The Dangers of Chasing Youth: Regulating the Use of Nanoparticles in Anti-Aging Products
![handle is hein.journals/jltp2008 and id is 203 raw text is: THE DANGERS OF CHASING YOUTH:
REGULATING THE USE OF
NANOPARTICLES IN ANTI-AGING
PRODUCTS
Nicole Abramowitz*
I. INTRODUCTION
Forty is the new thirty. This statement succinctly describes the trend of
youthful-looking middle-aged men and women in society today. How do
people reverse the aging process to appear ten (or even more) years
younger? Plastic surgery is a possible method, but it is expensive and
potentially dangerous.1 Topically-applied cosmetic products that boast anti-
2
aging properties are more economical and thus more widely used. They are
also safer and less invasive. Or are they? Often topically applied cosmetics
contain nanoparticles that may damage a user's skin or other parts of the
body.3 This note will discuss the potential dangers associated with the use of
nanoparticles in cosmetic products, especially anti-aging products, and the lack
of governmental regulation of their use. It will also address the potential
failure of the legal system to hold companies responsible for harm to
consumers caused by nanoparticles in their products.
J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 2008; B.A., University of Iowa, Political Science and
International Studies, 2005.
1. One source states that the average facelift costs between $7,000 and $9,000.
InfoPlasticSurgery.com, Cost of Plastic Surgery, http://www.infoplasticsurgery.com/cost.htrnl (last visited
Apr. 8, 2008). Botched surgery can have serious harmful consequences. See, e.g., CosmeticSurgery.com,
When Plastic Surgery Goes Bad, http://www.cosmeticsurgery.com/articles/archive/an-48/ (last visited Apr. 8,
2008).
2. Topically-applied anti-aging cosmetics can cost as little as fifty dollars. See, e.g., Lancbme,
http://www.lancome-usa.comskincare/moisturizers/hydra-zen-cream.htm (last visited Apr. 8, 2008).
3. See generally THE ROYAL SOC'Y & THE ROYAL ACAD. OF ENG'G, NANOSCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGIES: OPPORTUNITIES AND UNCERTAINTIES (2004), available at http://www.nanotec.org.uk/report/
Nano%20report%202004%20fin.pdf [hereinafter ROYAL Soc'Y & ROYAL ACAD.] (discussing potential
toxicity problems regarding nanoparticles due to their unique properties and scientists' limited knowledge of
their effects on and inside the body). The Royal Society, the national academy of science of the United
Kingdom and the Commonwealth, is an independent, charitable body that derives its authoritative status from
its 1400 Fellows and Foreign Members, and strives, among other things, to support many top young
scientists, engineers and technologists to influence science policy and to debate scientific issues with the
public. The Royal Society, About the Society, http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/landing.asp?id=3 (last visited May.
31 ,2008).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jltp2008&div=10&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Dangers of Chasing Youth: Regulating the Use of Nanoparticles in Anti-Aging Products
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