Believe it or not, EVERYTHING is an environmental issue. Even when it seems like you health should be in the hands of your doctor, it also concerns people in the environmental field. Well, my main concern at 9:33pm on this particular August night is COSMETICS.
Yes, something you use every day could be harming you. There are endless lists online about carcinogens, toxins, reproductive hormones that companies aren't checking.
Avon, Revlon, and Estee Lauder all promote breast cancer awareness in October. Yet, in reality their products are loaded with carcinogens. Believe it or not but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not have any regulations for cosmetics before they put it on the shelf. Therefore, there is a group called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel but they only look at 11% of all products put into stores.
So I decided to go to safecosmetics.org and use their information to asses some of the products in my daily routine. http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/whats-i...
1. Conditioner- Pantene Pro-V Advanced Care
Okay so, according to their list my conditioner is pretty safe. But, I was shocked to find out that some conditioners have endocrine disruptors in them (endocrine system is correlated to your hormones, for the sake of brevity).
2. Lipstick- NYX Butter Gloss BLG 13
This actually did have something on the list: Mineral Oil. It was the first ingredient meaning that it is the most highly concentrated ingredient in the lip gloss. Apparently it is a carcinogen and a healthy alternative is beeswax, which is also present in the mix. However, it was concerning that the label had a section in bold: MAY CONTAIN with a bunch of products I did not really know. The website also said to stay away from heavy metals but on this half of the list there was titanium, iron, and manganese.
3. Fragrance- Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue Perfume for Women (my favorite)
Actually, my bottle did not list ingredients and I could not find it on the website. It was probably on the box way back when I purchased it. But, I did see that it was based out of either London or Geneva (there were a lot of little words on that bottle) and Europe tends to have stricter cosmetic laws as opposed to the USA. So I am hoping this one is better.
4. Sunscreen- Banana Boat
Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide make up 3.1% and 4.0% of this product respectively. Safe Cosmetics says to avoid nano versions of these chemicals however it does not specify. One article I read specifically said that larger for of Titanium Dioxide were okay but in cosmetics they are using the nano form. The piece claims that the nanoparticles are easily absorbed into the body, due to its size, and have been linked to nerve damage, may have toxic events on the brain, and it is a possible carcinogen. And Zinc Oxide is also criticized for its size and accessibility into the body.
When I started looking this up, the first thing that popped up was a list for the best nontoxic nail polishes! Also, it was boldly claimed that it did not include the "Toxic Trio" being Dibutyl Phthalate, Toluene, and Formaldehyde.
Now this is not all about negativity! Below is a link I found in helping people buy safe makeup! Just use it as a good excuse to go shopping.
https://www.learnvest.com/2011/10/your-guide-to-gr...
