Harmful Chemicals of Beauty Products

Posted in Beauty and tagged with skin care, tips on 09/02/2011 07:11 am by admin

Every woman wants to look better for giving an everlasting impression on people’s mind she meets and for this purpose; woman takes help of lots of beauty products. But unluckily, sometimes the temporary good look is not worth due to the long-term damage done by the beauty products on our skin. Women are unsuspectingly exposing themselves to hundreds of harmful chemicals every morning while applying beauty products such as makeup, lipsticks, nail polish, hair color, etc.

Image Source: ecoseed.org

All beauty products contain some ingredients that only serve to speed up the aging process, or result in irretrievable skin damage after frequent exposure. Users have an unchallengeable right to know what ingredients are there in beauty products they use daily. Carefully read labels of your beauty products, and you might desire to consider replacing any that include harmful chemicals.

Lipsticks

Most of the lipsticks contain basic ingredients such as wax, color, oil, preservatives, fragrance and antioxidants. For the majority of ingredients, both toxic and nontoxic alternatives exist. Propylene or Butylene glycol is utilized in automotive coolant or antifreeze and is related to problems with fertility. Lead, mostly found in red lipsticks, is very dangerous for pregnant women and children having the age below six years. Brain damage and behavior abnormalities are also linked with lead ingestion.

Mineral oil, a petroleum-based ingredient of lipstick blocks the real skin’s pores and interferes with the development of the skin cells. Propylene glycol is prepared from mineral oil and may be related to kidney function issues. Coal tar used in lipsticks is also associated with fertility issues in addition to allergies and skin irritations.

Nail Polish

Just by switching to a non-toxic nail polish, many fingernail problems can be avoided. It is always best to observe all your nail polish ingredients because chemicals in nail polish can cause many nail problems including allergies. Dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde are mostly used in most nail polishes. Prolonged exposure to these toxic chemicals can cause cancer and other serious disease.

Dibutyl Phthalate is the most toxic chemical to the human body and it should be especially avoided during pregnancy because it has been shown to damage the development of fetus. Formaldehyde, toluene, camphor and dibutyl phthalate are the nail polish ingredients to avoid. These chemicals are absorbed in the body through nails and are especially dangerous for pregnant women as they can harm the fetus development.

Hair Color

From an early age, many people use hair dyes to change their hair color. Use of hair dye has been associated to respiratory disorders, allergic reactions and even cancer. The dark colored hair dye contains much higher concentration of the chemicals that needed to achieve a darker hair color. There are many risks related with using these hair dyes. Some of the potential reactions of using these hair dyes are contact urticaria, allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) and anaphylactic shock.

Check out the ingredients of your hair dye previous to use. Some dangerous chemicals of hair dyes include 2-nitro-p-phenylenediamine, p-Phenylenediamine, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, 4-methoxy-m-phenylenediamine, cocamide dea, formaldehyde, soap and detergents, and lead acetate. P-phenylenediamine is the most dangerous; if it is rubbed into eyes directly, it can even lead to permanent blindness. Use of hair dye has been also associated to respiratory disorders, allergic reactions and also cancer.

Makeup

Many users think that labels on makeup offer some kind of protection but unfortunately this is not the case. In the USA, personal care products ingredients don’t require any health studies, FDA approval or pre-market testing. Phthatales, lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), paraben preservatives or alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates, formaldehyde, propylene or butylene glycol (PG), and diethanolamine are the hazardous ingredients found in the makeup and beauty products.

Phthatales are endocrine disrupting chemicals and carcinogen related to birth defects. They are also responsible for premature breast developments, testicular injury, lowered sperm counts, and damage to reproductive organs, liver, lung and kidney cancer. Lauryl sulfates are also suspected carcinogen which can cause damage to eyes leading to cataracts. Paraben preservatives or alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates are hormone disrupter and linked to skin rashes and breast cancer.

Talcum powder

Chemically, it is hydrated magnesium silicate and has a clear or dusty appearance. Talcum powder ingredients give smooth and glossy appearance to the skin. It contains a substance analogous in composition to asbestos. Some studies have associated the use of talcum powder to raised incidence of ovarian cancer. Inhalation of talc in babies might cause chocking and asphyxiation. It has potent carcinogenic effects and causes inflammation to lungs.

Conclusion:

As a health conscious person, it is your responsibility to have knowledge of what you are exposing your body to and not to purchase products containing harmful chemicals which put your health in danger. Nowadays, number of manufactures offer beauty products that are completely free of synthetic ingredients and thus reduces the risk of health problems. Whenever you have doubt on the safety of a particular product, it is best to make contact with the manufacturer for getting more details about the ingredients.