Authors: Julie Gabriel
Tags: #ebook, #book
Green Fact
Most products tested positive for 1,4-Dioxane are foaming cleansers with sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, or both, as the main ingredients.
It may be good to remember, though, that the recent laboratory studies show 1,4-Dioxane is nonexistent in the variety of products produced and certified under the USDA National Organic Program, because the regulations disallow ethoxylation and any other synthetic petrochemical modification, as currently outlined in the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances of the United States National Organic Program. For your peace of mind, look out for this label—but only if it refers to the whole product, not one of its ingredients. We will discuss organic labeling more in Chapter 4.
Phthalates: Hormonal Disharmony
A study by the Women’s Environmental Network, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and Health Care Without Harm found phthalates in almost 80 percent of the popular cosmetic products tested, none of which listed these chemicals on the labels.
About 1 billion pounds of phthalates per year are produced and sold worldwide. Phthalates are widely used industrial compounds known technically as dialkyl or alkyl aryl esters of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid. Phthalates are all around us: in shower curtains, rubber ducks, PVC furniture and clothes, sex toys, fragrances, MP3 players (including earphones and cords), perfumes, hair sprays, and nail polishes. Some of the bestselling fragrances contain phthalates, a group of dangerous toxic chemicals that is linked to reproductive birth defects and other illnesses, according to the FDA, National Toxicology Program, and other governmental agencies. The majority of Americans tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have metabolites of multiple phthalates in their urine at any given time. Phthalates are so ubiquitous it is impossible to completely avoid them, but you can distance yourself from a great deal of them.
Phthalates are known reproductive toxins, and while these chemicals may be safe in extremely low levels, women are exposed to phthalates from many sources that join forces to create dangerously high levels of phthalates in the body. That new car smell, which becomes especially noticeable after the car has been standing in the sun for a few hours, is mainly the toxic brew of phthalates emitting from a hot plastic dashboard and seats. This is why some doctors recommend that pregnant women do not buy new cars or even ride in them, especially during the first crucial weeks of pregnancy.
“All synthetically scented products, such as shampoos [and] deodorants, contain phthalates, but perfumes contain the highest levels of phthalates,” says Stacy Malkan, cofounder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
The chemicals in question include di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP, commonly found in nail polish) and di(2-ehtylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, found in perfumes). Most often, they are hiding under the word “fragrance” in the ingredient list. Even though the amounts of these toxic chemicals in beauty products are minuscule, scientists warn that their combined effect could pose health problems. While cosmetic manufacturers insist that phthalates are “safe as currently used,” and phthalate manufacturers produce websites praising phthalates for making our lives better and safer, recent medical data contradict this notion. There is nothing good or safe about phthalates.
what
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In all living creatures, phthalates tip hormonal scales, making males and females more feminine. Solid research links phthalates to the rising incidence of hormone-related medical conditions, including polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, and breast cancer. Young women, who use a lot more cosmetics and fragrances than men, are at particular risk.
A 2000 study at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan linked the use of phthalates in beauty products to early puberty in girls (Colón et al. 2000). A study by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that phthalate levels in young women may be twenty times higher than average (CDC 2001).
Unborn baby boys are in particular danger since phthalates have been shown to damage developing testes in males. This could result in many systemic disorders such as low sperm count, sexual dysfunction, and hormonal imbalance. Men who come in contact with phthalates from plastics, fragrances, hair care products, and even MP3 player earphones risk even more than their sexual identity. A 2007 study done by scientists from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York, found that phthalates, already connected to reproductive problems in women, are linked to abdominal obesity (think Homer Simpson’s body shape) and insulin resistance in men (Stahlhut et al. 2007). The study found that men with the highest levels of phthalates in their urine had more belly fat and insulin resistance. Studies conducted at Harvard University in Cambridge linked phthalates to decreased sperm counts and testicular cancer in men (Hauser 2006). “This doesn’t mean that women are safe. Women are exposed to phthalates when they are pregnant, and boys actually come from women,” reminds Stacy Malkan, “and the damage to baby boys is done when they are most vulnerable. Most of the research was done to check the effects of phthalates on males, but hopefully there will be more studies researching the effects of phthalates on females. There are some links to breast and uterine cancer, and these findings date to quite some time ago” (Singh et al. 1975, Harris et al. 1997, Högberg et al. 2008).
