Chemicals In Synthetic Skincare Products Linked To Several Health Issues

Published on December 10, 2019

Chemicals Found In Synthetic Skincare Products Linked To Several Health Issues

The synthetic skincare industry is the richest in the world followed by the Pharmaceutical industry, this is because the industry uses too much harmful chemicals to mass produce cheap skincare products.

Women, especially black women, have been found to have a higher body burden of certain chemicals found in skincare products, including parabens and phthalates. Both are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which mimic human hormones. Of particular concern to researchers, they can have effects at very small doses and have been linked to numerous health issues.

“If you think about the chronic conditions that the world is experiencing now – like fertility problems, thyroid conditions, diabetes, ADHD – these are all heavily impacted by hormones,” said Carol Kwiatkowski, the executive director of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX), a not-for-profit research foundation focused on reducing harmful chemicals in the environment. “Prevalence rates are skyrocketing. We just don’t know what is causing it. It’s undeniable that environmental chemicals are part of the picture. And we just continue to ignore them.”

More than 200 possible endocrine-disrupting chemicals currently in use in cosmetics and personal skincare care products have been identified by TEDX.

The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said the health effects of phthalates, parabens and many other environmental chemicals are not conclusive. Industry groups maintain that endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products are present at very small doses and are safe.

A big unknown is how chemicals interact with each other in the body after they are absorbed through the skin, according to Leiba. “We are talking about how phthalates may combine with parabens, for example, because they’re both endocrine-disrupting chemicals,” she said. “So, are the endocrine-disrupting effects additive? Or do they multiply the effects because they’re both acting on the same hormone systems?”

For now, data from so-called mixture studies, which look at the effects of chemical cocktails likely to be found in the real world, is limited but growing. But it remains difficult to draw a direct line between these chemical exposures and health problems that may occur years or even decades later.

“The problems you see that happen from early life exposure, which may be where most of that is coming from … when you try to connect that to things like fertility problems, or Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, it’s nearly impossible,” Kwaitkowski said.

With all the question marks around chemicals found in skincare products, health advocates say, a more precautionary approach is warranted – not unlike warnings from past public health crises.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be seeing these health impacts in our society before we make changes,” Leiba said. “How many people had to die before we realized that smoking actually causes cancer?”.

The solution to the emerging treat is to embrace clean, non toxic and all natural skincare products.

For all your natural skincare needs, consider PureBlendNaturals.com, we are a skincare brand with your safety in mind.