豆知识 2011-08-21&08-27 化妆品的故事 (2/3)

 One thing we do know is that they’re getting inside us. I had my body's toxicity² levels tested and I’m loaded with things like mercury, flame retardants, triclosan and lead! We all are. Even babies are being born pre-polluted. 

 

Now I know we can't live in a lead free world, but do we have to put lead in our lipstick³? I don't know. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I just bought the wrong thing. At the store, the choices seem endless. I can get lipstick in 49 shades or shampoo for hair that's too dry, oily, fine, limp or frizzy, but what about the choices that really matter? Like the choice to buy products that are safe. It turns out the important decisions don't happen when I choose to take a product off the shelf. They happen when companies and governments decide what products should go on the shelves. 

 

So who are these companies? This is Procter & Gamble. They’re the ones offering me Herbal Essences, the number two shampoo in the country. It contains toxic¹ petro chemicals made from oil. Since when is oil an herb? On cosmetics⁴ labels, words like “herbal”, “natural”, even “organic” have no legal definition. That means anybody can put anything in a bottle and call it natural. And they do. I mean, can you image a top seller called “Petro Essences”? Gross. What’s even nastier are hair relaxers marketed to five-year olds and skin whitening creams. These are super toxic both in their ingredients and in the messages they send about what beauty is. Oh, here is Estee Lauder offering me a chance to help find a cure for breast cancer. That's nice. But wait, they’re also using chemicals linked to cancer. Don’t you think the best way for Estee Lauder to fight cancer is to stop using those chemicals in the first place? So really, I get to choose between meaningless claims on a bottle. But these guys get the real choice about what goes into those bottles. And that happens back here, at the factories where they’re formulated⁵. 

 

Why do the makers⁶ of these products use all these toxics⁷? Are they trying to poison us? No, they’re just working from a 1950s mindset when people were totally swiped up in better their living through chemistry. In all that excitement, they forgot to worry about human health impacts. That was years ago, and they are still using the same old toxic chemicals. Today, big cosmetics companies say the doses of poison in their products are small enough to be harmless. Yeah, maybe if you use them once a year! I guess they never get out and see that their products are being used and combined with other products every day: a little toxic dose under your arms, a little more on your hair, on your lips. And workers in nail and hair salons⁸ get dosed all day long!

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 toxicity   

n.毒性，毒力

参考例句：

• The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
• Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

3 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

4 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

5 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 toxics   

n.毒物（toxic的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Corrosives are generally toxic, so follow the precautions cited in the following section on toxics. 腐蚀剂一般来说是有毒的，所以请遵守下文关于毒品的防范措施。 来自互联网
• Objective To evaluate the diagnostic methods and treatment of gastric ulcer perforating with toxics tubular necrosis. 目的探讨胃溃疡穿孔合并中毒性肾小管坏死的诊断方法与治疗方案。 来自互联网

8 salons   

n.（营业性质的）店( salon的名词复数 )；厅；沙龙（旧时在上流社会女主人家的例行聚会或聚会场所）；（大宅中的）客厅

参考例句：

• He used to attend to his literary salons. 他过去常常去参加他的文学沙龙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Conspiracy theories about Jewish financiers were the talk of Paris salons. 犹太金融家阴谋论成为巴黎沙龙的话题。 来自互联网