My Chemical Romance

With a new report revealing the 515 chemicals women put on their bodies every day, it’s high time we assessed the state of our relationship with beauty products.

The love affair between us and our beauty cabinets has robustly weathered the centuries. A new lipstick has the power to make us happy, a perfume can make us feel seductive and glowing skin makes us radiate confidence. Or so we thought until a new report revealed that many of our favourite cosmetics are a cocktail of industrially produced and potentially dangerous chemicals. So how do we deal with the idea that the products that are meant to make us beautiful could come with the high price of our health?

Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found our anti-ageing potions and lotions could, in some cases, be causing us to age faster. The crux of the findings is that the average woman’s daily grooming and makeup routine has her hosting an overwhelming 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body each day. Bionsen has reported that moisturiser alone can contain over 30 different chemicals and perfume up to 400.

Our lengthy routines are to blame. ‘Lots of the high-tech, new-generation cosmetics and beauty “wonder” treatments naturally contain more chemicals to be able to achieve even better results, which of course means that women now carry more chemicals than ever before,’ says Bionsen’s Charlotte Smith.

More than a third of the 2,016 women who took part in the study were unaware of the key ingredients in their toiletries, with only nine percent aware of most of the ingredients in the cosmetics they put on each day. Over 70 per cent said they were not concerned about the number of chemicals they put on their skin and only one in 10 opted for chemical-free toiletries when shopping.

‘Women have never been more image-conscious and their beauty regimes have changed over the years, from a simple “wash and go” attitude, to daily fake-tan applications, regular manicures, false lashes and hair extensions,’ Smith says.

While there are laws in place to try and protect us from harmful ingredients, they remain somewhat of a grey area and may not quite go far enough in protecting us from dangerous chemicals in our skincare. Even if you’re savvy about analysing ingredients lists, manufacturers aren’t obligated to detail any impurities found in the raw materials or used in the manufacturing process, so long as they don’t end up in the finished product.

The cosmetic industry is staunch in advocating the safeness of cosmetics. The Cosmetic Toiletries and Perfumery Association in the UK said in response to the findings: ‘Stringent laws require all cosmetics to be safe, and each product undergoes a rigorous safety assessment. The number of ingredients in a product, or whether it is natural or man-made, has no bearing on how safe it is.’
They rebutted that any chemicals are present in safe doses that can’t harm us. This may be true, but it begs the questions of what constitutes ‘safe’ and what the cumulative consequences of daily exposure to these may be.

It’s hard for us, as consumers, to gain perspective and gauge truths when some of the world’s most prestigious cosmetic houses have been accused of using Australian women as guinea pigs – thanks to our lax labelling laws. A recent example is the use of nanoparticles in cosmetics. Because of their ultra-small size, nanoparticles can penetrate cell membranes of the skin and integrate themselves into larger molecules. They can resist cellular defence systems but are large enough to interfere with cell processes. Despite widespread use in makeup and creams, the very traits that make them useful might also render them toxic. Thorough testing on the safety of nanoparticles once they have been absorbed through the skin has not been done.

An independent analysis by Friends of the Earth, which have described nanoparticle cosmetics as the 21st-century equivalent of lead and arsenic face powders, found nanomaterials in some of the biggest-selling brands.

Figures suggest only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients in use by cosmetic companies have gone through testing to determine possible health risks. The European Union recently put a ban on using 450 chemicals found in personal care products, although neither we nor the US have received the same reassurances. The combination of certain chemicals has been found to be carcinogenic, but there have been no long-term studies done by the FDA or the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association to see what these chemicals do to our health. Some of the nasty chemicals are Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS), parabens, Propylene glycol, DEA, MEA and TEA, Formaldehyde, Dibutyl phthalate artificial colours such as Blue 1 and Green 3.

So what can we do to minimise toxicity? Judith White, the name behind JW Organic Skincare, says educating ourselves is the best way to save our skin. ‘We absorb approximately 60 percent of what we put on our skin, so we simply need to make more informed choices about the products,’ she says. ‘Be willing to make different choices; healthier skincare enables our system to more readily absorb, utilise and excrete them naturally.’

Approved natural and organic ingredients, especially when they are certified organic and natural, are researched for their safety and efficacy. ‘This enables companies to be more responsible when it comes to making informed choices about the ingredients they use,’ Judith explains. ‘This ultimately impacts people’s health and wellness, either directly or indirectly, and goes a long way to reducing the amount of chemicals that a woman puts on her and her family’s skin.’

If you want to protect yourself from chemical overload, there are some simple solutions. You can reduce your overall cosmetics usage, switch to natural or organic products, or educate yourself on what substances are in your products and whether any are potentially harmful. Boosting your body’s ability to block toxins and remove them may also assist – drink plenty of water, green teas or other natural diuretics to help cleanse of built up and dangerous toxins.

It’s time we had an understanding of our skin the way we do our diets. You wouldn’t consume anti-freeze or petrol – so don’t put it on your skin. It’s a new twist on an old argument – beauty is not skin deep