From the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website:

The Food and Drug Administration said recent research raises “valid concerns” about the possible health effects of triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in 76% of hand soaps.

Two years ago, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics supporters sent Walmart thousands of e-mails asking the retail giant to help stem the demand for products that contain triclosan, an antimicrobial chemical common in personal care products and cleaning products. (A 2001 study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found triclosan in 76 percent of liquid soaps and 29 percent of bar soaps on the market).

Why should we be concerned with triclosan?

For one triclosan disrupts hormones, builds up in body fat and may interfere with other important hormonal and cell signals.

Triclosan is registered as a pesticide at the EPA, but it’s probably in your hand soap and might be in your toothpaste because cosmetics companies aren’t barred by the FDA from using ingredients linked to harm or that have never been assessed for adverse health effects.

And the kicker….

The Centers for Disease Control found no evidence that triclosan it is any more effective than regular soap and water at killing bacteria.

So why hasn’t it been pulled from the market? That’s exactly what Campaign for Safe Cosmetics supporters have been trying to do and who better to make a statement, than the retail giant Walmart. Two years ago thousands of these supporters sent emails to Walmart asking for their help and once again they are asking for the public’s support.

Help get this nasty, dangerous chemical away from our children and our environment and get it off the shelves. Ask your suppliers to stop selling triclosan.

Gina Solomon: “Antibacterial Soaps” Buyer Beware  (Huffingtonpost.com)

Triclosan: What Consumers Should Know (NLM.NIH.GOV)

I have to say that Dr. Oz always has amazing information about anti-aging products. In addition to showing us what works and what doesn’t, every so often he writes an article that is so important to the health of our families and environment that it can’t be ignored. One such article, Flushed Away, brings attention to the dangerous chemicals we are flushing down the toilet.

By now, most people are at least listening to warnings of environmental abuse and many of us have decided to do our part, eliminating as many household chemicals as possible, but did you know that toxins from our bodies are being flushed down the crapper through excretion and causing some weird repercussions in our environment such as intersex frogs? Of course you didn’t. All the more reason to switch to all natural beauty products and natural skin products. How do beauty products come into this picture?

Phthalates found in body lotions, toys, floor coverings, detergent, soaps, nail polish, and shampoos. Phthalates mimic the hormone estrogen and have been linked to reproductive problems in rodents, such as lower testosterone and fetal malformation. Do not buy products with fragrance.

Parabens, preservatives found in shampoo, body lotions, makeup and skin care, mimic estrogen and some experts believe they are linked to breast cancer. Watch for all parabens including methyparaben, butylparaben, or propylparaben. Many companies are eliminating parabens as more and more studies bring to light the potential dangers, however their are thousands more that will not make the change because of a profit margin.

Read full article…..

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You may repeatedly hear that we are being way too paranoid about the absorption of cosmetic ingredients and skin care ingredients through skin. While I personally do not believe that using products laden with chemicals on occasion, can do harm, I certainly believe that they are absorbed through the skin and years of use along with the sheer amount of products used daily can cause harm to those who may be predisposed to certain skin sensitivities and cancers.

I am no doctor, this is my opinion. Yet it is so obvious, especially with the promotion of nicotine patches for one and the administering of medication though patches for another that skin care ingredients and cosmetic ingredients are most definately absorbed through skin. From the Ecovoice.com website:

Today, the administration of drugs and medicines is often through transdermal skin patches. This has been shown to be up to 95% more effective than oral medication. However, cosmetic manufacturers are not supposed to claim that the skin absorbs their products. If they did the products would be labeled a drug and governed by much stricter regulations.

This is both good and bad for us. Good because it means our skin can be fed, nourished and treated from the outside with some wonderful substances.

Bad because it means we can absorb commonly used cosmetic ingredients that would never be allowed to be taken orally as a food or drug, through our skin.

While I am a voice against chemicals in all personal care products, it is far more important for me to get the word out about so, so, many alternatives.

Why does the consumer continue to purchase products with dangerous cosmetic ingredients at local pharmacy and department stores when natural organic skin care is available everywhere?

