Jonquilyn Hill

This is Explained to Me.

I'm JQ.

And we're talking about the chemicals lurking in our cosmetics.

Ami Zoda is a professor of environmental health studies at Columbia University.

And she says that while the word cosmetics may make us think of blush and lipstick, it's way bigger than that.

How does cosmetic regulation work in the U.S.?

Walk me through it.

You're a professor of environmental health studies and you write about, quote, the environmental injustice of beauty.

Can you explain what that means?

What do you mean when you say that?

When you look at the back of a bottle of shampoo and you see that list of ingredients, it can be like, oh my gosh, I need a PhD in biochem to read this.

How do I understand what's going on there and what I should be avoiding?

Okay, give me the example of one cosmetic and walk me through what I should look out for.

Okay.

So sometimes the fact that my foundation slips, maybe not a bad thing.

That's it for this week.

Special thanks to the folks at Anointed Hairbraiding.

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