Could there be a dangerous substance lurking in your skin care products? Many common skin care and personal care products could be harboring dangerous substances that are toxic to your health. For instance, some common chemical preservatives called “parabens” and chemical antibacterials such as Triclosan have been linked to cancers. Free from these chemical hazards, natural beauty products have begun to storm the beauty scene and are gaining popularity as healthier alternatives.
Most skin care products contain “parabens” a family of inexpensive, chemical preservatives that increase the shelf life of products containing water. When water is added to a cosmetic formula, it requires a preservative system to prevent spoilage. Parabens are an inexpensive and popular choice. They usually contain one of the prefixes ethyl, methyl or propyl or butyl. Check the ingredients on any number of personal care items in your closet or on your bathroom shelf, such as lotions, hair care products, creams, cleansers etc. and look for propylparaben, methylparaben etc. These substances are lurking in more of your daily toiletries than you think.
Parabens can be absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood. Similarly, Triclosan is easily absorbed through the skin and can be secreted in breast milk. It can be found in many soaps and body washes. Studies have shown that these substances can have a range of negative effects from mild skin irritation to the development of cancer. Parabens can mimic the effect of estrogen and have been linked to breast cancer. This chemical absorption is most concerning for women especially, who tend to use a number of personal care products daily, from hair products to skin care. Thus, there is a greater exposure to these chemicals.
Your skin is the largest organ of your body. Therefore, shouldn’t you care as much about what you put on your body as you do about what you put inside? No one would willingly “eat” a dangerous chemical yet we are willing to use countless products containing harmful substances that are just as easily absorbed through the skin. Natural skin care products that are chemical-free offer an alternative to cheaper, chemical-laden brands. However, when navigating the morass of natural beauty products, one must always read labels to make sure that none of the ingredients might cause irritation. Natural beauty products with fewer ingredients tend to be more effective because there is more of each ingredient in the actual products. In turn, you receive more of the benefit from that ingredient on your skin. The longer the list of ingredients, the more diluted the effectiveness of the individual ingredients. Many natural and organic lines include “natural preservatives” that can cause irritation and their effectiveness is controversial in many cases. Skin care products that are preservative-free are a better choice.
In an environment laden with chemicals that we encounter on a daily basis, it becomes more important to be informed about the exposure that we can control and the choices we make. A number of natural brands are now available that allow you to take steps to “green” your beauty routine. One way to take control of the exposure to chemicals we face in the western world is to start in your own bathroom.
References
Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, et al. (2004). Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. J Appl Toxicol, 24:5-13.