To help our community answer that question, we have assembled a database<\/a> of products that do not contain toxic chemicals and yet are accessible to consumers. However, WE ACT does not officially endorse these products or brands, nor have we received any monetary compensation for including them in this database. We encourage you to make informed decisions and continue researching products that align with your own personal needs. Click here<\/a> to access the database, and be safe, healthy, and beautiful!\r\n\r\n \r\n

Results from Our Beauty Inside Out Survey<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nYou can read the paper published in Environmental Justice<\/em><\/a> or read the articles in Environmental Health News<\/a> and New York Amsterdam News<\/a> to see the results of our adult survey on the use of and attitudes towards chemical hair relaxers and skin lighteners among women and femme-identifying people of color in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. The findings from our adult survey compiled by Dr. Lariah Edwards, Environmental Health Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.\r\n

Download the Beauty Inside Out Survey Fact Sheet (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Mercury & the Health Risks of Toxic Skin Lightening Products<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nSkin lightening products are disproportionately marketed and used by women of color. These products can still be found in small beauty shops, salons, and 99-cent stores of predominantly Black, Indigenous, and immigrant neighborhoods of color. Unfortunately, many consumers of skin lighteners are unaware that these products are potential sources of toxic and hazardous chemicals.\r\n\r\nSkin lightening products come in many forms such as creams, soaps, lotions, pads, and injectables. Skin lighteners may also be labeled with terms such as \u201cbleaching\u201d, \u201cevening\u201d, \u201ccorrecting\u201d, and \u201cblemish-fading\u201d. Once these products are applied, the toxins contained in them can be absorbed into the body. Additionally, skin lighteners used by pregnant women also expose the unborn child to potentially toxic chemicals.\r\n\r\nTo protect yourself and your community, it is crucial to learn more about what toxic chemicals exist in your beauty and personal care products, and how to avoid them. People of color deserve to have access to non-toxic or non-dangerous personal care products, and to thrive and feel beautiful in every skin tone.\r\n\r\nWE ACT has been a leader in the fight to eliminate mercury from skin lightening products. In 2022, we helped pass the New York State\u2019s Mercury Out of Cosmetics law<\/a>, banning the sale \u2013 both in-store and online \u2013 of cosmetics and other personal care products that contain mercury. And in 2025, we identified beauty suppliers who were still selling these products in New York State and worked with the Attorney Generals Office, which took action<\/a> against the companies we had identified.\r\n\r\nClick here<\/a> to learn more about our work on mercury and efforts to keep it out of skin lighteners.","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"\nBeauty Inside Out - WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/programs\/beauty-inside-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beauty Inside Out - WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/programs\/beauty-inside-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T18:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/BIO.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"901\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"885\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/programs\/beauty-inside-out\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/programs\/beauty-inside-out\/\",\"name\":\"Beauty Inside Out - 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