Skin care expert reveals the 20 most toxic chemical ingredients in beauty products… are you poisoning yourself?

Renowned skin care expert Dr. Trevor Cates lists 20 of the most toxic chemicals found in personal care products. “What we put on our skin should be as clean as what we eat. But for most people, it’s not. Even in tiny amounts, many of the chemicals commonly found in our cosmetics can have a tremendous health and hormonal impact, and we are only beginning to understand the consequences,” Dr. Cates writes in DailyMail.co.uk.

1. Fragrances – According to Dr. Cates, fragrance mixtures may contain hundreds of individual chemicals that may trigger allergies and disrupt certain hormones. He suggests avoiding fragrances unless in their natural form such as pure essential oils.
2. Formaldehyde – Nearly one in five personal care products contain this chemical. This toxic chemical can be found in hair care products, adhesives and nail products. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), formaldehyde is a carcinogenic chemical associated with the onset of various forms of cancer.
3. Ethanolamines – According to the skin care expert, impurities in these chemicals may trigger the onset of certain types of cancer.
4. Mineral oils – These oils, along with petroleum, are key ingredients in cosmetic products such as foundation, moisturizers and cleansers. However, these chemicals contain dioxane. According to Dr. Cates, dioxane is found to be carcinogenic in various animal studies.
5. Oxybenzone – This harmful chemical is commonly found in lip balms, sunscreens, and other products that contain SPF. Oxybenzone is found to be easily absorbed in the bloodstream, and is associated with the onset of early puberty in girls.
6. Parabens – Parabens are commonly used preservatives in various beauty products. The chemical is linked to breast cancer cell growth in women and lower testosterone levels and sperm count in men.
7. Hydroquinone – According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hydroquinones may cause ochronosis, a skin disease characterized by disfiguring and irreversible lesions on the skin. Hydroquinones are also found to be carcinogenic.
8. Coal tar – Coal tar is a known carcinogenic. The chemical can be found in dandruff shampoos, creams, soap, and ointments.
9. Toluene – According to Dr. Cates, toluene is a potent neurotoxic chemical and may trigger impaired breathing and nausea. Toluene is commonly found in nail care products.
10. Butylated hydroxyanisole – BHA is a waxy compound that is used in various cosmetics and personal care products such as eye shadow and lipstick. The U.S. National Toxicology Program has identified BHA as a potential carcinogen, while the European Union (EU) classified the chemical as an endocrine disruptor.
11. Triclosan and triclocarban – These chemicals are commonly used as antibacterial agents in personal care products. Both chemicals are known endocrine disruptors.
12. Mica, silica, talc, and nanoparticled titanium dioxide – According to Dr. Cates, these minute particles may lead to lung disease when they accumulated in the body over time.
13. Heavy metals – Heavy metals — such as mercury, lead, arsenic and aluminum —  can cause brain and nervous system impairment and hormone disruption. These heavy metals are also known carcinogens.
14. Carbon black – Carbon black is a commonly used pigment in make up and nail polish. This chemical is known to cause cancers.
15. P-phenylenediamine – This chemical is commonly found in hair dyes. Exposure to this chemical may lead to organ toxicity, adverse skin reactions, and cancer.

Other toxic chemicals commonly found in personal care products include resorcinol, methylisothiazolinone and teflon as well as phenoxyethanol and acrylamide.

“The personal care products industry is inundated with extremely toxic, cancer-causing chemicals,” explains the Health Ranger, founder of the Health Ranger Store which formulates and retails hundreds of non-toxic personal care products. “The average consumer poisons themselves with over 300 synthetic chemicals before they even leave the house each morning, and these chemicals are deliberately added to personal care products by manufacturers that care more about profit than consumer safety,” he adds.

Personal care products — such as cosmetics, body washes and hair and skin care products — have been subject to scrutiny for years due to potentially hazardous chemicals that most of them contain. These chemicals, when in contact with human body, may cause adverse health effects. In fact, a study by Herb Research Foundation reveals that the skin may absorb up to 60 percent of toxic chemicals found in personal care products.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

OSHA.gov

Senators ask FDA to ban cancer-causing chemical from bath products

Your shampoo could be harming you. The substance 1,4-dioxane, is a carcinogen that’s commonly found in personal care products that create suds, such as in shampoos, hand soaps, and shower gels. According to the Environmental Working Group, at least 8,000 products contain 1,4-dioxane. In spite of this, companies are not required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to list it as an ingredient. This is because 1,4-dioxane is a contaminant that is created through ethoxylation, in which ethylene oxide—a breast carcinogen—is combined with other chemicals to make them less harsh. This reaction occurs during the manufacturing process, making 1,4-dioxane an unintentional byproduct in addition to being a contaminant.

The FDA encourages manufacturers to remove 1,4-dioxane, but this is not required by federal law. According to DailyMail.co.uk, New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are aiming to change this and are pushing for a nation-wide ban on 1,4-dioxane. “It’s time to drain 1,4-dioxane from everyday products,” Schumer has said.

The legislative petition by Schumer will ask the FDA to begin requiring manufacturers to remove the chemical from their products. In a statement, Schumer commented: “The fact that 1,4-dioxane, a potentially dangerous chemical, is hiding out in everyday products expected to make us clean is very disturbing, and to make matters worse, likely carcinogens like this one can be even more harmful to kids.” (Related: FDA Regulations Permit Toxins in Cosmetics)

Based on a recent survey by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Schumer has also proposed that water providers conduct regular tests on the water supply in wells on Long Island and other areas of N.Y. “Consumers can’t identify it and most importantly, it ends up in our water supply,” the senator has said. Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, has stated that 1,4-dioxane can enter the water supply through “legacy manufacturing contamination and consumer personal-care products that get washed down the drain.”

Infants, teenagers, and pregnant women are the ones most vulnerable to the compound. Tests conducted on laboratory rats showed that the toxin can indeed cause cancer. Organizations like the EPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have labeled 1,4-dioxane as a human carcinogen.

Aside from the probability of cancer, Schumer has noted that the other long-term effects of 1,4-dioxane include liver and kidney damage. Studies performed on animals have shown that breathing 1,4-dioxane vapors can affect the nasal cavity. Even short-term exposure can dangerous as it can lead to nose, throat and eye irritation.

With these effects in mind, you need to be more careful of all your future bath product purchases. There may be no label for 1,4-dioxane, but you can read the label for other ingredients. According to SafeCosmetics.org, the names that you should look out for are “sodium laureth sulfate, PEG compounds, chemicals that include the clauses xynol, ceteareth and oleth.”

Choosing organic alternatives to common branded bath products is perhaps the safest way to avoid exposure to 1,4-dioxane. There exists a good number of organic personal care products that aren’t made with questionable chemicals or created through harmful manufacturing procedures. Many products available on the market contain small doses of 1,4-dioxane, notes the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. So if you really want to avoid any and all contact with 1,4-dioxane, you have to be a more cautious and prudent consumer.

You can learn more about toxins and other dangerous chemicals by visiting HeavyMetals.news and Toxins.news.

Sources:
DailyMail.co.uk
NewsDay.com
SafeCosmetics.org
ATSDR.cdc.gov