A few months’ ago, I talked to you about reducing the chemicals we use in our household cleaning products. I hope I made some of you think about what goes from these bottles on to our surfaces, and ultimately into our bodies and the air. Let’s keep on this train, but extend it to the realm of beauty products. Oh, I know, I know…why must I be so demanding, and bring the environment (gasp!) into our bathrooms and our sacred beauty regimes. I promise you: you want (nay, need) to hear this, and you can still be pretty. Just bare with me.

The Guide to Less Toxic Products states that “more than 5,000 ingredients are allowed for use in personal care products. Many are identified by government agencies as hazardous, but many others remain untested.” For a more detailed guide on these specific chemicals, visit their site. I’ll also include a list of some of the Nasty Ones to Avoid at the end of this column.

In general, when I shop for beauty/personal grooming products, I look at the ingredients and if I can’t pronounce most of them, it goes back on the shelf. My number one rule is this: I absolutely will not buy anything if it has “parabens” in them.  These nasty little critters (okay, they aren’t actually alive) are “preservatives with antibacterial properties” that contain estrogen (Guide to Less Toxic Products). Parabens are found in most personal beauty products, so when I made the decision to eliminate them from my life, I said goodbye to 99% of the brands I had been using. They are in makeup, shampoo, body wash, lotions…like I said, they are everywhere. And when you stop to think about it, these products are going directly on your skin. Your body is literally absorbing whatever you put on it. The danger with parabens is their link to cancers, primarily breast cancer. While many continue to debate whether parabens really do cause cancer, enough of a link has been found for this shopper to say “no thank you.” As stated on the Canadian Cancer Society’s website, “in January 2004, new research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology found an ingredient called parabens in 20 human breast tumours.”  That’s enough for me to stay away.

Morals aside, I still enjoy being a girly-girl at times and have not thrown personal grooming in the trash. I enjoy products. I like makeup. The fruiter the smell of my body wash, the better. I didn’t stop using these products entirely; I just became more aware of which ones I choose to purchase.

Makeup
In the realm of makeup, I now buy from two brands: Physicans Formula Organic and Almay’s Natural products. In order to appreciate this behavioural change, I should admit that I used to be a marketing team’s dream consumer when it came to makeup. New lipgloss? Yes please! Pretty packaging for eyeshadow? I’ll take two! Seriously, the impulse buys that occurred in the make-up aisle were astonishing. Now, I avoid 80% of this aisle and go directly to these two tiny sections (and conveniently, they are often side-by-side). There doesn’t tend to be a lot of choice in these products just yet (you can only buy black eyeliner for example; different shades of black, mind, but still, just black), but it’ll come. All it takes is an increase in customer base. So I buy my standard foundation and replace the same plum eyeshadow I tend to wear (they do have more choices in eyeshadow—I just like plum) without a moment’s hesitation. These products do tend to be pricer than your average drugstore offering; however, I rest at night knowing that I am aware of what I’m putting on my face. It is your face, after all. Also, since I’ve cut out my impulse buying, I think sticking to these products is actually better for my wallet in the long run.

And if you want to treat yourself once in a while (and who doesn’t?), many brands have jumped on the idea of the “all natural” lip balm. And what girl doesn’t like a new lip balm? I know I have at least a dozen in my possession at the moment (that still doesn’t stop me from losing all of them and running out to buy more), from Kiss my Face, to Burt’s Bees (my favourite!), to Yes to Carrots…even ye olde faithful ChapStick has come out with a natural offering. These tend to be similarly priced to their more chemically ladden counterparts.

Soap & Slather (aka. Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, and Lotion)
I still have just as many liquids and lotions that get slurped on my self every day. I shampoo and condition my hair on a daily basis (I wish I could get away with every other day, but that’s just not a pretty sight), I like using a foamy bath wash, I slather cream on my pores wherever I can—face, legs, hands—whenever I can…this hasn’t changed since eliminating chemicals. I can find all kinds of wonderful, natural, products both at the drugstore, and in the organic section of my grocery store. And while there are two tiers of pricing for regular products (ones you can afford regularly and ones you treat yourself to), the same can be said for organic/natural products. Many brands such as Yes to Carrots or Live Clean are quite affordable and equal the pricings of their more mainstream competition. If you wish to go above and beyond, there are some lovely treats available mostly in the organic section of the grocery store (I’m a huge fan of tea tree oil shampoo and pick it up when it’s on sale).

