This short documentary takes a critical look at the beauty industry’s deep and often hidden dependence on petrochemicals, synthetic compounds derived from crude oil and natural gas that form the backbone of many everyday skincare and cosmetic products. Focusing on pervasive ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum (e.g. Vaseline), parabens, and synthetic preservatives, the film investigates how these substances became staples in mass-market beauty due to their low production cost, long shelf life, and versatile application.
Yet, beneath the marketing of “safe,” “gentle,” or “dermatologist-recommended” lies a growing body of evidence suggesting serious health and environmental consequences. The film explores links between these ingredients and hormonal disruption, potential carcinogenic contamination, and chronic skin conditions. It specifically examines their role in the development and masking of Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW) and Red Skin Syndrome (RSS) painful, often debilitating conditions that can emerge after prolonged use of corticosteroids and occlusive skin products. These conditions are finally gaining recognition thanks to survivor advocacy and growing awareness.
As part of this exploration, the film recommends viewers also watch Preventable, a powerful and emotionally resonant documentary that dives deeply into the lived experiences of TSW and RSS sufferers. Preventable sheds light on how medical misguidance, pharmaceutical marketing, and a lack of informed consent have created a global health crisis hiding in plain sight.
Backed by interviews with dermatologists, environmental scientists, herbalists, consumer advocates, and individuals living through TSW, this film also investigates how Big Oil has quietly shaped the personal care industry, flooding the market with petroleum-derived products while downplaying risks to human and environmental health. From the carbon-intensive extraction processes to the non-biodegradable waste left behind in landfills and oceans, the environmental cost is staggering yet often invisible to consumers.
But this story is not without hope. The film also highlights a new wave of ethical formulators, plant-based chemists, and grassroots skincare communities who are redefining what it means to care for skin. These innovators advocate for transparency, sustainability, and the use of biodegradable, regenerative botanicals that work with the skin, not against it.
In a world where beauty is big business and health is often collateral, this documentary urges viewers to ask: What are we really putting on our skin and who profits from the pain, suffering and confusion?
Suggested Documentaries:
PREVENTABLE: PROTECTING OUR LARGEST ORGAN
Testimonies: I started TSW 5 years ago this July and it’s something I haven’t completely dealt with mentally or emotionally, I’m pretty certain I have PTSD from it. The rawness, pain and truth in this documentary brought me to tears, I was full on sobbing at some points. A huge thank you and congratulations, Briana!…
TOXIC BEAUTY
Toxic Beauty is a documentary feature film with exclusive access to scientists, lawyers, advocates, regulators, politicians, a dynamic whistle blower, survivors and women who have lost their lives. It follows the class action lawsuit against J&J and the plaintiffs, personal stories of women fighting for justice in a race against time with this deadly disease….
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