Most of us are careful about what we eat. So perhaps you inspect food labels for those ingredients you can’t pronounce. You know the ones that scream out “I’m a harsh chemical” or a potentially toxic ingredient. So why don’t we take the same care with personal hygiene products and makeup?
Store-bought cosmetics can include some pretty nasty stuff, and if it’s lurking in your body wash, shampoo, hairspray, mascara, perfume, or foundation it means you’re absorbing these toxins via your skin. The cosmetics industry is highly unregulated, which is why many opt for natural-only products in their personal care regimen. Beware of these potentially harmful chemicals in your beauty products:
1. Phthalates
You’ll find phthalates mainly in body and facial lotions, makeup that claims to also moisturize, hair spray, perfume, or nail polish. The main use of phthalates is to make plastic soft and flexible. softness of plastics. Phthalates may be listed as dimethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, or diethyl phthalate, but according to 2010 research from the National Institutes of Health, all have been known to disrupt the endocrine system, which means they may increase the risk of birth defects, hormonal development, and even breast cancer.
2. Sodium lauryl sulfate
Sodium laureth sulfate, also known as SLS, is a type of foaming surfactant, rampant in facial cleansers, mascara, facial acne cleansers, and body washes. They are also well known for causing skin, eye, and even lung irritations. However, the International Journal of Toxicology highlights an even darker side of SLSs, which claims they can dangerously interact with other chemicals and take on carcinogenic properties (i.e., nitrosamines), resulting in respiratory (lung) and kidney issues.
3. Formaldehyde
You probably don’t expect to find formaldehyde in your eye shadow. However, both formaldehyde and and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (or FRP’s) preservatives are employed in a ton of cosmetics and personal care products (i.e., shampoos, body washes, cleansers) to safeguard against bacteria. The International Agency for Research on Carcinogens (IARC) slapped formaldehyde and FRPs with a “human carcinogen” warning due to link to several skin allergies, as well as nasal and nasopharyngeal cancer.
4. Propylene glycol
Even though it’s an organic alcohol, propylene glycol, has been blamed for numerous skin irritations (i.e., hives, rashes, and dermatitis). That doesn’t stop many manufacturers of hair spray, foundation, eyeshadow, skin moisturizers, and sunscreen from using it for it’s reputation to quickly penetrate the skin’s barrier.
You can be sure to spot artificial colors in your cosmetics (i.e., lipstick) in ingredient listing, like D&C red or FD&C green (drug and cosmetics or food, drug, and cosmetics), which usually appear before a color. In most cases, synthetic colors in non-natural beauty products are sourced from either coal tar or petroleum, which is why the European Union has banned them for their links to increased rates of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in children.
6. Parabens
These baddies of the beauty industry are used to prevent spoiling (i.e., yeast, mold, and bacteria). However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has linked parabens to heightened risk of developing breast tumors cancer due to its ability to mimic and trigger estrogen production.