While poking around in my local pharmacy store recently, I found the following label on a very popular body lotion. The label boasts “incredibly soft skin with jojoba oil and vitamin E.” Sounds yummy. I would love to slather my body with jojoba oil! Sounds like natural skin care to me. Don’t be fooled. Here is the list of ingredients:

Water, myristyl alcohol, glycerin, mineral oil, butylenes glycol, alcohol denat, stearic acid, petrolatum, myristyl myristate, glyceryl stearate, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, dimethicone, simondsia chinensis seed oil (jojoba), tocopheryl  acetate, polygyceryl-2 caprate, Phenoxyethanol, lanolin alcohol, fragrance, sodium hydroxide, methylparaben, ethylparaban, proylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben.

What the heck?? There are three alcohols, five of the nasty parabens (which have the potential to cause cancer), and tocopheryl acetate which is a synthetic vitamin E and not the natural vitamin E. Read the rest of this entry…

Here’s another handy dandy shopping card to keep with you, this one listing safe nail polish.

Over the last several years, scientists and researchers have found direct links to health related problems among nail salon workers and three chemical ingredients in nail polish. There is a reason that they wear those masks, so why don’t we?

The “toxic trio” that are of most concern are toluene, which can cause simple headaches and eye, ear, nose and throat irritation to nervous system disorders and damage to the liver and kidneys, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate which studies have linked to underdeveloped genitals and other reproductive system problems in newborn boys.

So why is DPT banned from cosmetics in Europe but not here in the U.S. even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found DBP and other toxic phthalates in the bloodstreams of every person they tested?

Even though most companies have agreed to remove these three dangerous ingredients, nail polish in general is laden with chemicals. It may be wiser to purchase safe nail polish at natural health and beauty supply stores. The following is a partial list of companies who offer chemical free nail products for purchase online:

Honeybee Gardens

Jerrie

Visage Naturel

Sante

It’s important to choose better healthy skin care products free of chemical ingredients that harm your health and the environment. Unfortunately companies continue to use chemical ingredients regardless of potential risks as cosmetic products do not require verifiable, mandatory compliance (such as FDA approval) before they can be marketed.

Cosmetic companies are responsible for substantiating the safety of their own products and ingredients. Claims on packaging such as organic, natural, hypoallergenic, animal cruelty free, and fragrance free may mean nothing. Read the rest of this entry…

It amazes me how many women are attracted to Aveda makeup and skin care products. I think at one time, I was too, however at that time, I am sure that I could not afford it. Aveda products are known throughout the beauty industry and popular among salons and beauty schools. The products range from makeup and skincare to hair care products.

The impressions we have formed of Aveda makeup, skin care and haircare products are primarily from the services we received over the years in beauty salons such as facials, manicures, pedicures, and hair colorings. And why wouldn’t we form a positive, natural impression? The Aveda name sounds healthy. Aveda products smell wonderful. We look great! We feel great!

When you visit the Aveda website, you are immediately seeing big, bold, clean water ads, and organic farming ads, “Farming is the #1 polluter of US waterways. Organic farming keeps them free of pesticides and chemicals.”

And yet, they continue to dump toxic chemicals into the Aveda line. As many of you know from reading this blog, parabens seep into skin tissue and have been linked to cancer. The Aveda makeup and skincare line uses several of these parabens in much of the cosmetic line, mostly methylparaben.

Phenylenediamine, resorcinol, along with fragrance, slicylic acid, and ethyl lactate which causes skin, eye, or lung irritation are some of the not so natural ingredients in Aveda products.

It is nearly impossible to get exact ingredients in each of their products by visiting the website. They have a general “ingredients list” on the Aveda website. Natural? Sure. The ingredients they list are natural. But why are they not listing the rest? On the website….”Aveda products show that what you put on your body should be as healthy and natural as what you’d put into it.”

So how did we come to love Aveda makeup? How did we become so obsessed with Aveda skin care? It started with the beauty schools, and on to the beauty salons. The products smell sooo good. They are used in the most expensive, relaxing services we look forward to now and again. We were under the impression that they were natural. We were brainwashed.

Author’s note: many companies are now removing ingredients based on progressive research and or customer demand so it is important to check the ingredients list on the package before ditching your favorite products.

