http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-toxic-12-beauty-ingredients.html
“The Toxic 12″ Beauty Ingredients
Beauty queen-turned-activist Susan Jeske wants you to know the ugly truth about what your beauty routine is doing to your health.
Breast cancer, heart disease, heart disease, birth defects, memory loss, depression–these are just a few of the conditions that have been linked to “The Toxic 12,” a list of the worst toxic and carcinogenic ingredients commonly found in skin care products and cosmetics.
The former Ms. America worked more than 20 years in the beauty, cosmetic and personal care products industry, but several years ago severe health issues led her to a holistic doctor who urged her to stop using the synthetic and toxic chemicals on her skin that were making her sick.
After her health issues went away after just two weeks of using natural and organic products instead, she started studying everything about cosmetics and skin care. What she found disturbed her and she is on a mission to educate the public about the dangers.
Here is her list:
Benzoyl Peroxide: Frequently used in acne products, the MSDS states: “Facilitates action of known carcinogens. … Possible tumor promoter. May act as mutagen; produces DNA damage in human and other mammalian cells in some concentrations. Also, toxic by inhalation. May be harmful if swallowed and in contact with skin. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.”
DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (Triethanolamine): This foam booster is a skin/eye irritant and causes contact dermatitis. Easily absorbed through skin to accumulate in body organs, even the brain. Repeated use resulted in major increases of liver and kidney cancer.
Dioxin: Won’t appear on an ingredient list. Often contained in antibacterial ingredients like triclosan, emulsifiers, PEGs and ethoxylated cleansers like Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Dioxin causes cancer, reduced immunity, nervous system disorders, miscarriages and birth deformity. It’s a hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion–one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Our bodies have no defense against its damage. Most visible example was Yushchenko, the Ukrainian President, who suffered from dioxin poisoning and looked old overnight.
DMDM Hydantoin & Urea (Imidazolidinyl): Just two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, cancer, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep. Exposure may irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma, aggravate coughs and colds.
FD&C Color & Pigments: Synthetic colors from coal tar contain heavy metal salts that deposit toxins in skin, causing skin sensitivity / irritation. Absorption can cause depletion of oxygen and death. Animal studies show almost all are carcinogenic.
Parabens (Methyl, Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl): Used as preservatives and aren’t always labeled “parabens.” They’re used in deodorants and antiperspirants and have been found in breast cancer tumors. Parabens, as xenoestrogens (hormone disruptors), may contribute to sterility in male mice and humans. Estrogen-like activity causes hormone imbalance in females and early puberty.
PEG (Polyethylene glycol): Made by ethoxylating Propylene Glycol. Dangerous levels of dioxin have been found as a by-product of the ethoxylation process. PEGs are in everything including personal care, baby care and sunscreens.
Phthalates: Xenoestrogens are commonly found in many products, usually not listed on labels. Health effects include damage to liver/kidneys, birth defects, decreased sperm counts and early breast development in girls and boys.
Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: Petroleum plastics act as surfactants (wetting agents, solvents). EPA considers PG so toxic it requires protective gloves, clothing, goggles and disposal by burying. Because PG penetrates skin so quickly, EPA warns against skin contact to prevent brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. There is NO warning label on products where concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): Detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and 90 percent of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experienced eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation–even death. SLS may also damage skin’s immune system by causing layers to separate, inflame and age.
Sunscreen chemicals: Avobenzone, benzphenone, ethoxycinnamate, PABA are commonly used ingredients that are known free radical generators and are believed to damage DNA or lead to cancers.
Triclosan: Synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient with chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! EPA registers it as a pesticide, posing risks to human health and environment. Classified as a chlorophenol, chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Tufts University School of Medicine says triclosan is capable of forcing emergence of ’super bugs’ it cannot kill.
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31 comments
add your comment »Eep, my deoderant and shampoos have some of those,
but it's so hard to find good stuff! My mom won't let me order natural stuff off line, so I'm stuck in stores reading over labels for this stuff, and I can't find anything good!
