Beauty is Skin-Deep.. or is that the products?

I would consider the cosmetics industry the ninja of all chemical industries. Not only is the cosmetic industry not required to follow any kind of national or international chemical regulation, they actually profit by using more chemicals in their products.

How much profit are we talking here? In 2000, Wall Street Journal, Agriculture News recognized the Cosmetic Industry as the eighth largest industry of the “life science” industries generating $15 billion in revenue that year.

Toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, hair products, make-up, deodorant, are all chemical products that we ingest daily, and the ingredients that make up these products are very harmful to our health. Because it is not a conscious act (like eating) we often forget that our skin consists of millions of pores that are absorbing whatever we choose to apply to it daily.

Some ingredients to avoid (information retrieved from David Suzuki Foundation)

      1.)  Petrochemicals aka petrolatum, mineral oil, and paraffin. These chemicals can be found in some hair relaxers, shampoos, anti-aging creams, mascaras, perfumes, foundations, lipsticks and lip balms. Petrolatum can be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been associated to cancer when contact extends over long periods of time.

      2.)  Coal-tar colors which are listed in the ingredients as “FD&C” or “D&C” colors. These chemicals increase risk of cancer and may be contaminated with heavy metals toxic to the brain.

  

      3.)  Parfum aka fragrance. This ingredient is one of the many phthalates (soft un-bonded plastic) we find in our cosmetics. It is a known endocrine disrupter and has proven to cause feminization of males, insulin resistance, and asthma.

**Pthlataes are found in nearly all air fresheners, hair and beauty products, perfumes, and any scented products (even “unscented” is a scent)

      4.)  DEA (diethanolamine) are used to make cosmetics creamy or sudsy. There are various forms of DEA but they can be found in moisturizers, sunscreens, shampoos, cleansers and soaps. Long term exposure to these chemicals have been linked to liver cancer and precancerous changes in skin and thyroid. (DEA is recognized as a harmful toxin by the EU only)

The David Suzuki Foundation has done a significant amount of research into the chemicals found in our cosmetics and have come up with a list of the most common and threatening chemicals found in our cosmetics products. “The Dirty Dozen Pocket Guide” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2010/whats-inside-shoppers-guide.pdf

What to Do:

The first thing I would like everyone to think about it what he or she is using in and after their hot showers. Heat and moisture causes our pores to open and if we are using shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizers that contain one or more of the chemicals in the “dirty dozen” then we are coating our skin with chemicals at the time when our skin is most absorptive.

Instead we could turn to more natural cleaners like tea tree oil or biodegradable soaps, then not only are we helping ourselves but also we are decreasing the chemical waste in the environment. And, if soft skin is important to you then consider opting out of using a daily moisturizer and instead doing a skin exfoliation. Exfoliation helps your skin remove toxins from the body rather then put them in.

The other major effort that we can do to help reduce the ecological impact of the cosmetics industry on the environment is opt out of using disposable razors. Two billion disposable razors are purchased annually; this is an easily divertible waste stream that we can all participate in with our consumerism.