What are you really
putting on your face?

Is our dangerous obsession with beauty more than skin deep?

With women slathering over twenty different beauty products on their face and body every day, it is no wonder that they are under a constant barrage of chemicals. What is alarming today is that we rely too much on the government to keep us safe from dangerous chemicals, so we buy anything off the shelf that promises to make us smoother, cleaner, fresher, and wrinkle-free. But what we are getting instead is a five pound burden of chemicals that we absorb through our skin every year. Many of these chemicals have already proven to be toxic. This article is intended to make your journey through the beauty aisle more of an informed quest for safe products instead of a guinea pig for untested beauty potions.

From dailymail.co.uk, Biochemist Richard Bence tells it like it is. He is quoted as saying that “the chemicals found in everyday beauty products could be doing untold damage”. In spending three years studying the ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries, he discovered an increasing volume of research that questions the ingredients in conventional beauty products. And, what’s worse is that individually they may not be hazardous, but mixed together, the effect could be much greater.

The worst offender in your beauty arsenal and chief chemical preservatives are parabens which are widely used in skin and hair products, including soap, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste and bubble bath. Parabens are known for their anti-bacterial quality but they are also thought to mimic the effects of the femal sex hormone estrogen which is known to encourage tumor growth. Traces of this chemical have been found in breast tumor samples. However, the link between parabens and cancer is still hotly debated.

Among some of the other offenders mentioned by Bence that can irritate skin are Sodium lauryl sulphate, which helps soap, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste and bubble bath. Other potential irritants include benzyl alcohols, which are used to scent and preserve perfume, makeup and hair dyes. Cocamide MEA, which binds the ingredients of many moisturisers, is also a suspect.

Reading labels on your makeup may be just
as important as reading your food labels.

Below is a breakdown by product:

Products: Make-up, perfume, hair dye
Chemical: Benzyl alcohols
Possible Effects: Skin irritant

Products: Moisturizers,
Chemical: Cocamide MEA
Possible Effects: Skin irritant

Products: Baby lotion, body spray, deodorant, face masks, perfume, soap, suntan lotion, shampoo, toothpaste
Chemical: Parabens
Possible Effects: Breast cancer and aging of skin

Products: Moisturizers and nail varnish
Chemicals: Phthalates (Banned in 2005)
Possibe Effects: Genital abnormalities in boys, birth defects, asthma and early puberty

Products: Toothpaste, shampoo, shaving foam, bubble bath
Chemicals: Sodium lauryl sulphate
Possible Effects: Skin irritant




There, of course, is controversy over Bence’s criticism of the beauty industry with protests coming mainly from Dr. Christopher Flowers from the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association. He asserts that there is no reason to be worried about the safety of any products because they are covered by EU-wide regulation which requires them to be safe. My response is that if they were so safe, then how did Phthalates which was banned in 2005, get into their products? Also, although the European Union studies did not find phthalates to pose any risks to health, Wikipedia does report other studies that contradict this. So, again, I feel the consumer should make up their own mind.

What is amusing is that Dr. Flowers criticizes Bence for making his claims because he has a website that promotes organic food and beauty products. So, Flowers claims this biases Bence towards negative criticism of the beauty industry. But my response to this is that Dr. Flowers would likewise be biased since he represents the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association. Who do you believe? With your health at stake, you decide.