Carcinogenic Beauty Products

THE ISSUE: Most women and men use some type of beauty products on a daily basis. This may be through using shampoo and conditioner, applying lotions, applying makeup, and using any other product on your skin and / or hair. The thing that most people do not realize is that your skin absorbs, directly into the bloodstream, over 60% of the chemicals that in comes into contact with (Organic Makeup Co.). That is a scary number considering the statistics on beauty products. One scary statistic is that 80% of all cosmetic products may be contaminated with one or more carcinogenic impurities (Natural News). Here are just six major impurities to be aware of and they are as follows: 1,4-dioxane, hydroquinone, ethylene dioxide, formaldehyde, nitrosamines, PAHs, and acrylamides. (A list of products from a high-concentration to a low-concentration of 1,4-dioxane can be found here: http://www.naturalnews.com/021717.html.)

Petroleum is in many beauty products as well and it goes by many names, including: mineral oil, paraffin wax, and petrolatum, just to name a few (Natural News). It is more widespread that one might think. Women in particular should avoid it since they consume the most petroleum-based beauty products and one of the big ones is mineral oil. Anti-aging products often contain this ingredient, and the ironic thing about mineral oil is that it prematurely ages the skin. Another counter effect of petroleum being in products is that it is supposed to act as a moisturizer (which lots of products with petroleum claim to moisturize the skin), however it does the opposite and dehydrates skin.

SOLUTIONS: 

To avoid these chemicals, read the ingredient labels on every product you buy. That is the only way you will know whether or not you are poisoning yourself with these carcinogenic agents. Also, avoid common, name-brand products. These products often contain the most chemical contaminants that are known to cause cancer, liver disorders, and neurological disorders (Natural News). A good rule-of-thumb is to not put any product on your body that you would not eat. For real…putting products on your skin is just like eating/drinking them. Would you drink or eat something blindfolded? Not being aware of what products you are buying is like eating or drinking blindfolded—who knows what is going to be in it?

For those who want to switch to all-natural makeup, lotions, and body wash, this is a good site to buy from http://www.lavera.com/. They have tons of options and give you full lists of their product’s ingredients. Business being transparent is good sign!

Here is a good site for all-natural hair products: http://store.livingearthbeauty.com/organic_hair_care_s/23.htm

SOURCES

Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/021717.html ; http://www.naturalnews.com/031621_beauty_products_petroleum.html

Organic Makeup Co.: http://www.organicmakeup.ca/ca/PetroleumCosmetics.asp