Jun 22, 2013, 6:30 PM. When it comes to making sure cosmetics companies aren't poisoning us, Europe is apparently doing a much better job than the U.S. While there are a whole 10 cosmetics ingredients banned in the U.S., there are 1,372 in Europe. So, you know, minor discrepancy there.
http://www.refinery29.com/2013/06/48912/banned-cosmetics
(5) Olestra/Olean. This chemical additive is found in fat-free potato chips, “this fat substitute appears to cause a dramatic depletion of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids, robbing us of the vital micro-nutrients.” For this reason, many countries, including the U.K. and Canada, have banned it.
http://bodyunburdened.com/chemicals-banned-allowed-in-us-food/
In a 2007 study, the Environmental Working Group found that: 1  One in thirty products sold in the U.S. fails to meet industry or government safety standards.  Nearly four hundred products sold in the U.S., such as Crest Whitestrips and Neutrogena daily face cream, contain chemicals banned in Japan, Canada, and the EU.
http://ecosalon.com/american-beauty-why-europe-bans-cosmetics-america-wont/
Chemicals additives banned in other countries but allowed in US foods. All contain azodicarbonamide, a chemical primarily used in foam plastics but also used to bleach flour. Azodicarbonamide (which I’m not even going to pretend to know how to pronounce) is one of several chemicals banned in other countries but allowed in US foods.
http://bodyunburdened.com/chemicals-banned-allowed-in-us-food/
In addition, cosmetic manufacturers, by law, are prohibited from selling cosmetics that contain ingredients that present a hazard to the health of Canadians; must disclose all cosmetic ingredients to Health Canada; and are required to register their products.
http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/regulations/international-laws/
The EU banned ingredients that have been tested on animals, while those ingredients continue to be used in cosmetics this side of the pond. Nickel: Though nickel was named the Allergen of the Year in 2008 by The American Contact Dermatitis Society, there's nothing stopping it from appearing in makeup.
http://www.refinery29.com/2013/06/48912/banned-cosmetics
The Sheriff of Makeup Town. When it comes to cosmetics, the FDA is largely a paper tiger. Unlike with food and drug additives, the FDA has no authority to test chemicals in cosmetics, to require safety testing before products reach the consumer market, or to recall products.
http://ecosalon.com/american-beauty-why-europe-bans-cosmetics-america-wont/
The hazard-based, precautionary approach of the EU acknowledges that chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects simply don’t belong in cosmetics – regardless of the concentration of the chemical being used. The United States has much to learn from the EU example. The EU Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC) was adopted in January 2003 and most recently revised in 2013. The EU law bans 1,328 chemicals from cosmetics that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation, reproductive harm or birth defects. In comparison, the U.S. FDA has only banned or restricted 11 chemicals from cosmetics.
http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/regulations/international-laws/
A major reason is that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a 1976 law that protects humans and the environment from toxic industrial chemicals (pesticides, drugs and cosmetics are handled under different laws), has created so many hoops for regulators to jump through that it has often rendered them powerless.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/19/our-broken-congresss-latest-effort-to-fix-our-broken-toxic-chemicals-law/
But perhaps the secret to European healthy living lies in the fact that the European Union strictly regulates the extremely hazardous chemicals found in everyday products here in the United States. To date, the EU has banned 1,100 chemicals in cosmetics; the Food and Drug Administration in America has banned only ten. In fact, Cover Girl waterproof mascara contains the same ingredient (petroleum distillates, an oil by-product) as Dr. Scholl’s Wart Remover-both of which are illegal in Europe.
http://ecosalon.com/american-beauty-why-europe-bans-cosmetics-america-wont/
how many chemicals has the fda banned in cosmetics in the us?
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has banned 11 chemicals. 11 chemicals has the FDA banned in cosmetics in the us.  