by Katie Garrison
From www.ema-online.org

Chemicals enter our bodies through the air we breathe, the soil, food, and through our skin.

As more and more of us are becoming aware of the chemicals in our lives, from air and water pollution, to the cleaning products used around our homes, to the amounts of pesticides and fertilizers used on our food, on cotton etc., we may be overlooking the very things we use on our bodies. The growing concern about the chemicals used in everyday products has been brought painfully to light. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) are clarifying the dangers.*

Chemicals enter our bodies through the air we breathe, the soil, food, and through our skin. These accumulate in our bodies, in our blood and fatty tissues… this chemical load is now called the “body burden.” This burden is revealing the causal connections between chemical exposure and health problems.

As a result, EWG, The Breast Cancer Fund and others have joined together to create “The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics” to raise awareness. They point to such chemicals as phthalates, commonly used in nail polish, perfumes, hairspray and their hormone disrupting effects. These “endocrine disruptors” can have damaging effects even in small doses, resulting in problems with reproductive health and fetal development.

Women are at particular risk. According to a survey of more than 2,300 people, conducted by the EWG and five other public health and environmental organizations, the average adult who responded uses nine personal care products daily, exposing herself to 126 chemicals every day – the majority of which are not adequately tested for safety. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have authority over the chemical compilations used in cosmetics and body products. The FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of ingredients or products before they are put on store shelves. The makers of these products are essentially in a self regulating industry.

At a press conference this past June, Janet Nudelman, Director of Program at The Breast Cancer Fund, explained that “according to 2000 FDA statistics, 89% of the over 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the industry-appointed Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel (CIR) or anyone else.” She went on to say that the cosmetics industry alone uses more than 5,000 chemicals in products – from shampoo, shaving cream, lotions and lipstick – many of which “are also used in industrial manufacturing processes to grease gears, clean industrial equipment, stabilize pesticides and soften plastics.”

“It is particularly egregious that, in this time of a growing breast cancer epidemic, products marketed specifically to women contain [known and suspected] breast carcinogens.”

U.S. companies should be held accountable to their consumers, and these companies even have an exemplary policy to follow. The European Union has already passed legislation (the Cosmetics Directive) which bans chemicals, commonly found in cosmetics, known to or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects. As a result, pressure on manufacturers is mounting, not just regarding the safety of products in Europe, but also in the U.S. and globally.

The reality is that this is an industry and social problem. It will take public education and empowerment to drive legislative policy to force changes in the industry and to greater protect our health. As consumers and investors, we can make cosmetic and personal care product companies listen. So speak up. We need your commitment to demand safer products, and your personal lifestyle choices will make a difference.

If you did, you will be appalled by your findings as you will find a combination of dangerous chemical and synthetic ingredients. So why is it important to analyze the ingredient lists? If you care for your health and beauty at the same time, you ought to know that when you use ANYTHING on your skin or hair, ALL of the ingredients absorb into your body.

Skin absorption is so potent that an increasing number of medicines are in patch form. This means that applying creams and oils is no different from eating them as they enter the blood-stream through the skin. The following is a list of five most common chemical ingredients that you should watch out for in your skin products:

1) Methyl, Propyl, Butyl, and Ethyl Paraben- Some combination of these synthetic ingredients are in almost every skin and hair product made today. Widely known to be highly toxic and cause allergic/skin reactions. Companies use this dangerous ingredient, because it is extremely cheap and extends the shelf life of the product by inhibiting microbial growth.

2) Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) – This highly toxic synthetic substance (used for foaming abilities) causes urinary tract, bladder and kidney infections, genital disorders, eye irritations, skin rashes, hair loss, scalp scurf similar to dandruff, and allergic reactions.

3) Synthetic Colours – Labelled as FD&C or D&C, followed by a colour number such as FD&C Red 6. These highly toxic substances are usually coal-tar based and have been linked as cancer causing agents.

4) Synthetic Fragrances – Most Products will simply say “Fragrance” which means any combination of the cheapest 200 synthetic, toxic ingredients the company can find. Causes headaches, dizziness, rashes, violent coughing, vomiting, skin irritations etc…

5) Triethanolamine (TEA)/Diethanolamine (DEA) - Used to adjust the pH balance, but toxic and causes eye problems, and dryness of skin and hair. DEA has been linked with kidney, liver and other organ damage according to several government funded research. One study found that the topical application of DEA in rodents resulted in anaemia, kidney degeneration, and nerve damage to the brain and spinal cord. (Melnick et al., 1994). Approximately 200 million pounds of DEA are produced annually in the U.S., most of which goes into personal care products. (USITC, 1990).