The newest research reluctantly admits that babies are exposed to phthalates at a much higher rate than adults. Many baby care products contain high levels of phthalates hiding in baby lotions, powder, and shampoo, and leaking from PVC-containing toys, spoons, and pacifiers. Scientists “observed that reported use of infant lotion, infant powder, and infant shampoo were associated with increased infant urine concentrations of [phthalate metabolites], and this association is strongest in younger infants. These findings suggest that dermal exposures may contribute significantly to phthalate body burden in this population. Young infants are more vulnerable to the potential adverse effects of phthalates given their increased dosage per unit body surface area, metabolic capabilities, and developing endocrine and reproductive systems” (Sathyanarayana, Karr 2008).
Cancer, diabetes, allergies, infertility . . . are phthalates worth the risk? Scientists answer in unison: no, they are not, especially when there are so many alternatives available.
Double Standards
The European Union has banned some phthalates from many cosmetics and toys, while in the United States, the state of California banned phthalates from use in children’s toys starting in 2009. The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, and distribution of toys and childcare products used by children under the age of three that contain phthalates. But these measures do not lull consumer activists.
“Sometimes the stuff they find is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Stacy Malkan. “In Europe, they banned just two types of phthalates, but cosmetic companies continue using the rest of them. There’s evidence that those other types are even more toxic, especially when used in combination.”
Some cosmetic brands, includingBody Shop andAveda, both segments of the Estée Lauder beauty empire, and Urban Decay, part of Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), have already volunteered to remove phthalates from all their products. But the majority of United States–based cosmetic companies are balking at the proposed ban. The U.S. Cosmetic, Toiletry, and FragranceAssociation (CTFA) calls the European regulation “unnecessary” and dismisses research on phthalates.
“We are facing increased regulatory clout from the European Union, which is affecting our industry on a global basis, notably in China,” noted Marc Pritchard, chairman of the CTFA board of directors and president of global cosmetics and retail hair color at Procter & Gamble, in the annual report in 2005.
Phthalates have many high-profile defenders. “Health-related allegations about cosmetic ingredients are generally based on the results of high-dose laboratory testing in animals and have little relevance for humans,” wrote Dr. Gilbert Ross, the medical and executive director of the American Council on Science and Health, in his 2006 paper, “A Perspective on the Safety of Cosmetic Products.” The paper goes on to say that “The health-related allegations involving specific chemicals (e.g., phthalates, parabens, and 1,3-butadiene) fail to consider important scientific studies and recent regulatory conclusions about these chemicals, which have found that they are not hazardous.”
While the National Toxicology Program listed many phthalates as carcinogens in 2003 (NTP-CERHR Monograph 2003), medical studies directly link phthalates to a higher risk of cancer in humans. Dibutylph-thalate (DBP) was found genotoxic when German scientists investigated the development of squamous cell cancer (Kleinsasser et al. 2000). Di-n-butylphthalate altered breast cells, particularly genes involved in fertility, immune response, and antioxidant status in a study conducted by theMolecular Epidemiology Team at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Gwinn et al. 2007). Both di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) appeared to promote drug resistance to tamoxifen in breast cancer, South Korean scientists found in 2004 (Kim et al. 2004).
While American cosmetic manufacturers refused to reformulate their products and remove phthalates from products sold on American soil, in 2004 they agreed to use substitutes for phthalates in beauty products shipped to Europe.
