Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry

by Stacy Malkan

"This book should be read by women and men who have trusted, for too long, the companies whose products get inside their bodies and their minds." --Ralph Nader, political activist and consumer advocate

Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible?

Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful that they've kept themselves unregulated for decades.

Not one...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865715742
• ISBN13: 9780865715745
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for Women of ALL Ages

Every woman should read, learn and act so they can protect themselves, their families and their friends. Stacy offers compelling incites into a business that could change if the market DEMANDED it to. We must learn from Stacy's experiences so we can change the way our products are manufactured and marketed.

Just Another Pretty Face

Now I have a rational reason why I don't like make-up and other cosmetics. I bought this to give my daughters the first time they come to me asking to wear make-up. The teens in this book are so bold - what a great way to learn independence and empowerment - the cause is real, they are the market, and they will change it. I hope by the time my daughters are actually old enough to buy these products, the market will have transformed and they won't need to worry about chemicals in their shampoos, nail polish, and blush. Get this for everyone you know, male, female, young or old to uncover what's behind the cosmetics industry push to be "pretty."

A great read, must-have information!

This book isn't just fascinating because of all the information it provides - it's also full of wonderful stories told with a very personal touch. It's easy to read, interesting, and a must-have for any woman who wants to understand how the cosmetics industry is impacting our health. For an insider's look at the connections between women's rights, chemical pollution, and consumer safety, this book is a first-rate read!

Every Teen Needs a Copy of This Book

Selling skin whiteners, shampoos, lipstick and other products with potentially dangerous ingredients to youth all over the world continues an unfortunate corporate pattern of placing greed over safety and responsibility. Meanwhile, the problem is not just corporate decision-making. Too many consumers continue to accept cosmetic industry propaganda, ignoring the science that says that many of the products we are using to beautify ourselves are poisonous to us and to our offspring as well. Stacy Malkan's book, "Not Just a Pretty Face," offers an insider's view of the five-year campaign by environmental and health groups to pressure the U.S. cosmetics industry to use safer ingredients. It is a fast read, but very well documented. And the best part is that it does not end by leaving us in a pool of anxiety, scared to touch even a bar of soap. Readers are uplifted by stories of mothers who organized and fought back on behalf of their children, activists from Women's Voices for the Earth who dressed up as "Miss Treatment" to publicize their concerns, and San Francisco teenagers who wore prom dresses and combat boots at their "Project Prom" rally in Union Square to declare their war on toxic chemicals. I'm going to order a copy for all of my cosmetics-obsessed younger relatives this holiday season, and you should, too. Even if the only products you use on a regular basis are deodorant and shampoo, you cannot afford to miss this expose on how toxins are hurting our health and the health of our offspring.

Exposes link between chemicals in cosmetics and cancer

Stacy Malkan bravely exposes the link between toxic ingredients in mass produced cosmetics to infertility and breast cancer. It is a call to action for people to join the grassroots movement that has been fighting for change. Malkan questions why the fight against breast cancer is focused on Curing those that have the disease rather than Preventing people from getting cancer in the first place. Numerous medical studies are cited throughout the book. Anyone who wears makeup should educate themselves about what chemicals are in the products they wear, this book gives the resources to do that. It also touts natural alternatives.