Are your cosmetics harming your health?

I’ve been doing a series of health talks on how to detoxify your body and one of the facts that is most eye-opening to people is the fact that cosmetics contains harmful chemicals.

It is really great if your cosmetics company does not test on animals, is giving back to the environment or supporting a good cause every time you purchase their product.

However, despite their good deeds, the ingredients they are using may be harming your health.

Have you heard of the Environmental Working Group’s ‘Dirty Dozen‘ list of foods which contain the highest amount of pesticide residue?

Well, David Suzuki has come out with the ‘Dirty Dozen in Cosmetics‘.

Click on the image below to download his consumer shopping guide.

If you want to find out what’s in your cosmetics and how hazardous they are to your health, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database!

How dirty are your cosmetics?

Rubber ducks, shampoo and bubble tea oh my! What harmful chemical do these 3 have in common?

Image from: http://ctya.org/blog/shampoo-and-conditioner-101/

Image from:http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Rubber_duck.jp

Image from: http://www.ecaasu2010.org/mixers.html

What do rubber ducks, shampoo and bubble tea all have in common?

PTHALATES!

Pthalates are chemicals which are added to plastic-based products to make the material softer and more flexible.

What types of products contain pthalates?

Rubber ducks and other children’s toys, body care products such as shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and fragrances, electronics, PVC shower curtains, wallpaper, furniture, plastic containers and plastic wrap, household cleaners, and now most recently discovered in the ingredients from bubble tea products.  List of recalled bubble tea products by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency 

How do pthalates get into your body?

Ingestion: Children who chew on toys (like those really cute rubber duckies!), eating food which was wrapped in plastic packaging material or stored in containers which contain pthalates. Recently, the Canadian government decided to reduce the pthalate content from children’s toys: http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2011/01/18/health-phthalates-restrictions-children-toys.html

Absorption: Applying personal hygiene products to the skin allows for daily absorption of pthalates.  Some products specifically add pthalates because pthalates aid in the skin’s absorption of the product.

Have I been smearing chemicals on my body for the last 25 years? Luckily, once you start using these products the pthalates are eliminated from your body in about 24-48 hours.

***One of the key things I recently learned is that companies are NOT required to list pthalate content in their products.  However, products that list the ingredient `fragrance`or `parfum`most likely contain pthalates.

Inhalation: Pthalate fumes from household products, electronics and furniture pass through the air and we inhale them on a daily basis. Air fresheners are a key culprit in the inhalation of pthalates.

Why should you reduce your pthalate exposure?

Preliminary studies are showing pthalates have potentially negative effects on the body by disrupting hormone balance and affecting male and female reproductive organs. There is also a potential relationship between pthalates and cancer, obesity and diabetes.

5 Resources for pthalate content in products:

Pthalates: what you need to know

Chemical Body Burden: Pthalates

Environmental Defence

Environmental Working Group

Slow Death by Rubber Duck

Please share your tips to reduce pthalate exposure and help others reduce their chemical body burden.