The Ugly Side of Cosmetics Stacy Malkan, the face behind the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, is working to expose the truth behind your favourite beauty products. Shelagh McNally Stacy Malkan has been campaigning for safer cosmetics since 2002. In her book Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (New Society Publishers, 2007), an expos about the personal care products we use on a daily basis, Malkan tells the inside story of the U.S.-based Campaign For Safe Cosmetics , a coalition of health and environmental groups working to eliminate toxic chemicals from the products we use, which she helped to found. The Campaign has had some major successes. Since it first published its "Not to Pretty Report" in 2002, which examined phthalate levels in common cosmetics, many of the leading cosmetic manufacturers have started to eliminate phthalates, a chemical that can cause reproductive and developmental harm; also, its Compact for Safe Cosmetics , a pledge to make products safe and to improve transparency around cosmetic ingredients and their safety, now boasts more than 1,000 signees. (The organization maintains a searchable database of signees here .) But the challenges, especially in the U.S., where regulations are still weak, are formidable. In Canada, Health Canada maintains a Cosmetic Ingredient "Hotlist" -- a list of ingredients that are restricted or prohibited in cosmetics. Furthermore, it requires manufacturers to disclose ingredients to consumers on the product's packaging. However, consumers -- and especially women of childbearing age -- need to be