Of course, the above list is just a tiny subset of the myriads of chemicals used in our skin products and this short list is sufficient to prove to you that there are companies we trusted with our very lives were only concerned with the bottom line – money! Therefore, my greatest advice is to read the ingredient lists before you purchase that popular brand of skin care products. Also, ask yourself if you wish to continue supporting companies who will do anything to you, animals, or the environment to make money. At least now you know what you are paying for…

Deodorant ‘may be linked to breast cancer’

A link has been found between aluminium in deodorants and cancer, according to British scientists. Tests found that women who used deodorants had deposits of aluminium in their outer breasts. The samples were taken from women who had undergone a mastectomy for breast cancer…

See the full article at the Daily Mail, printed on Sept 3, 2007 here….

I am gravely disturbed by the fact that there are far greater danger lurking in our children products AND also our everyday products. The danger I am talking about is nothing but some material that we are very familiar with – the PVC.

I am not surprised that we are not aware that PVC is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. This is because almost everything is made out of PVC – our bag, raincoat, lingerie, diaper, bibs, upholstery, shoes, cellular phones, mousepads, balls, children’s swimming pools, food container, food wrap, plastic utensils, shower curtain and many more….. (see complete list)

PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats.

When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

To learn more about the poison plastic, I strongly urge you to check out The Campaign for Safe, Healthy Consumer Products.

Many commercial sunscreen products contain ingredients which latest research reveals may cause serious problems….

Please check your sunscreen and watch out for the following ingredients!

• Octyl-methoxycinnamate – produces free radicals (singlet molecular oxygen) known to be toxic to cells (1)

• Titanium dioxide – causes DNA damage (the cells genetic material) due to superoxide radicals, active oxygen radicals and hydroxyl radicals when exposed to light (2) (3) (4)

• Oxybenzone – is rapidly oxidised in the presence of light and inactivates important antioxidant systems in the skin (the skin’s natural protection system) (5)

• PABA – produces free radicals in the presence of light (1)

• Cinoxate – causes DNA damage (sister chromatid exchanges) (6)

• Padimate-O – produces free radicals in presence of light (singlet molecular oxygen) and substantially increase indirect damage (strand breaks in DNA) when in contact with cells (1) (7)

• Dibenzoylmethane and Parsol 1789 – produces free radicals responsible for direct DNA damage (strand breaks) (8)

• Methyl sinapate – causes DNA damage (chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges) (9)

• Phenylbenzimidazole sulphonic acid and 2-phenylbenzimidazole – acts as photosensitisers of DNA damage when exposed to sunlight or UV- B radiation (10)

I understand that this is frightening to know that your trusted sunscreen “two-faced”. What should you do? Obviously, if you sunscreen contain any of the above ingredients, throw then away and replace them with a safer sunscreen (e.g. Organic sunscreens with Zinc Oxide).

Don’t know which sunscreen to buy? Stay tuned to my following post as I will disclose a better and safer alternatives!

Medical Research Papers
1. Chem Res Toxicol 1996 Apr-May; 9(3):605-9
2. Mutat Res 2000 Mar 3; 466(1):1-7
3. Free Radic Biol Med 1999 Aug; 27 (3-4);294-300
4. FEBS Lett 1997 Nov 24; 418(1-2):87-90
5. J Invest Dermatol, 1996 Mar 106(3):583-6
6. Mutat Res 1989 Jun 21;2(2): 213-21
7. Mutat Res 1999 Jul 21;444(1): 49-60
8. Free Rad Biol Med 1999 Apr; 26(7-8):809-16
9. Mutat Res 1989 Jun; 212(2):213-21
10. Chem Res Toxichol 1999 Jan; 12(1):38-45

To my utmost dismay, some reputable “organic” companies claimed to make “organic sunscreen” that is safe and free of dangerous chemicals. How deceiving their claims are! When you scrutinize their ingredient lists, you will notice Titanium Oxide as part of the list.

Now, we know how dangerous Titanium Oxide are, yet this ingredient is prevalent in many commercialize sunscreen products. If you missed my post on that, Titanium Oxide is a photo-activator that can react with other sunscreen chemicals and promote their free radical production or their cancer forming abilities. Recent studies have shown that Titanium damages the cells’ DNA and it has been listed as a potential carcinogen.

As I move along, I managed to find a couple of trustworthy companies that truly live to their claims of making safe sunscreen. Rather than using Titanium Oxide, these companies use Zinc Oxide.

