Shocking Facts about Cosmetics

Facts about toxic cosmetic products.

• Women who use make-up on a daily basis are absorbing almost 5lb of chemicals a year into their bodies, it is claimed.

• Eighty-nine percent of 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, nor any other publicly accountable institution. The absence of government oversight for this $35 billion industry leads to companies routinely marketing products with ingredients that are poorly studied, not studied at all, or worse, known to pose potentially serious health risks.

• In its 67-year history of monitoring cosmetic safety, FDA has banned or restricted just nine personal care product ingredients (FDA 2000). In its review of 1,175 ingredients, the industry’s safety panel has found just nine ingredients unsafe for use in cosmetics. By contrast, 450 ingredients are banned for use in cosmetics in the European Union.

• Lipsticks and make-up may contain aluminum, a known toxin in humans, to make them long-lasting.

• Coal tar dyes, the major colouring agent in make-up, can result in dermatitis or skin cancer.

• Talcum powder is not innocuous.  In 1982 Daniel Cramer, MD, reported in the journal Cancer that women in Boston who used talcum powder on their genitals and sanitary napkins had a 328 times greater risk of ovarian cancer.

• Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria highly resistant to therapy, can contaminate mascara and attack an eyeball scratched by microscopic abrasions from soft contact lenses or inadvertent damage by the applicator brush.  Blindness can result.

• Adverse reactions to industrial foaming agents in bubble baths, like alkylarylsulfonate, can cause skin rash, urinary tract, bladder and kidney infections, genital disorders, eye irritations and respiratory disorders.

• “Hypoallergenic” does not guarantee no allergies but only minimizes well-known culprits. “Unscented” does not mean no fragrance ingredients since masking fragrances (which cover up unpleasant chemical odours) do not have to be identified.  AETT (acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin) masking fragrance was used from 1958 until 1978, when it was found to be a neurotoxin that turned rat and rabbit organs blue.

• Fifty-five percent of all products assessed contain “penetration enhancers,” ingredients that can increase a product’s penetration through the skin and into the bloodstream, increasing consumers’ exposures to other ingredients as well.

• We have no idea what these chemicals do when they are mixed together, and the cumulative toxic effects of mixing them together on our bodies could be much greater much greater than we fully understand. In fact many researchers believe that absorbing chemicals through the skin in more dangerous than swallowing them.

Below are some other common toxic ingredients found in many cosmetic products.

• Butylene glycol – preservative with low threshold for skin irritation, which helps resists humidity in hair sprays and setting lotions.
• Zirconium – used to tone pigment colours, especially in nail polish.  Low systemic toxicity but its use was banned from sprays in 1976 when it was found harmful to monkey lungs.
• Tartrazine (yellow #5) – derived from coal tar, those allergic to aspirin are often allergic to tartrazine.
• Potassium bromate – antiseptic and astringent in toothpaste, mouthwash and gargles.  Very toxic if taken internally.  May cause bleeding and inflammation of gums in toothpaste.
• Nickel sulphate – heavy metal used in hair dyes and astringents.  Frequently causes skin rash when used in cosmetics.
• Resorcinol – antiseptic, anti-itching, antifungal used in dandruff shampoos, hair dyes and lipstick.  Very irritating to skin and mucous membranes.

 

References

http://www.orientaldetox.com/makeup.html
http://health-report.co.uk/EWG_makeup_chemicals_summary.htm
http://www.environmentalhealth.ca/summer95cosmetic.html
http://health-report.co.uk/EWG_makeup_chemicals_summary.htm

Comments are closed.