Today, nail polishes made by Revlon, Procter and Gamble’s Max Factor and Cover Girl, and Estée Lauder’s Clinique and MAC are phthalate-free. That is pretty much it. United States’ cosmetic companies are not required by law to mention phthalates or many other chemical compounds on their labels. Hundreds of bestselling beauty products, including foundations, blushers, hair sprays, leave-on hair conditioners, fragrances, baby shampoos, and lotions, as well as bestselling MP3 gear, are still loaded with gender-bending phthalates.
Aluminum: No Sweat About It
Going around with wet and smelly underarms for most of us is just as unthinkable as rinsing freshly brushed teeth with water from the toilet basin. Clearly, there is nothing less attractive and socially unacceptable than sweaty underarms. But rubbing your freshly shaven underarm skin with a zesty-scented stick of antiperspirant may cause you more problems than you think. In fact, you may lose the ability to think at all.
All antiperspirants rely on aluminum in the form of aluminum chloride, aluminum zirconium, aluminum chlorohydrate, and aluminum hydroxybromide. These aluminum salts dry out sweat by injecting aluminum ions into the cells that line the sweat ducts. When the aluminum ions are drawn into the cells, water flows in; the cells begin to swell, squeezing the ducts closed so sweat cannot get out.
Aluminum is a known potent neurotoxin, and it is loaded in our systems in generous doses. An average over-the-counter antiperspirant might have a concentration of aluminum anywhere from 10 to 25 percent. The FDA also requires that all antiperspirants must decrease the average person’s sweat by at least 20 percent. This means that antiperspirants should work hard to keep us dry!
Aluminum does much more than mess up the natural process of toxin elimination. When it enters the bloodstream, it alters the function of the blood brain barrier. Granted, aluminumis not considered as toxic as heavy metals, but there is evidence that aluminum from hygiene products and antacids does contribute to two serious diseases: breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Aluminum is suspected to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia, affecting millions of men and women worldwide. Scientists have found that plaques in the brain of AD sufferers contain aluminum. While AD origins are still a mystery to many doctors, evidence is accumulating to show that aluminum may be involved in the formation of the plaques in the human brain (Shcherbatykh, Carpenter 2007) and is therefore a prime and, most importantly, avoidable risk factor for this devastating disease.
Every day we rub aluminum-loaded antiperspirant in underarm areas where many lymph nodes are located close to the surface of the skin. Recent evidence has linked breast cancer with aluminum-based antiperspirants. In research published in the
Journal of Applied Toxicology
, Dr. Philippa D. Darbre of the University of Reading in England has shown that aluminum salts increase estrogen-related gene expression in human breast cancer cells grown in vitro, which makes aluminum a powerful metalloestrogen (Exley et al. 2007). The new 2008 study found that aluminum content of breast tissue in the outer regions (closer to the underarms) was significantly higher than the inner regions of the breast (Gee et al. 2008). This happens because aluminum works as a strong genotoxin, capable of causing both DNA alterations and gene mutations, according to numerous studies that link breast cancer to various common chemicals, from aluminum to Triclosan and parabens (Gee et al. 2008).
“Lifetime exposure to estrogen is the risk factor which is tied most strongly to breast cancer,” Dr. Darbre toldWebMD in 2006. “If the aluminum salts in antiperspirants enter the body and mimic estrogen, it stands to reason that constant exposure over many years may pose a risk” (full article:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524555
).
Opponents of the use of aluminum in personal care products agree that this metal is not the sole cause of breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, but that it may play a role. Both diseases are caused by multiple factors, and aluminum is just one of them. Still, this factor is easily avoided. All it takes is a small change in consumer habits.
Propylene Glycol: Beauty Dissolved
Do you know what baby wipes and aircraft deicing fluid have in common? Both have glycols as a main ingredient. Members of this family of multitasking chemicals are used in many cosmetic products, including baby washes, bubble baths, deodorants, shampoos, hair dyes, and personal lubricants (where propylene glycol works to deice the passion, most likely). All members of the glycol family are easily biodegradable and do not accumulate in soil or water, which is the only good thing about them.