Since both of these ingredients are inorganic, what makes Zinc Oxide safer than Titanium Oxide?

Zinc oxide has been used as the natural blocking agent as it is the only ingredient synthetic chemical or natural to effectively provide comprehensive protection against UVB and both short and long UVA radiation.

Zinc oxide is the closest thing to a total sunblock on the market today. It uniformly covers from 290 to 380 nm, thus protecting against UVB and most of the UVA spectrum. No other sunscreen ingredient provides broader protection.

And unlike many chemical sunscreen agents, zinc oxide is never irritating. In fact, it is recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as a Category I skin protectant, meaning that it is safe for compromised or environmentally challenged skin.

Zinc oxide has over a 300-year history of safety, with no known adverse reactions (which is why it is often used to treat babies). Now, in its microfine form, it is ideal for use in sunscreens and daily moisturizers.

References:

New and Improved Daily Photoprotection by Surgery.org

I first did a search in Google using the search term “organic sun screen” and a list of hits were returned. One of the hit results interest me and I clicked on the following:

The above search results said “Find organic sunscreen manufacturers and retailers” and that’s definitely the site I would like to check out as part of my quest.

I was delighted to find a list of manufacturers that produce organic sunscreen:

I was attracted to Alba Botanica because they are selling “Organic Lavender Sunscreen SPF 30. Light textured and fast absorbing sun protection enriched with vitamins, certified organics herbs and pure plant proteins for optimum benefits. SPF 15 “. With that, I decided to click on their link and see what they got to offer.

It is a very well designed website and I am quite impressed with what I read about the product description:

PRO: From the Signature Ingredients, the product looks fantastic. They actually include CERTIFIED organic lavender, aloe vera, chamomile, green tea and ginkgo.. !How exciting… :)

However, being a skeptic I searched for the complete ingredient list on the web page. The ingredient list was displayed on the right most panel of the page and here is a snap shot of it:

CON: Hmm..after scrutinizing and analyzing the ingredient list, I am VERY disappointed with Alba Organic Lavender Sunscreen. Besides the organic ingredients, they have included other nasties as well! From the list, Alba sunscreen also contain:

• isopropyl palmitate,
• glyceryl stearate SE,
• steareth-2,
• dimethicone,
• trimethylsiloxysilicate,
• glyceryl stearate,
• stearic acid,
• methyl glyceth-20,
• cetyl phosphate,
• allantoin,
• phenoxyethanol,
• benzyl alcohol,
• potassium sorbate

These stuff are definitely neither natural nor organic! These are synthetic chemicals and you can actually go to MSDS to check its toxicity.

For example, Dimethicone is a silicone emollients that is occlusive – that is they coat the skin, trapping anything beneath it, and do not allow the skin to breathe (much like plastic wrap would do. Recent studies have indicated that prolonged exposure of the skin to sweat, by occlusion, causes skin irritation. Some synthetic emollients are known tumor promoters and accumulate in the liver and lymph nodes. They are also non-biodegradable, causing negative environmental impact.

I cannot imagine myself putting some Dimethicone on my skin. Even, the thought of applying a mixture with isopropyl palmitate is rather daunting. This is because isopropyl palmitate is a fatty acid from palm oil combined with synthetic alcohol. Industry tests on rabbits indicate the chemical can cause skin irritation and dermatitis. Also shown to be comedogenic (i.e. acne promoting).

These are just a small research on the ingredient list and I am not liking what I’ve read. For sure, Alba ‘Organic’ sunscreen will not be one of my to-buy product. It is now in my black book.

I am feeling angry about the abuse of the word ‘organic’ as a mere marketing strategy to attract health-conscious consumers. It is really up to you to judge, how organically safe is your organic sunscreen?

Summer is here and it is utmost important to protect your skin from the harmful UV rays. Too much exposure to the ultraviolet light, UVA or UVB from sunlight will inevitably cause premature skin aging, skin cancer, and a host of skin changes.

Obviously, one way to protect your skin from the summer sun is to put on sunscreens with SPF 15 or SPF30.

Although sunscreen can help to protect your skin from the dangerous UV but did you know that the sunscreen is a “double-edged sword”?

According to a report published at Guardian.co.uk, conventional sunscreens have ingredients which ahve dubious long term health effects. If you flip through your bottle of sunscreen and start reading the ingredient list, you will find the following “natural” ingredients – titanium, parabens, and petroleum based derivatives.

