beauty industry – The Concordian

The controversy behind talc-based makeup

Talc-based makeup is not as dangerous as you think.

Have you ever thought that makeup might be potentially harmful to your health? Talc-based makeup products have raised safety concerns due to potential contamination with asbestos. The HBO Max investigative documentary Not So Pretty explores the danger of talc, a chemical ingredient found in most of our daily makeup products, and its link to cancer.

The first episode on makeup introduced the sensational stories of two women—- Corrin Otillio, who believed that her makeup is contaminated with, and a mother who exposed Claire’s makeup for having asbestos in their kids’ makeup sets.

Otillio sent all her makeup products to the laboratory after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The results showed that 10 out of the 25 products had traces of asbestos. Surprisingly, the directors of this episode invited lawyers and a journalist to support the case of Otillio, rather than having a cosmetic chemist and a toxicologist speak on this case and educate the audience on the potential risks of chemical ingredients in makeup.

I think that the documentary is clearly biased due to the lack of scientific evidence presented and their choice of experts. Another point that I find intriguing is that an episode that is strictly supposed to focus on makeup, was mostly spent talking about the case of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, a case that has way more solid evidence of causing harm than makeup.

India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner, a Concordia student in art history and studio arts, says “I have heard of talc being dangerous due to a Johnson & Johnson lawsuit, but I or anyone I know has never had any reaction to talc from makeup.”

A lot of women who have decided to eliminate talc from their makeup routine have been using TikTok as a platform to raise awareness, by posting videos of themselves throwing out their makeup products using #notsopretty. This shows how this documentary has successfully influenced much of its audience into buying clean beauty products.

It is important to mention that at the end of the episode, there was a list of recommended applications that makeup consumers could download to scan their products and find out whether their ingredients are harmful. I find that the controversy over talc-based makeup products is just a marketing technique that clean beauty brands have implemented to make their way into a highly competitive market.

In reality, there hasn’t been enough evidence to prove that the level of talc in makeup products is high enough to cause cancer. This means that the anecdotes about women who blame their ovarian cancer or mesothelioma on makeup are just outliers.

Besides, people who contract diseases from asbestos are those who work in construction sites or environments that contain high levels of asbestos particles. I think that Not So Pretty is a partial documentary that simply wanted to promote clean beauty products by capitalizing on makeup consumers’ fear of being diagnosed with cancer.

Racial segregation of Black people continues, and it’s in the hair salons

From more than 200 years of slavery in Canada, to the racial segregation in schools, employment, housing, healthcare, and more, the Black community continues to be segregated today. Racial inequality has become an important and prevalent discussion in our current political climate. One instance that racism can still be seen in contemporary Canada is through beauty standards, and we must address this.

Our premier denies systemic racism’s existence here in Quebec; however, this is highly questionable. Systemic racism refers to the ways and ideas that perpetuate white supremacy. Suppose systemic racism didn’t exist in our province — why then, for example, are Black women required to go to different hair salons specializing in coily, kinky, and natural hair because they can’t be properly serviced at “regular” hair salons?

Five months ago, Nancy Falaise, a hairdresser who owns a salon in Plateau Mont-Royal, started a petition demanding change. In her petition, she insists that the Ministry of Education and Higher Education revisit the Hairstyling Program Standards of Quebec and mandate that all hairstyling institutions include the education and training on Black textured hair. Let’s normalize all hair types and put an end to the disparity found in hair salons.

This is strongly discriminatory, and evidence that there’s still racial segregation in our modern day. It is not fair that someone like me, with type one (straight) hair, can walk freely into any hair salon and get service, whereas Black women with their natural hair have to go to specific hair salons. When did we normalize this kind of everyday-segregation?

Isabelle Joseph , who works in the beauty industry, notices the stigma around Black hair. She says women often enter the store and buy products that different hair stylists recommend but are damaging for their hair type. Joseph emphasizes that even at her job, they don’t get training for her hair type.

“You cannot call yourself a hairdresser or a hairstylist if you have no ounce of knowledge about hair types that are not the typical hair type,” stated Joseph.

She said that anyone who works in a hair salon who can’t work on Black hair should not advertise themselves as a hairstylist. Instead, she suggests hairstylists claim they are specialists in straight hair or even loose curls.

“You can’t claim that term because you are excluding us,” points out Joseph.

Joseph explains that by saying you’re a hairstylist, without even considering a whole group of people whose hair you can’t work on, is problematic.

“It’s really frustrating for me. I live outside of Montreal, and if I want to get my hair professionally done, I would have to drive an hour, whereas women with any other hair type can easily walk in any salon,” said Reyanne Desir, who has tight, corkscrew-like curls (type 3C).

“I don’t bother going to any hair salons because I don’t trust hairdressers to touch my hair if they don’t know anything about my hair type,” shared Elisabeth Ndeffo.

The stigma and discrimination around Black hair in beauty salons is unjustifiable. Black women should have the same opportunity and equal treatment as all the others with type one to two (straight to wavy) hair regardless of their natural hair type. The Black community has long faced injustice, and it’s time we take action and address all the areas where they continue to face discrimination.

Graphic by @the.beta.lab