Women Put an Average of 168 Chemicals on Their Bodies Daily

Almost 13,000 chemicals are used in cosmetics. Most of these chemicals are not found in nature. Why have only about 10% of these chemicals been properly evaluated for safety?

If any of these chemicals have a molecular weight of less than 500, they can get absorbed into the human body through the skin. The skin is a doorway into the bloodstream. If we are concerned about our health, we must therefore be careful as to what we put on our skin.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to regulate harmful ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. Why aren’t they concerning themselves more with the health and safety of the American public?

Cosmetics are innocent until proven guilty. A cosmetic can come on the market without any type of mandated approval process. Only after a product is deemed to be harmful, adulterated, or misbranded, can the FDA take regulatory action.

The FDA requires the companies that manufacture and market cosmetics to ensure their safety. This is an apparent conflict of interest. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA!

To summarize, the cosmetic companies are responsible for substantiating the safety of their own cosmetics, there are no required tests to do so and they don’t have to share safety data about their products with the FDA!

How Many Chemicals Does Your Beauty Routine Expose You To?

The average American woman uses 12 personal care products and/or cosmetics a day, containing 168 different chemicals. This information comes from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). While most men use fewer products, they’re still exposed to about 85 such chemicals daily, while teens, who use an average of 17 personal care products a day, are exposed to even more.

This chemical exposure is just what comes into our systems through the skin. We also ingest a tremendous volume of toxins. I have covered ingested toxins and will continue to cover them in other blog postings.

Chemical exposures are not insignificant, especially when they occur virtually daily for a lifetime. When EWG tested teens to find out which chemicals in personal care products were found in their bodies, 16 different hormone-altering chemicals, including parabens and phthalates, were detected.

There are other chemicals risks as well. In 2000 the EWG released a study showing that 37 nail polishes from 22 companies contained dibutyl phthalate (DBP). DBP is known to cause lifelong reproductive impairments in male rats. It’s used in nail polish because it increases flexibility and shine, but research by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that out of 289 subjects that were tested, all 289 people tested had DBP in their bodies. This chemical, which is linked to birth defects in animals, was found at the highest levels in women of childbearing age.

In the report Heavy Metal Hazard: The Health Risks of Hidden Heavy Metals in Face Makeup, Environmental Defense tested 49 different makeup items, including foundations, concealers, powders, blushes, mascaras, eye liners, eye shadows, lipsticks, and lip glosses.

Their testing revealed serious heavy metal contamination in virtually all of the products:

• 96% contained lead
• 90% contained beryllium
• 6% contained thallium
• 51% contained cadmium
• 20% contained arsenic

Everyday Chemical Exposures Linked to Earlier Menopause:

In a study of more than 31,000 US women, researchers examined blood and urine levels of 111 mostly man-made chemicals commonly found in plastics, personal care products and household items, as well as which may contaminate air, water, and soil.

As Science Daily reported, the chemicals tested included:

1. Dioxins/furans (industrial combustion byproducts)
2. Phthalates (found in plastics, common household items, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products including lotions, perfumes, makeup, nail polish, liquid soap, and hair spray)
3. Phytoestrogens (plant-derived estrogens)
4. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, coolants)
5. Phenolic derivatives (phenols, industrial pollutants)
6. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (combustion products)
7. Organophosphate pesticides
8. Surfactants (to reduce suface tension of a liquid)

Women with higher levels of the chemicals in their bodies were found to experience menopause two to four years earlier than women with lower levels. Fifteen chemicals in particular (including nine PCBs, three pesticides, two phthalates, and a furan) were significantly associated with early menopause, which suggests an early decline in ovarian function.

In addition to leading to early menopause, an early decline in ovarian function may lead to early development of heart disease and osteoporosis. Many of the chemicals mentioned in the study have already been linked to health risks, including cancer, metabolic syndrome and early puberty.

What Are Some of the Most Toxic Chemicals in Your Cosmetics?

A handful of the most hazardous chemicals found in many personal care products and cosmetics include:

1. Parabens - are found in deodorants, lotions, hair products and cosmetics. Parabens have been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, which can drive the growth of human breast tumors. A study published in 2012 suggested that parabens from antiperspirants and other cosmetics indeed appear to increase your risk of breast cancer.

The research looked at where breast tumors were appearing and determined that higher concentrations of parabens were found in the upper quadrants of the breast and axillary area, where antiperspirants are usually applied.

2. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a surfactant, detergent, and emulsifier used in thousands of cosmetic products, as well as in industrial cleaners. It’s present in nearly all shampoos, scalp treatments, hair color and bleaching agents, toothpastes, body washes and cleansers, make-up foundations, liquid hand soaps, laundry detergents and bath oils/bath salts.

The real problem with SLES/SLS is that the manufacturing process (ethoxylation) results in SLES/SLS being contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a carcinogenic by-product.

3. Phthalates are plasticizing ingredients that have been linked to birth defects in the reproductive system of boys and lower sperm-motility in adult men, among other problems. Be aware that phthalates are often hidden on shampoo labels under the generic term “fragrance.”

4. Methylisothiazolinone (MIT), a chemical used in shampoo to prevent bacteria from developing, which may have detrimental effects on your nervous system.

5. Toluene is made from petroleum or coal tar and found in most synthetic fragrances and nail polish. Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage and may affect a developing fetus.

The bottom line here is that you have to be your own healthcare advocate for yourself and your family.

But Where Do You Start?

The EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database is a great guide to skincare products.

Inforgraph

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