I guess I'll jsut rely on Burt's bees for now
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I'm so excited that word of this is fianlly getting out. There is a new skincare line called Glimpse that is completely toxin free, and it actually works really well. To check out the green science behind it, go to www.mymangosteen.com/north. YOu can also e-mail me for a complete ingredient list. treehuggercote@gmail.com
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To Angela G.: According to the Environmental Working Group, nearly 90% of ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by any publicly accountable institution (www.ewg.org). And as people apply an average of 126 unique ingredients on their skin daily, these chemicals are raising concerns, for their potential impacts to human health and to the environment. So even though one product may not have enough toxicity to label it as 'dangerous,' when you add up the number of chemicals by the number of products you apply daily by the number of years of using these toxic ingredients, you have a toxic accumulation, which the EWG calls "body burden." Yes, many things have chemicals, but if you know that and still choose to use them even when there are safe alternatives, then that is your informed choice. To your point about medicines, you are correct: most are synthetic chemicals. But there are holistic alternatives, including nutrition, that combined with the body's ability to heal itself, may actually cure or eliminate the condition, rather than just treat the symptoms. It is absolutely important to educate yourself about everything. And then make an informed decision.
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Lists of products that are safe and aren't safe would be really helpful. That way I could see what to/not to but. I forget all the names of chemicals to look for on the labels.
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Angela, why do you think there is a cancer epidemic? Because we're all exposed to such high doses?
Your rationale about the water we bathe in is a poor comparison. So because our water might be poisoned, we might as well smoke cigarettes, work in a coal mine, and wear lead-laden lipstick, yes?
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Please take the time to really investigate the claims made in the list. Most of the time the studies that have been done have been done using a huge concentration of the ingredient instead of the amount that is actually in bath & body & skincare products. Even the FDA has said these chemicals are safe in the levels that are used in cosmetic products. Under Propyl Glycol above is this statement: There is NO warning label on products where concentration is greater than in most industrial applications. The reason why there is no warning label is because there are no skincare products where the concentration is greater than the industrial applications. Everything is a chemical--even water can kill you. Not everything that is natural is good for you--poison ivy and anthrax is natural. Also, there is so much of this kind of info out there pertaining to cosmetics & skincare products but these same chemicals and more are in the medicines that you take or your doctor prescribes you but people don't seem to question that. Also, for all the people who are so against these chemicals which have been deemed safe in the amounts that are used in body products, I have a question for you--is the water that you are using while bathing chemical-free? There is so much more to consider than just what is on these types of lists. Please take the time to educate yourself further than the info on the list.
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Since Clorox bought Burt's Bees they have started to add synthetic fragrance to some of their products. Really strong, sickening fragrance. Carrot face bar soap and day radiance lotion spf are the two I've been burned by. Burt's can not be "trusted" anymore. Sorry.
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I use organic olive oil and almond oil on my skin and fresh water. Aswell as diluted lemon juice and a natural face scrub made with ground almonds. I just bought some products by Jurlique an australian company that uses biodynamic ingredients and organic lip balm. I get really distressed as well with companies like Dove that advertise for the well being of women when their products need to be changed to having ingredients that are whole and natural. :)
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1. Check out HolisticBeauty.net . All of their cosmetics and personal care products do not have these ingredients. That website offers MUCH safer alternatives.
2. I find it extremely ironic and disheartening that beside this article on chemicals to avoid, is an advertisment for Dove Beauty Wash. It's really sad, the sponsors websites and magazines have to get to survive. Dove Beauty Wash is NOT a safe product.
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It is difficult in this day and age to believe any labels, any manufacturers, or those who develop the products we use daily. We try to rely on the "facts" on the packaging, and what we hear and read on line, in the news and in magazines, yet still all too often years down the road something is uncovered and we find out the very products that should be "safe" are just as if not more hazardous than others. I realize we have made a strong leap towards the correct labeling of food, cosmetics, clothing, and more, yet there are still those who get by with using harsh, potentially deadly chemical agents, and get buy with it. We dearly need a sound system, that can detect this type of horrible abuse and rid our nation and the world of this every growing problem. It seems all this is truly important to most now is what is in it for them. Not the caring about the consumer on the other end that will be entrusting their face, their skin and their body on their products. Then they wonder why we are leery to purchase news items. Well, without proper research, we never know what we are surrounding our home, our family, our bodies, our skin, our pets and much more to.
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