How dangerous are your cosmetics?

My two cents about the following article…I love Dr. Mercola and have been a follower for many years. I have followed much of his advice through the years and now live a healthier lifestyle. There are many anti-mercola groups out there claiming that he is far too extreme and in some cases, I have to agree. However, he makes valid points in all of his writings and he brings important facts to light that never would have surfaced if not for his research. Thousands of personal care products that we use daily, contain cancer causing ingredients-this is certainly something we should worry about.

I also swear by the “skin deep“, cosmetic safety website. I now search for low hazard beauty care products prior to buying them. You can search for anything from toothpaste to baby products and get a hazard score. FYI-Clearasil Ultra Acne Clearing Scrub has the highest hazard score of hundreds of acne products.

Here is Dr. Mercola’s article: How dangerous are your cosmetics?

Most personal care and beauty product consumers would be slightly unnerved to find that the government doesn’t require any mandatory testing for these products before they hit store shelves. As a matter of fact, a government agency found out that cosmetic manufacturers could use just about any raw materials in their products and then put them on the market without needing approval by the FDA.

The lack of government involvement has led to companies who manufacture these types of products to not adhere to any testing standards and market products that are considered to cause potentially damaging health risks.

A six-month computer investigation evaluated the safety of over 10,000 personal care product ingredients and included 2,300 people. The investigation revealed the following information on personal care use:

• Each day, the average adult uses nine personal care products that contain 126 different chemical ingredients
• Over a quarter of a million women and one out of every 100 men use on the average of 15 products a day

Findings From the Personal Care Safety Assessment

• Only 28 of the 7,500 products in the study were completely tested by the cosmetic industry’s self-regulating panel
• An astounding one-third of all the products assessed contained at least one ingredient that fell under the classification of human carcinogen
• 71 percent of the hair dye products evaluated had carcinogenic coal tar as part of their ingredients
• Almost 70 percent of the products reviewed were found to have ingredients that could be tainted with impurities related to cancer and other health complications
• 54 percent of the products violated the safety recommendations proposed by the self-regulating Cosmetic Ingredient Review Board. Some examples of the unsafe ingredients in these products were discovered in diaper cream, products on the market for damaged skin such as chapped skin and other ingredients found in spray products
• Over the course of keeping watch over the cosmetic industry, the FDA has banned a mere nine personal care products

Based on these findings, researchers agreed that the lack of monitoring by the FDA has led to a huge leniency toward the testing of cosmetic ingredients and has resulted in a large portion of products available on the market that pose health risks to the consumers.

Recommendations to Cosmetic Manufacturers by the Environmental Working Group

• Take out all possible cancer carcinogens and other developmental toxins from products
• Ensure that ingredients are certified and free of impurities with known possible human carcinogens or developmental toxins
• Eliminate any ingredients that qualify as harmful or unsafe

Environmental Working Group June 2004

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit public-interest research group known for making connections between chemical exposure and adverse health conditions.

The Washington-based organization has made it easy to calculate your risk of exposure to potentially harmful substances through the personal care products you use.

In its new “Skin Deep” study EWG uses a complex formula to assign a health-risk rating to each of 7,500 personal care products. The rating system offers a means of quantifying the answer to a controversial question: Just what are we doing to ourselves when we slather stuff on our bodies?

Please don’t shrug this issue off.

It is important to recognize that whatever you spread on your skin has a very real chance of being absorbed into your blood stream and causing some serious damage in your body.

Finding your cosmetics risk rating is easy. Just go to the “Skin Deep” report and type in the brand name of your deodorant, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and whatever else you use.

The site will tell you how many ingredients the products collectively contain. The calculator will rate the aggregate health threat those ingredients may pose to you.

Each product is ranked according to its ingredients’ potential to:

• Cause cancer
• Trigger allergic reactions
• Interfere with the endocrine (hormonal) system
• Impair reproduction or damage a developing fetus
• Any harmful impurities in the product are also considered. Containing unstudied ingredients or a “penetration enhancer” that helps chemicals get absorbed through the skin also enter into the equation, as does any violation of industry safety recommendations surrounding its use.