Awareness Around Your Skincare Products
Knowing what’s in your skincare products is not only an important step to achieving great skin, but research suggests it can also lead to better health.
According to a study conducted by Chemical Safe Skincare Research in 2006, the average woman absorbs more than five pounds of toxins annually from her bath, body and skin care products. Scientists have linked many of the toxic chemicals used in skin and body care products to such problems as allergies, gene modification, reproductive hormonal disruption, endocrine disruption and even cancer.
The effect prolonged exposure of these chemicals can have on the body has never thoroughly been studied, but considering the health concerns they have been linked to, minimizing their use is certainly wise. The list that follows provides the top five ingredients to avoid.
They may not be the worst or most toxic chemicals you’ll find in your skincare products, but they have certainly made the list because of how common their use is in the cosmetics industry.
Parabens
Parabens are artificial preservatives found in a wide array of personal products. They are endocrine disruptors and they disrupt the normal functions of the hormonal system. They are also not easily eliminated from the body. A study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on 20 teen girls found parabens in all of them.
Parabens, which are known estrogen imitators, are suspected to cause early menstruation in girls, decreased sperm counts in men and they have also been linked to breast cancer. On cosmetic labels, the word paraben is often preceded by Methyl-, Propyl-, Butyl-, Ethyl-, Isopropyl- and Isobutyl-.
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