You should also be weary of ingredients such as Octyl Methoxycinnamate (OMC). This is one ingredient which is present in around 90 per cent of sunscreen brands. According to a study conducted by a group of Norwegian scientists, OMC has been found to kill mouse cells even at low doses!

The situation is worsen when Titanium Dioxide is also part of the ingredient list. Also another common sunscreen ingredients, Titanium Dioxide is a photo-activator that can react with other sunscreen chemicals and promote their free radical production or their cancer forming abilities. Recent studies have shown that Titanium damages the cells’ DNA and it has been listed as a potential carcinogen.

In other words, sunscreens are nothing more than poisonous concoctions loaded with carcinogens.

We all know we cannot go without with sunscreen but we will need to mitigate its uses. therefore if you are worried about the adverse effect of sunscreen, cover up or keep out of the sun completely. According Cancer Research UK, only 30 per cent of us stay in the shade.

We all know that it is not easy to avoid the sun, and the better option would be to purchase a quality organic sunscreen product.

Also, try to avoid unnecessary use of products with a high sun protection factor. For example, you don’t need to use a moisturiser with SPF at night.

Check you toothpaste tube and you will be appalled by the ingredient list! Be weary of the following harmful ingredients:

• Cocamidopropyl betaine
• Hydrated silica
• Sodium fluoride
• Sodium hydroxide
• Sodium monofluorophosphate
• Sodium saccharin
• Zinc citrate
• anything ending in ‘paraben’
• CI 42090 (FD&C Blue #1) colorant

The truth is that you don’t need chemicals in your toothpaste for clean teeth, fresh breath and healthy gums.

This blog is the first part to Natural Toothpaste Solutions.  We will continually update this segment when we discover new natural toothpaste recipes ;)

Recipe 1: Natural Tooth Powder

This recipe can so powerful that it can even remove nicotine stains from your teeth!

You will need:

3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons of salt

Method:

Mix the ingredients together. Use  it as you would any commercial tooth powder

by Susan Christy

1. BLISTERS

Footwear that pinches you, will give you blisters. You should not wear loose shoes either, since constant rubbing can also give rise to blisters.

Care

• Till the blisters has dried, do not wear the same shoe.
• Do not try to puncture the blister yourself, as your can infect your skin
• Use a good talcum powder and keep the blister dry while going out.
• When at home, apply an antiseptic cream over the blister.

2. CORNS

One is likely to get corns at places where one gets blisters. If the same defective shoe is being worn repeatedly, you will develop corns.

Care

• Change your shoes( foot wear) frequently.
• The best remedy is to leave corns alone and scrub them hard. with a pumice-stone and massage after that – If the corns are too painful, consult your doctor.

3. SWEATY TOES

There can pose a lot of problems. If you wear shoes, they always tend to get loose and acquired a peculiar odour.

Care

• Avoid wearing closed shoes altogether.
• Wash your feet with cold water often.
• Use a skin astringent on the soles of your feet.

4. ENLARGED VEINS

This generally occurs when one has to stand a lot and sometimes because of wearing very high heels.

Care

• Do not wear very tight shoes.
• Give yourself a little rest during the day by taking off your shoes and resting your toes higher than the level of your head.

5. CRACKED HEELS

Lack of moisture and oil can bring about such a condition.

Care

• Use glycerine and oil to massage your feet once a week.
• Use a good moisturiser daily.

6. CRACKED NAILS

This happens due to neglect of the toe-nail and also if the health in general is not good.

Care

• Include plenty of vitamins in your daily diet.
• Massage the toe nails with a rich nourishing cream daily.
• Do not use a dry nail-polish

7. SWOLLEN FEET

This results if one is net used to sitting or standing for too long, with feet hanging down and rather right shoes.

Care

• Wash your feet with soap and hot water and apply Eau-de-Cologne on them.
• Avoid sitting with your legs hanging down for too long.
• Lie down with the feet higher than your head as often as possible.

8. BUNIONS

These are caused due to certain pressure of the shoes on the toes. It is difficult to get rid of bunions so it is best to avoid them. When buying shoes, look for comfort rather than style.

9. FUNGAL INFECTION

Feet are more prone to such infections because fungus thrives in a moist and airless atmosphere, where the sun does not reach.

Care

• Switch over to open shoes or sandals without socks
• Use any anti-fungal cream, especially between the toes, which is the breeding place for infection.

About the Author

Author Susan Christy is an experienced beautician. She has been working on beautifying People in UK Since 10 years. Her beauty care tips have helped many people. She is presently with Feelconfident UK Buy perfumes and Gifts online