HERMOSA Study

HERMOSA Logo and Alternative Products Beauty Bar

Many cosmetics and personal products contain potentially hormone disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates (used in fragrance), parabens (used as preservatives in make-up), and triclosan (found in antibacterial soap and toothpaste).  Teenage girls use more personal care products than adult women. There is little information about how exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals during adolescence, a time when their bodies are undergoing rapid reproductive development, may impact long term health.

The Health and Environmental Research in Make-up Of Salinas Adolescents (HERMOSA) Study is a youth-led research project examining how girls are exposed to hormone disruptors in their cosmetics and showing that using low chemical products can reduce the levels of these chemicals in their bodies. In Spanish, “hermosa” means “beautiful”, reflecting the Latina teen population of this study.

 

WHAT WE DID:

High school aged youth research assistants from the Salinas area worked with UC Berkeley scientists to design the HERMOSA study. Youth did all the recruiting, interviewing, data collection, and community education,  contributing to data analysis. Together, we:

  • Enrolled 100 Latina teens 
  • Inventoried the personal care products they were using
  • Took urine samples to measure the chemicals in their bodies
  • Gave them low-chemical products for 3 days
  • Collected a second urine sample
  • Compared levels of hormone disruptors before and after the intervention

Study at a Glance:
 
  • Study Objectives: To quantify teen girl's exposure to hormone disruptors in cosmetics, to identify the primary sources of  this exposure, to design and implement an intervention to reduce this exposure and to empower local youth in scientific research and advocacy methods. 
  • Community Partners: La Clinica de Salud de Valle Salinas and local youth research assistants 
  • Principal Investigators: Dr. Kim Harley, Ms. Kimberly Parra
  • Funder: California Breast Cancer Research Program
  • Contact: Kim Harley at kharley@berkeley.edu

WHAT WE FOUND:

After just 3 days,we decreased levels of all four chemicals by 25-45%!

HERMOSA Study Results

Impact:

The FDA has limited ability to regulate and test the chemicals used in cosmetics and the potential health effects of many of these chemicals are largely unknown. This study shows that chemicals in the personal care products that teenage girls put on their bodies, get in their bodies.  It also shows that reading labels and using lower chemical products can lower exposure to these chemicals. 

An additional benefit of this study was that empowered local youth in Salinas California by engaging them in all aspects of this research, including the design, data collection, analysis, and communicating the findings with the community, policy makers, and the media. 

News:

The HERMOSA team continues to educate local and national communities through a combination of info sheets, presentations, scientific papers and news articles.

Scientific papers from the HERMOSA Study include:

The HERMOSA Study has been featured in the following mediaHERMOSA Youth Researchers at Community Outreach Event:

Educational Materials and Resources