Why Won’t My Hair Behave? (i.e. Hair Styling Products)
The past two years have seen me change from having waist-long hair that I would simply tie back in a ponytail or bun, to an adorable pixel-style cut…adorable, that is, as long as it’s styled correctly. When left to its own devices, my hair is downright (or, I should really say, “up”right) scary.  So I’ve recently embraced the need for hair styling products. This is where sticking to my morals is tricky my friends. Sadly, the natural “trend” has not reached many hair styling product manufacturers. I am happy to have discovered that Live Clean now makes gel, hairspray, and mousse, but I cannot find a brand that makes natural hair putty or wax. Putty or wax is a short haircut’s best friend, so this sacrifice has been a sad one. I will continue to hunt, and if anyone knows where I may find this product, please let me know!

Excess Packaging
What annoys me just as much as the stuff inside most of these products is the amount spent on excess packaging. So much packaging. It’s ridiculous how much packaging will exist in relation to the size of the actual object. A pair of mini-tweezers, for example, is protected to the nines in pillows of bubbles, foam, and cardboard. Most of this pacakaging gets tossed aside, thrown out, destroyed. Waste. The containers that many shampoos etc. are in are non recyclable. Plastic—the evil of evils. Shudder.

Enter the natural products. Thankfully, these products have been designed with the eco-consumer in mind. Not only are they offering chemically free (or at least reduced) products, but most of the time, their packaging is minimal, recyclable, and some even go so far as to use soy-based inks. Hurrah!

The Price of Beauty
Am I sacrificing beauty for Mother Earth? I truly don’t believe so. Yes, yes, Hollywood actresses swear by these $99/jar of eyecream they use daily to maintain their healthy glow;  however, I couldn’t afford that stuff in my pre-green days, so really, not much has changed. I can’t help but think that many cultures still use natural beauty products (oatmeal as an exfoliate; egg yolk as hair conditioner); in fact, it is mostly our Western consumer-overloaded culture who spend thousands each year on tubs and tubes of what is essentially, quite similar products. Am I crazy to think that the more natural a product is, the better effect it will have on my skin? I’m only 31 though so my theory has yet to be tested. Give me 20 years or so, and I’ll let you know. For now, I’m not overly concerned. I’d rather be healthy than beautiful anyway, if I had to choose—and I really don’t think I have to.

The Main Culprits
The following list of chemicals is an abridged list taken directly from The Guide to Less Toxic Products.

DEA, TEA, MEA – Diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), and monoethanolamine (MEA) are hormone disruptors. They are also known to combine with nitrates to form cancer-causing nitrosamines. If a product contains nitrites, a chemical reaction can occur either during manufacturing or after a product is made. There is no way to know which products contain nitrosamines because government does not require manufacturers to disclose this information on the label. A 1997 study by the U.S. National Toxicology Program found that these compounds themselves might also be carcinogenic. Repeated skin application of DEA was found to cause liver and kidney damage in animals.

Dioxins – You won’t find dioxin listed on any label. It’s formed as an accidental by-product of some manufacturing processes using chlorine, especially paper bleaching and the creation of plastic. Dioxin is one of the most powerful carcinogens known and accumulates in body fat. Mainstream deodorants and anti-bacterial soaps are suspect.

DMDM Hydantoin, Diazolidinyl Urea and Imidazolidinyl Urea - preservatives that release formaldehyde. It is estimated that 20 per cent of people exposed to this chemical will experience an allergic reaction. Exposure to formaldehyde may cause joint pain, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and loss of sleep. In lab tests, formaldehyde has caused cancer and damaged DNA.

FD&C Colours – Used extensively in personal care products, FD&C colours are made from coal. Coal tar colours have been found to cause cancer in animals and many people experience allergic reactions like skin irritation and contact dermatitis. They are listed as FD&C or D&C, followed by a colour and a number. Example: FD&C Red No. 6, or D&C Green No. 6.

Fragrance – Synthetic fragrance is the most common ingredient found in personal care products. “Fragrance on a label can indicate the presence of up to 4,000 separate ingredients. Most or all of them are synthetic. Symptoms reported to the FDA have included headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting, and allergic skin irritation. Clinical observations by medical doctors have shown that exposure to fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes.” (Home Safe Home, Debra Lynn Dadd). Fragrance is a known trigger of asthma. Many of the compounds in fragrance are suspected or proven carcinogens. Phthalates in perfumes are known hormone disruptors.

Lanolin - Lanolin is a common allergen and because of this has been replaced in many products. But there is another reason to be cautious about lanolin. Lanolin is derived from sheep’s wool. It may contain residues of insecticides into which sheep are dipped to control external parasites. These insecticides are fat-soluble. Dr. Samuel Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, says these chemicals are likely to migrate through the skin and into the bloodstream. However, some sheep producers now control parasites by injecting sheep with insecticides, which work by circulating through the animal’s bloodstream. The best way to know if the lanolin in a personal care product is free of insecticide is to look for a certified organic product.

Lead – Lead is a known carcinogen and hormone disruptor. It is readily absorbed through the skin, and accumulates in the bones. It causes neurological damage and behaviour abnormalities, and large accumulations can result in leg cramps, muscle weakness, numbness, and depression. Lead is found in some hair dyes.

