by Jennifer Porter Gore
Almost 80% of beauty and personal care products marketed to Black women, like makeup and hair styling aids, are chock full of chemicals — including preservatives and undisclosed fragrances that make them moderately to severely hazardous, according to a new report.
Despite consumer and health advocate campaigns, hair relaxers for Black women are still among the most toxic products on the market, according to the report by Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit focused on improving individuals’ health by improving the ecosystem and educating consumers about chemical substances in consumer goods.
“The good news is that between 2016 and 2025, we saw a decline in use for eight out of nine of the most hazardous ingredients,” says Dr. Alexa Friedman, a senior scientist at EWG. “But we’re still seeing some harmful ingredients today.”
Together with the nonprofit organization BLK +GRN, EWG evaluated more than 4,000 beauty products unique to Black women — particularly hair-care and makeup products. The evaluation provided ratings based on their level of ingredient toxicity and cataloged in a database, Skin Deep, to help consumers make informed choices about what they apply to their hair or skin.
EWG’s online Skin Deep cosmetics database lists widely used beauty and personal care products, including specific brand names and manufacturers.
Dr. Kristian Edwards, president and CEO of BLK+GRN, started the nonprofit after learning from EWG’s 2016 report that the products marketed to Black people are more toxic than the products marketed to everyone else. BLK +GRN, pronounced “Black and Green,” promotes non-toxic products for women and supports Black artisans who create toxin-free cosmetics. The EWG report, which Edwards co-authored, investigated hazards in products marketed to Black women, finding persistent disparities since 2016.
The EWG’s analysis updates the 2016 report but finds that beauty products marketed to Black women still have higher levels of toxins than those targeting other demographics. The toxic ingredients persist in hair care products, some moisturizers, and certain types of makeup.
Black women may have a tougher time finding low-hazard options.
In general, eyeshadows, hair styling aids, hair serums, and shampoos racked up more hazardous scores than other products listed in the Skin Deep database. Bar soap, facial powder, and body wash products showed no high-hazard chemicals.
In 2025, 80% of these products scored moderate to high hazard in the Skin Deep database. Usage of eight of the nine most hazardous ingredients from 2016 declined, except for undisclosed fragrances, which increased.
But products marketed to Black women — conditioners or straighteners for textured hair, skin-toned makeup, or personal care products with Black women on the packaging — had worse scores than products marketed to all women.
For example, blush, eyeshadow, and lipgloss for Black customers generally scored worse, with higher toxicity. So, Black women may have a tougher time finding low-hazard options.
Only 21% of the more than 4,000 beauty and personal care products marketed to Black women in EWG’s Skin Deep database have a low-hazard rating. But just over 27% of products not specifically marketed to Black consumers were identified as low hazard.
Approximately 5% of the products marketed to Black consumers are rated as highly hazardous.
What Exactly Is a Fragrance?
While the use of some hazardous ingredients, such as chemical preservatives like parabens, has declined, the improvement is offset by an increase in undisclosed fragrances in the products. Chemical fragrances have been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and other health risks.
“One of my concerns is the increased use of fragrances,” says Edwards, “because you can use the word fragrance, and they include a lot of different chemicals in them.”
Friedman agreed, adding, “We’re not only just seeing an increase in undisclosed fragrance, which is concerning because of the lack of transparency, but there are also actual fragrance ingredients listed on packages that can be associated with health concerns.”
The word “fragrance” can apply to as many as 300 different ingredients that are not required in the U.S. to be listed on the product label. One fragrance ingredient, Liliel, is banned in the European Union because of concerns it could cause reproductive harm and fertility damage. California will ban the use of Liliel in 2027.
“We don’t say all fragrance is bad, but we do believe that consumers should know what is in their products, and that includes not just having that fragrance label on the package,” says Friedman. “It’s really knowing what exactly is in that fragrance blend.”
The report also examined 27 at-home use hair relaxers — almost double the 15 hair relaxers included in the 2016 report. Hair relaxers are still some of the most hazardous products in EWG’s database.
But they’re now only moderately hazardous and have a rating of five instead of being highly hazardous, with a score of eight in EWG’s last report. The remaining toxic ingredients include formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, found in almost 26% of the relaxer products.
Professional hair smoothing treatments, such as Brazilian blowouts, weren’t examined since they are used differently and may contain different ingredients than hair relaxers that are sold directly to consumers.
The EWG report highlights the need for transparency and safer alternatives and points out that six out of 11 harmful ingredients still prevalent are preservatives, and two are fragrances.
Source: Seattle Medium
