January
Exposure of chemicals to the skin is both hazardous and unnecessary. Many people in construction found their liver damaged when they handled treated lumber. They, of course didn’t consume it, but merely touched it and the prolonged, repeated action of touching the arsenic coated lumber played havoc with their body. The biggest organ in your body is your skin. Respiration and direct absorption of chemicals take place through the skin. Knowing this, women need to ask themselves whether they feel safe, repeatedly using chemical based skin care products.
Did you know that eye makeup has mercury added to it at the rate of up to 65 parts per million? Mercury in canned fish is heavily scrutinised, but no one seems at all concerned about the threat posed by mercury in eye make-up. This deadly metal is easily absorbed through the skin and can accumulate in one’s body.
You should avoid bronopol if possible. This is an ingredient found in mascara. When this ingredient was tested on lab animals, it caused blindness and eventually resulted in death. It will take a very high concentration of bronopol to be affected by side effects such as these, but what about the woman who uses the same brand of mascara for decades?
Formaldehyde is a chemical that is found in many different hair care products and lotions. Ingredients such as DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinyl urea are known to irritate the respiratory system, can cause asthma, skin reactions and allergies and have even been known to trigger heart palpitations.
Exposure to formaldehyde has varying effects such as chest pains, headaches, dizziness, immune dysfunction and even cancer. Be wary of trade names that include aminoform, formid, and uritone. There are others to be concerned about, but this is a beginning.
Coal tar derivatives are also absorbed through the skin. Ingredients like 1-Naphthol and 2- Naphthol are included in this group. If taken orally an amount as small as 2 teaspoons is fatal.
Ingredients such as Vitamins C and E are usually added to makeup in order to block the toxic effects that nitrosamines have. These come in the forms of monethanolamine (MEA), lauryl sarcosine, laureth sulphate and cocoyl sarcosine. Before you go out and purchase makeup that promotes the addition of Vitamins C and E, please carefully read the rest of the ingredients. The job that these vitamins have may not be to provide something extra; instead they may be blocking the effects of carcinogenic substances that these makeups contain.
Often makeup contains ingredients that act as oil emulsifiers, moisture retainers and solvents. These same ingredients also go into antifreeze and brake fluid. Propylene glycol is one of them. Because of its toxicity the EPA requires workers to wear skin protection when working with this product and Safety Data Sheets warn that absorption through the skin can cause abnormalities in the liver, brain and kidney. Despite this it remains an ingredient in makeup and some stick deodorants.
Lotions, skin products and cosmetics are applied on a daily basis. Itfs important that you check the ingredients before you buy. The parts per million of toxic ingredients may be quite small but a slow and steady build up can occur over a period of years. Mysterious illnesses are often traced back to things that the patient thought had no consequences. Going organic may be the kindest thing not just for the health of your skin but for the health of every organ in your body. Since your biggest organ is your skin, it makes sense to monitor what you are applying to it.
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