LETHAL BEAUTY - The Hazards of Cosmetic Products

Checking the labels must be a habit - not just with your food products but also for cosmetics as well. Cosmetics not only pertain to makeup items like foundations and lipsticks . It includes personal-care items such as shampoo and conditioner, soap, lotion, deodorant, nail polish, fragrances hair color and anything that you apply to your body which are not medical drugs.

Toxic ingredients which are  possible carcinogens may be present in your beauty products and these are absorbed into your body. To make things worse, these items have not undergone that much scrutiny as there is no pre-product approval before it invades the market. Now, this makes the label an instrument for your safety. However, you can not fully rely on it as well as manufacturers disguise some ingredients or perhaps state it as a trade secret.

There are no words of caution or warning in most cosmetic and beauty product labels. Chemicals in these products may cause skin irritation, endocrine disruption and even cancer. Thus, proper hazardous waste disposal must also be observed when tossing these items.

Here are some harmful chemicals in products that you ought to avoid:

• Phthalates - Mostly used in nail polish, hair spray, perfume and lotion. These are considered endocrine disruptors. This group of chemicals also increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Triclosan - This is found in antibacterial soap, toothpaste and deodorant.
• Fragrance - Refers to the products’ misleading “secret formula”. Usually found in shampoos, body wash, perfume and cologne.
• Parabens - Commonly used as preservatives in cosmetics These chemicals mimic estrogen and it also expose consumers at higher risk of breast cancer.
• Synthetic Colors - Considered a human carcinogen and is associated to ADHD in children.
• Formaldehyde - A preservative found in bodywash, shampoo and conditioner, eye shadows and nail polish products that can cause skin allergies.This is also labeled as a possible carcinogen.
• Toluene - Commonly known as benzene, methylbenzene, toluol and phenylmethane. This can possibly damage the respiratory system. Pregnant women must not be exposed to toluene vapors at it may incur developmental damage in the fetus.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) / Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) - These are often found in shampoos, cleansers and mascaras. Combination of these can possibly result in kidney and respiratory failure.

With these chemicals being the common ingredients in most cosmetics, it’s best if you thoroughly deliberate what products should be deemed necessary. Remember, beauty is skin deep - so does the effects of the harmful substances in your moisturizer.