Nonylphenols - This estrogen-mimicking chemical is a surfactant used for its detergent properties. It can be found in some plastics, as well as shaving creams, shampoos, and hair colours. It can be created when certain chemicals commonly found in personal care products break down. Nonylphenols can be a component in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a compound often found in acrylic nails. They are persistent in the environment and of such concern that many European countries are phasing them out. Some manufacturers have voluntarily discontinued their use.

Parabens - An estrogen mimic, parabens are preservatives with antibacterial properties. Widely used in all kinds of personal care products, paraben is usually preceded by the prefixes methyl-, ethyl-, butyl-, or propyl-. Parabens can cause allergic reactions or contact dermatitis in some people. Preservatives are one of the leading causes of contact dermatitis. There are safer practical alternatives to parabens, including vitamin E, vitamin C, and grapefruit seed extract.

PEG – Polyethylene glycol (PEG) may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogen. Dioxane readily penetrates the skin. While dioxane can be removed from products easily and economically by vacuum stripping during the manufacturing process, there is no way to determine which products have undergone this process. Labels are not required to list this information.

Phenylenediamine - Used in permanent hair dyes, phenylenediamine can cause eczema, bronchial asthma, gastritis, skin irritation and even death. It is also a carcinogen. It can react with other chemicals to cause photosensitivity. The US Food and Drug Administration proposed legislation which would have required warning labels on products, advising that this ingredient can penetrate skin and has been determined to cause cancer in lab animals. If passed, beauty salons would have had to post warnings for their customers. Cosmetic industry lobbyists defeated the proposal.

Phthalates – Everyone in the general population is exposed to phthalates from one source or another. They are found in many products from plastics to shampoo. These hormone-disrupting chemicals are suspected of contaminating breast milk and causing damage to the kidneys, liver, lungs, and reproductive organs. One type of phthalate, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is commonly found in fragrances and other personal care products. Phthalates are used to enhance fragrances, as solvents, and to denature alcohol. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives (December 2002) found that DEP is damaging to the DNA of sperm in adult men at current levels of exposure. DNA damage to sperm can lead to infertility and may also be linked to miscarriages, birth defects, infertility and cancer in offspring. DEP is the phthalate found in the highest levels in humans. Recent product tests found the chemical in every fragrance tested in the United States. Manufacturers are not required to list phthalates on product labels, so they are difficult to avoid.

Polysorbate 60 and Polysorbate 80 - Polysorbate 60 and Polysorbate 80 may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogen. Dioxane readily penetrates the skin. While dioxane can be removed from products easily and economically by vacuum stripping during the manufacturing process, there is no way to determine which products have undergone this process. Labels are not required to list this information.

Propylene Glycol – Propylene glycol is recognized as a neurotoxin by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety in the U.S. It is known to cause contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities. It is widely used as a moisture-carrying ingredient in place of glycerine because it is cheaper and more readily absorbed through the skin. The Material Safety Data Sheet for propylene glycol warns workers handling this chemical to avoid skin contact.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats) - Listed on labels as benzalkonium chloride, cetrimonium bromide, quaternium-15 and quaternium 1-29, these compounds are caustic and can irritate the eyes. Quaternium-15 is a formaldehyde releaser and the number one cause of preservative-related contact dermatitis. There is concern about their potential as sensitizers. For about 5% of people, quats are an extreme sensitizer and can cause a variety of asthma-like symptoms, even respiratory arrest. When they are used with hot running water, steam increases the inhalation of vapours. These compounds are used in a wide range of products as preservatives, surfactants and germicides. They make hair and skin feel softer immediately after use but long-term use will cause dryness.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate – This chemical is a known skin irritant and enhances allergic response to other toxins and allergens. The U.S. government has warned manufacturers of unacceptable levels of dioxin formation in some products containing this ingredient. The chemical can react with other ingredients to form cancer-causing nitrosamines. Sodium lauryl sulfate is used as a lathering agent. It is present in ninety per cent of commercial shampoos, as well as skin creams and some brands of toothpaste.

Talc - Talc is a naturally occurring mineral which is carcinogenic when inhaled. In addition, women who regularly use talc in the genital area are at increased risk for ovarian cancer. Airborne talc in body powders and antiperspirant sprays can irritate the lungs. Talcum powder is reported to cause coughing, vomiting, and even pneumonia. Many pediatricians now tell parents to avoid using talc on babies as it can cause respiratory distress, sometimes resulting in death. Talc is found in blushes, face powders, eye shadows, liquid foundation and skin fresheners. Used near the eyes, it can irritate sensitive mucous membranes. Talc in liquid formulations poses minimal risk.

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