Regardless, suspicions grow each time the news media jump on a study that finds chemically linked tumors growing in lab animals. People want to know what's being done to protect their own safety. Unfortunately, the press picks these stories up and it takes a long time to get things sorted out in the aftermath of coverage. There's no obvious link. There is no such thing as a universal safety test for cosmetics, according to Cosmetics and Toiletries, a journal for chemists in the cosmetics industry.
Cosmetic companies are ultimately responsible for choosing how to test new products.
Testing a compound for possible carcinogenic effects involves exposing many test subjects to various concentrations of a compound. While some cases suggest that cancer caused by a large dose could also be caused by a smaller dose, only high-dose data are legally accepted as valid, according to Cosmetics and Toiletries. The journal says companies must test a product for potential systemic effects, such as the item's likelihood of damaging DNA or causing cancer or birth defects. The assumption is that if an ingredient causes any of these problems in an animal, it will likely cause the same problem in people. But assumptions do not make reality.