Besides toxic exposure through air, water and food, many people are DIRECTLY affected and often harmed unknowingly by the use of toxic commercial cosmetics and personal care products.
Everybody has access to them over the counter, and most consumers are exposed to these products on a continual basis starting from their first days on this earth as seen in toxic baby care merchandise. These products are being produced with numerous synthetic compounds, some of which actually contain carcinogenic ingredients, and some that become poisonous substances through the manufacturing process.
As you might know, the skin is the largest organ in your body, and is composed of three basic layers. The dermis is the deepest layer and is responsible for generating new skin cells, the hypodermis is the middle layer of newly maturing cells, and the epidermis is the superficial furthermost part of skin, and the only skin layer that discards dead cells. Even skin with a normal pH of about 5.5 absorbs PLENTY of the harmful substances it comes in contact with, but much more so when the skin is not pH balanced.
Generally, the absorption process is rapid, bypassing some of the filtering organs, traveling right through the circulatory system towards the organs. The toxins from these tainted products can be absorbed right through the skin and then gradually be deposited in fat cells and various organ systems over time! This adds to your already toxic burden, especially when proper cleansing techniques are not enacted on a consistent basis.
Repeated contact with these toxic substances can pose serious health risks. At some point, these toxic cosmetics and personal care products will threaten your health just due to the cumulative and compounding effects they have on the body alone. For instance, numerous BABY CARE PRODUCTS contain 1,4 dioxane and ethylene oxide which are considered carcinogenic! Plus, many of the products on store shelves contain ingredients like phthalates, parabens, dioxanes, etc., that have even been banned in other countries due to their damaging effects. Very sadly, children have a higher sensitivity to the same exposure of these threatening compounds due to their body-weight alone compared to adults.
In addition to what is externally applied to your child’s skin, pound for pound, children breathe more, drink more, and consume more food than adults. It becomes the PARENTS responsibility to be conscious and aware of these dangers and protect their children from these avoidable toxic substances. Unfortunately, many profit driven company’s do not have yours or your children’s best interest in mind when it comes to health!
“There have been more than 5,000 BABY POWDER-related cases against Johnson & Johnson, with lawsuits claiming carcinogenic effects. Damages to Johnson & Johnson between 2016 and 2017 exceed $700 million dollars.”
Women using baby powder showed 33% increased risk of ovarian cancer, & 62.8% of women with ovarian cancer used talc!
In the past few decades, research began to highlight, disapprove, and show great concern over the presence of toxic ingredients found in most cosmetic and body care products. Here are some startling statistics to increase your awareness:
- In 2004, they found 287 synthetic chemicals and 180 known carcinogens in umbilical cord blood, emphasizing the far-reaching grasp these and other toxic substances pose to newborns.
- Out of the approximate 30,000 chemicals being used in cosmetic products today, only about 10% have been tested for safety! Scarily enough companies are allowed to label their products as safe and non-toxic even when most of the ingredients have not been proven to be safe.
- In 2007, Environmental Working Group EWG investigated over 23,000 personal care products and found that nearly “1 of every 30 (more than 750) products sold in the U.S. VIOLATE industry safety standards or cosmetic safety standards in other industrialized countries…Nearly 400 products contained chemicals that are prohibited for use in cosmetics in other countries due to being found unsafe.”
- In 2002, Health Care Without Harm and the EWG analyzed 72 personal care and beauty products (from perfumes to lotions, shampoos and hair sprays), and found that ¾ of them contained unlabeled phthalates.
- According to the EWG the average US woman uses 12 personal care products and/or cosmetics a day, containing up to a whopping 168 different chemicals!
- The Scientific American reported that research links environmental toxins to the 600 plus percent increase in autism rates over the past 20 years. Not surprisingly, 80% of baby products contain flame-retardants and other toxins that disrupt the immune and nervous system.
- EWG tested teenagers to determine their chemical load from the use of personal care products and found 16 different hormone-altering chemicals, including parabens and phthalates, which are known endocrine disrupting toxins.
- The European Journal of Cancer published a study reporting that breast cancer sufferers who applied deodorant regularly were diagnosed with cancer 19 years earlier than those who did not. As you may know, a lot of deodorants, especially those with antiperspirants, have aluminum and propylene glycol in them, which are highly toxic substances, especially when they accumulate in the body from regular use. Antiperspirant and deodorant usage has increased exponentially around 14,000% between 1945 and 2000, with cancer rates tripling simultaneously.
- The EWG released a study back in 2000 revealing that 37 nail polishes from 22 companies contained dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a type of phthalate. DBP is also used in shower curtains, children’s toys, pharmaceutical capsules, and many other household products. This highly toxic substance is known to cause lifelong reproductive impairments in testes, prostate gland, epididymis, and penis in male rats. In some cases, the male fetuses became sterile!
- Lead is found in many popular lipsticks, and these lipsticks are applied daily on countless females so it is a major concern. Lead is a known neurotoxin and has caused cancer in lab rats. Experts signify there is no safe level of lead exposure. An expanded FDA study in 2010 found lead in 400 lipsticks at levels up to 7.19 ppm. Tested brands link- hide the link in “tested brands” and light up.
- Sunscreens are meant to decrease your risk of cancer, but some of the ingredients in chemical sunscreens are so toxic that they actually dramatically INCREASE your risk of cancer which is quite shocking to most but very true. Most commercial sunscreens contain substances like parabens (“fragrance”) (see list below) which are well known endocrine disrupting, reproductive system damaging substances. Although retinyl palmitate (vitamin A palmitate) is ok when used in eye creams, it is highly problematic when exposed to the heat and UVA rays of the sun and has been shown to increase rates of cancer. Photomutagenicity of retinyl palmitate by ultraviolet irradiation in mouse lymphoma cells.
- Oxybenzone is another common ingredient in chemical sunscreens that has been linked to hives, dermatitis, and degradation of the skin. This toxic substance has been seen to disrupt hormone balance and increase free radical damage that can lead to cancer. Per the EWG, “The MOST problematic of the sunscreen chemicals used in the U.S. is oxybenzone, found in nearly every chemical sunscreen. EWG recommends that consumers avoid this chemical because it can penetrate the skin, cause allergic skin reactions and may disrupt hormones (Calafat 2008, Rodriguez 2006, Krause 2012). Preliminary investigations of human populations suggest a link between higher concentrations of oxybenzone and its metabolites in the body and increased risk of endometriosis and lower birth-weight in daughters.” (Kunisue 2012, Wolff 2008).
In conjunction with these eye-opening statistics, it is predicted that 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women will have cancer in their lifetime! Some people argue that cancer is not rising as much since lung cancer has decreased. However, lung cancer is generally associated with smoking, and its carcinogenic effect is now well-known, so it’s not politically correct anymore to smoke. On the other hand, other kinds of cancer continue to increase paralleling the environmental invasion of industrial carcinogens, and the prevalent use of toxic cosmetic and body care products, continuing to put the public at risk.
STAY AWAY from most conventional commercial beauty care products! Instead look for reputable companies that offer products verified by third party organizations like Made Safe, EWG verified, USDA Organic, and NSF.
http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productsingredients/products/ucm137224.htm#expanalyses–http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16107546
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubme/8648199
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4820665/