They may make you look beautiful, but are they damaging your health?
Cosmetics play a pretty important role in the average woman’s life. From the moment she wakes up in the morning until the moment she removes her makeup at night, there is always something in contact with her skin: eyeliner, eye-shadow, foundation, lipstick, and the list goes on.
But what if the chemicals in cosmetics commonly found on store shelves were actually dangerous? What if there were ingredients in your cosmetics that could do harm to your skin, hair, eyes, and body?
Here are a few potentially harmful chemicals in cosmetics you need to know about:
- Coal tar dyes — The name alone sounds terrible for your health! Imagine putting coal tar on your skin, and you can see why it’s an unhealthy ingredient. It’s often listed as “CI” with five numbers following. This coloring can contribute to cancer, and is known to contain heavy metals, which are highly toxic for your brain.
- BHA/BHT — Both BHA and BHT are used in a number of the preservatives that keep your makeup from spoiling, as well as in moisturizing lotions. Both are believed to disrupt your endocrine system, and BHA may even contribute to cancer. If you wash them down the drain (when washing your face), you may cause harm to the wildlife and fish that come in contact with the water.
- Dibutyl phthalate — Say that name fast five times! This chemical is often used in nail care products, as it helps to “plasticize” the nail polishes. It is known to disrupt your endocrine system, and may even be harmful to your reproductive system.
- Parabens — You’ve tried so hard to eliminate parabens from your plastic products, so why add them back into your life via your cosmetics? Parabens are often used in cosmetics as a preservative to keep the makeup from spoiling, and it’s well known that they can disrupt the male reproductive system and affect your hormones.
READ MORE: 9 Chemicals in Shampoo You Should Know About
- Parfum/Fragrance — If there is no explanation of what the “fragrance” is, you’ll find that the product will usually list “parfum” as the ingredient that makes your products smell nice. But there are a number of fragrance ingredients that can cause allergic reactions, provoke serious asthma attacks, and may even be linked to toxicity in the brain and a number of types of cancer.
- Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives — You’ll find that there are a lot of different types of preservatives that release formaldehyde when applied. They include: imidazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, quarternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, and methenamine. You’ll find them in a wide range of cosmetics, and the formaldehyde they release can contribute to various cancers.
- Petrolatum — This is a chemical ingredient you’ll find in a number of hair products, as well as in lip balms. In hair products, the chemical will help to add shine and gloss to your hair when applied, and it works as a barrier to trap moisture into the skin (perfect for lip balms). The petroleum product is often contaminated, containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are known to contribute to cancers.
- PEG compounds — These compounds are used in a number of cream bases, and you’ll find that they’re often hidden under a number of names–usually anything with “eth” in the title. There is a very high risk that these compounds are contaminated by known carcinogens.
If you’re a smart consumer, you’ll do your research before buying cosmetics. That way, you’ll know exactly what chemicals and ingredients are in your makeup before you apply them to your face!
