In the Dark About the Ingredients in Your Skin Care Products

For those of you that have already begun greening your lifestyle, there’s something to be aware of concerning personal care products for yourself and your baby. The FDA does not regulate personal care products the same way it regulates food and drugs. In fact, they approve thousands of products that contain cancer causing agents. The $35 billion dollar beauty industry in the U.S. is basically self-regulated, which translates to not much regulation at all. Many of the products sitting on shelves across the country contain un-tested and often harmful substances. These substances are commonly used in industrial jobs where workers are required to wear special gear to protect them from the chemicals. (aletapita, Natural Living) To me, this is quite alarming. However, it can be avoided. As long as regulation is lacking, and skin care products contain harmful, carcinogenic substances, it is crucial to make better choices when purchasing your products. Organic is one route, but beware, skin care products proclaiming to be organic is a whole other issue itself. You need to know the ingredients that must be avoided.

According to Dr. Samuel Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, mainstream cosmetics and personal care products (CPCPs) are the single most important, yet generally unrecognized class of avoidable carcinogenic exposures for the overwhelming majority of citizens in major industrial nations. There are individual as well as interactive factors that create such unique risks.

First, our skin is our largest organ and it is extremely permeable, that is, it absorbs anything that it comes in contact with. Medications have been and can be rubbed into the skin to be effective. Perhaps this is something to consider as you apply and use lotions, creams, shampoos, conditioners and body washes to yourself and your baby over, and over again. According to Dr. Urvashi Rangan, an environmental health scientist, the products that contain toxins, may do more harm due to the fact that the toxins lodge directly in fat cells, bypassing the liver.

This brings us to the second factor, repeated and combined exposure to toxic skin care products. Think about the myriad of products that you use on a daily basis. Sure, the amount of toxicity in each product may not be that significant, but when combined with all the other small amounts, in each of your personal care products, it equates to worry. According to Devra Lee Davis, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Caner Institute, the usual regulatory approach of assessing risk one chemical at a time does not account for the combined effects of very low levels of hidden contaminants in personal care products and other sources. The maximum quantity that the FDA allows of cancerous agents doesn’t take into account the combined effect from the many products that one uses. (Nokturnal Rithm, AOL Journals) Therefore, the prolonged duration of exposure, daily exposure, over a lifetime, of toxic ingredients, does have a cumulative negative effect. It is imperative that we lower our exposure to controllable agents that we know or suspect cause cancer.

The next factor is the interaction between the many different ingredients. Even though one ingredient may not be a known carcinogen, it may be a “hidden” carcinogen that may have carcinogenic properties when it combines with other ingredients in a product. It must be noted that infants are 100 times more sensitive to these “hidden” carcinogens than adults. (http://www.preventcancer.com/) Again, a just reason to scrutinize the skin care products that you purchase.


The largest group of hidden carcinogens includes many wetting agents or detergents. The permeability of skin to carcinogens is increased by the presence of wetting agents or surfactants, which are probably the most common class of ingredients in the majority of CPCPs. The ingredients to avoid are PEGs, Laureths, Ceteareths, Triethanolamine (TEA), Quaterniums and Diazolidinyl urea preservatives. The latter two break down, either in the product or the skin to release the carcinogenic formaldehyde. (www.preventcancer.com) Other common ingredients that should be avoided will be listed later in the article.

The final risk factor is the bypassing of the detoxifying enzyme. The carcinogens in CPCPs pose increased cancer risks than that of food contaminated with carcinogenic pesticides because they are not detoxified by the liver. Rather, they reach the general blood circulation without this protective detoxification by lodging directly in fat cells through the skin. I am not sure about you, but wouldn’t it make sense for there to be adequate regulation for personal care products as there are for food and drugs?

The following are the most offending ingredients that need to be avoided.

· Sodium Lauryl Sulfate & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS & SLES)
· Propylene Glycol (PG)
· FD and C Colors
· Fragrances
· DEA, TEA & MEA
· Parabens
· 1-4-Dioxane
· Sodium Flouride
· Glycerin
· Artificial flavors and colors
· Aluminum
· Formaldehyde
· Dioxins
· Petrolatum or Mineral Oil
· Fluorocarbons

This is not an exhaustive list of the ingredients to avoid.

It should be noted that Sodium Laureth Sulfate is banned in Japan and is only used for the purpose of mutating! Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Parabens are cancer causing agents in lab rats.

Specific products that contain one or both of Sodium Laureth Sulfate or Parabens are listed below:

Johnson & Johnson baby lotion, Jergens body firming lotion, Aveda shampoo, Redken shampoo and conditioners, Bead Head products, Matrix hair care, Wella shampoo and conditioners, Mane and Tail shampoo and conditioner.

It is up to you. You have to make the choice to be in the know, and choose your skin care products accordingly. There is mounting evidence as to the ill effects of toxins in skin care products. And remember, don’t get discouraged, start with small steps to “green” your lifestyle.