All of us use cosmetic and personal care products on a daily basis. And consequently all of us are exposed to many harmful chemicals contained in conventional cosmetic products. On average we use 9 different products a day, even if we limit ourselves to the absolute basics. It starts with toothpaste, face cream and deodorant in the morning. If you take a shower, then you are likely to use shower gel, shampoo, possibly conditioner and body lotion afterwards. That already makes it six. To style your hair, you might also dip into gel, wax or styling cream of some description. Most of us probably add a squirt of perfume or a splash of after-shave as well. Throughout the day you might wash your hands several times in different places, each time using a different soap, and maybe even hand cream. And if you are a woman, then you can add all your make-up bag contents on top of that.
Those average 9 personal care products we use daily contain an average of 120 ingredients, 90% of which have never undergone a full safety assessment as either individual substances or in combination with others*. Some substances have already been tested extensively and shown carcinogenic (cancer-inducing), neurotoxic (damaging the nervous system) or tetragenic (causing birth defects) effects. In spite of that evidence they are still allowed to be used and thus frequently incorporated into a wide range of cosmetics.
Your skin cannot defend itself against these untested and potentially hazardous or definitely dangerous chemicals, which penetrate the skin and are absorbed by the body.
Since legislation does not provide sufficient protection for consumers, you have to act yourself if you want to avoid unnecessary health risks.
Here are a few things you can do:
- Get informed and find out which ingredients and products to avoid.
- Read all labels and ingredient lists carefully and familiarise yourself with the terminology so that you fully understand them.
- Ask yourself before each purchase if you really need this product; if you already have five different perfumes or creams, another one seems unnecessary. On the whole, try to buy fewer products. The fewer products you use, the fewer chemicals you are exposed to and the smaller the likelihood of any adverse chemical reactions or interactions between different products and ingredients.
-When you buy cosmetics and personal care products, choose those with the shortest ingredients lists (obviously after having checked that the ingredients are safe). The longer the list, the higher the possibility of chemical interactions between the different ingredients and the higher the likelihood that you may suffer adverse reactions.
- Ignore hyped-up marketing campaigns for specific products or brands. Particularly statements like “scientifically proven” or “results in only 10 days” are to be treated with caution. To sell their products many manufacturers only emphasise the few beneficial ingredients, without mentioning the multitude of potentially harmful ones. Moreover, much of the product testing that is carried out by manufacturers themselves only spans a limited period of time and includes a relatively small and thus not really representative number of test people.
- Do a patch test before applying the product to your entire face or body to ensure you are not allergic to it. These days many shops offer testers or samples, so you could even carry out a patch test before actually buying the product. All you need to do is apply a small quantity of the product to the inside of your arm, cover it with a plaster and leave it for about 24 hours. If your skin becomes red, sore or itchy, you might be sensitive to the product.
- Try to use less of the products you buy. Quite often we use more than we actually need for a specific purpose. Take for example toothpaste: Most people squeeze up to an inch of toothpaste onto their toothbrush and cover the entire toothbrush head. Yet, only a fraction of that (a blob the size of a pea) is sufficient to clean your teeth properly. And it’s worth remembering that the cleanness of your teeth depends less on the amount and type of toothpaste you use than on the thoroughness and regularity of the brushing. Another product which is often used too generously is shower gel. Again you only need a small amount and sometimes you can even forego it altogether: Unless you have a physically demanding job where you sweat profusely or work with soiling materials, you are not really dirty – especially if you shower every day. You can easily wash off that little bit of “office grime” with pure water and a good loofah! It’s also better for your skin’s ph-level.
- If you know how, make your own cosmetic products (a good source of raw materials is available from Aromantic, see www.aromantic.co.uk).
- Since many alternative products use natural, plant-based ingredients und milder preservatives, their shelf-life might not be as long as that of synthetic products. This also means that you might have to handle them with more care to prevent bacterial contamination, e.g. by keeping the containers securely closed, not sharing your products and using applicators instead of your fingers. Natural products should always be stored in a cool place because heat and direct sunlight encourage the proliferation of bacteria. The good thing is that unlike most conventional cosmetics many natural products have use-by dates.
- If you suffer adverse reactions to any products you use, inform the manufacturer accordingly.
- If your local stores stock unsafe products, you might want to bring this to their attention and challenge them to offer safer alternatives.
- Make other people aware of the dangers of many conventional cosmetic products and encourage them to protect themselves and inform others. If more and more people demand and buy safer products, stockists and ultimately manufacturers will have to react and increase the safety of their products.
* Figures from: The Ecologist http://www.theecologist/archive_detail.asp?content_id=527
© Manuela Hübner, 2007
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