Things to look out for when buying personal care and beauty products

Your skin is your largest organ. Yep, its’s true! —adults carry some 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) and 22 square feet (2 square meters) of it. It’s a wonderfully versatile organ -it protects us from damaging sunlight, harmful chemicals, extreme temperature and it’s waterproof. The list goes on.

However, your skin absorbs pretty much everything you put on it. Indeed, a study published in the American Journal of Public Health (ref.below) looked into the skin’s absorption rates of chemicals found in drinking water. It showed that the skin absorbed an average of 64% of total contaminant dosage. Other studies found the face, underarms and genitalia are absorbing up to 100% of chemicals and fragrance ingredients.

What does this mean for your health and wellbeing?

Yes, you guessed it right- without going into the details of the absorption of chemicals by the human body – I can say that most of the nasties in these products are going directly into your bloodstream and will most probably create health issues, hormone disruption and allergies on the longer term. One of my favourite TED videos of all times on this topic is The toxic baby. Please watch it! It is incredibly thought provoking.

What shall I look out for?- you may ask. I made a list of ingredients you would probably like to avoid when buying makeup, personal care or baby products:

1. Parabens & alcohol

You will find these in shampoos, makeup, moisturisers and they're well known for their oestrogen mimicking qualities, meaning that these chemicals will enter your body and will act like the most famous female hormone- causing a hormonal havoc. Denmark, for example banned the use of parabens in all products intended to be used on children under the age three. Ah, bless these Nordics!

2. SLS (Sodium-Lauryl- Sulphate)

SLS is not your friend! It makes things foamy and bubbly, so you will find it in your bubble bath, shampoos, toothpaste and liquid soaps. It is highly irritating and unfortunately it’s molecules are very small, so yes- this one will definitely get into your bloodstream.

3. Triclosan

This one is supposed to chase all those nasty microbes away, so you will find them in soaps, shampoos, household cleansing products, mouthwashes and hand sanitisers. I guess you’ve heard about antibiotic resistance ? MRSA? Well, make sure you read about it and reconsider to use your favourite hand sanitiser….

Now what about your favourite make up brands and perfumes? Look out for these :

1. Petrochemicals

A wide range of ingredients, derived from cure oil. These include petroleum jelly, mineral oils, silicones and paraffin wax. Uhmmmm…have you ever checked the ingredients of your favourite Vaseline? Please do! It is producing a cling film like layer on your skin, preventing it from breathing. Please skip.

2. Synthetic fragrances and colourants

Ah girl, I love my perfumes, but I hate that they might come with over 2000 component of toxic ingredients that can cause allergies, skin rashes and skin sensitivities. Read before you buy!

3. Phtalates

They are everywhere as they are famously known to keep things flexible. They are plasticisers. Your mascara, nail varnish…yes..they’re made with phthalates. Unfortunately, they are well-known for disrupting your hormones and having very damaging effects on your health.

4. Talcum powder

It’s a mineral made up mainly of the elements magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. ... It is widely used in cosmetic products such as baby powder and adult body and facial powders- including your favourite loose powder you used on Saturday. Unfortunately, some talc (made from talcum powder) will contain asbestos. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organisation), classifies talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans.” I wouldn’t risk it guys!

So what to do?

I don’t want to make this look like a sponsored post, so I won’t mention any brand names. Luckily, there are many brands out there that are consciously avoiding nasties in personal care and make up products. I tend to buy certified organic products without the nasties for myself and my family from the websites Naturismo or Mypure. I use some big brands for special occasions and stick with my natural makeup range for an everyday use. The one tool that you might find useful is the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin deep website. They have analysed the toxicity of thousands of products and will flag if your current favourite is on the black list. Also, they‘re now running an EWG verified page, for products that are definitely clean, meeting their strictest standards. Check it out!

Any thoughts or comments?– please feel free to comment below.

Love and Light

Endearing Marga

Reference: Brown et al. The role of skin absorption as a route of exposure for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water. Am J Public Health. 1984 May; 74(5): 479–484.