Killing us softly

It struck us as somewhat odd this morning, when we came across the following news item, that the Canadian government has announced the first steps towards labelling on cosmetics. Odd, because it was mostly the men in the Wenzel offices who seemed most intereted in finding out what was inside those delicately packaged creams and cleansers. Perhaps because of our relative unfamiliarly with women's products, make-up sort of being a vast unknown, or because the chemistry of things like self-heating masks fascinate us. Or, as the case may be, we have long suspected make-up as a source of bodily chemical intake, as made plain by the Toxic Nation report.

The government proposal, while allowing the use of blanket terms, such as "parfum" used here to describe any fragance used to mask an odour, instead of the specific fragrant ingredients, is still an important first step in a legislative area that has not seen movement in some thirty years.

Hopefully, the government will promote the development of education and awareness issues so that consumers can begin to make informed decisions. When we at Wenzel feel compelled to buy cosmetic products to deal with particular skin issues, we tend to go to all-natural, or mostly natural, companies like the international Lush (where we are big fans of their Veganese conditioner and Ambrosia shaving cream), or the more local Rocky Mountain Soap Company. Both of these companies take steps to label all of their ingredients, so at least we can be informed about what we're slapping on our skin.