The Blog
Last blog published in October 2017.
For more recent articles, visit The Tisserand Institute.
The Safe Cosmetics Act 2010
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (SCA 2010), now before the House of Representatives, is an inappropriate and seriously flawed attempt to make cosmetics safer. You can read the full text here. The thinking behind it is identical to a bill that was proposed (and defeated...
Is clary sage oil estrogenic?
According to Franchomme & Pénöel (1990), clary sage oil is estrogen-like, due to its content of sclareol, which is said to be structurally similar to human estrogens. The sclareol content of clary sage oil is given as 1.6-7.0%. In gas chromatographic analyses of...
Therapeutic grade oils – read all about it!
Dear Massage Magazine, I submitted an article, which you published as a Guest Editorial on page 22 of your March 2010 issue, entitled Essential Oils: Premium Quality Yields Premium Results. On page 10, your Contents Page, this was listed as: Guest Editorial: Read...
A rainy afternoon in Cambridge
In May 1967 my mother went to Paris to hear a lecture by Dr. Jean Valnet, and came back with a signed copy of his book. I was 19. At that time, this was the only in-print book on the subject of aromatherapy that was available in any language. Within ten years, I had...
P&G to reduce 1,4-dioxane
ANAHEIM, CA - On Friday March 12, 2010, the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a watchdog group with over 850,000 members, and The Green Patriot Working Group (GPWG), led by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman (in cooperation with The Campaign for...
A dash of TNT with that, madam?
One of the reasons given for supporting the Colorado bill was that the targeted ingredients are more stringently restricted in Europe than in the USA. It's true that the FDA has prohibited only 9 substances as cosmetic ingredients, compared to 1,233 currently...
Colorado bill fails
The Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act failed today at approximately 8:44 pm EST on a 7-to-4 vote.
Citrus oil threat
Among the ingredients that would be forbidden in personal care products in the event the Colorado bill passes are di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and 5-methoxypsoralen. DEHP is listed by the National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated to be a human...
Tunnel vision
People should expect reasonable and sensible protection from harm by those who regulate consumer products, and vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women may need special consideration. Therefore, cosmetics that are totally free of all carcinogens and...