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Many care products are heavily contaminated with harmful chemicals
Most people use special care products every day. Thus, they should not be harmful to our body. The reality, however, looks a bit different here. Many personal care products, such as make-up, perfume, hair care products, soaps and sunscreens, are loaded with a variety of unhealthy chemicals.
Are you one of those people who often use skin care products? If so, you should pay close attention to the ingredients of these products in the future. Researchers at the University of California have now found in an investigation that many soaps, sunscreens and make-up contain harmful chemicals. The researchers published the results of their study in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives".
Many care products contain harmful chemicals. These can harm our health and cause secondary diseases.lakes / Fotolia.com)
Harmful chemicals trigger neuropsychological problems
Personal care products such as make-up, perfume, soaps and sunscreen are contaminated with a variety of unhealthy chemicals. These harmful chemicals include phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone. Such chemicals disrupt our body's endocrine system, cause hormonal imbalances, and can trigger complications such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer through neuropsychological problems, say the experts. It has been known for a long time that many of our care products contain these chemicals. However, the amount and the extent of the effects were questionable for a long time, explain physicians. The new study found that typical personal care products put a lot of endocrine disruptors on our bodies. Even small breaks in the use of these products lead to a significant decrease in the burden of harmful chemicals, the scientists explain. To conduct the study, researchers from the University of California partnered with the local Clinic of Salud del Salle's Saline.
Teenage girls are at particular risk
The researchers asked 100 teenage girls not to use their personal care products for three days. Instead, subjects should use products that were free of toxic chemicals. Scientists had selected young women for the study because women are the primary consumers of many personal care products and are therefore often exposed to disproportionately high levels of these harmful chemicals, says lead author Dr. Kim Harley from the University of California. Teenage girls may be at particular risk because they undergo rapid reproductive development at their age. In addition, they use more personal care products per day than the average adult woman.
After three days without care products, the chemical values already decreased
The researchers took urine samples from the women before and after the three-day study. The physicians found that curbing the use of typical personal care products resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of endocrine disruptors. The metabolites of diethyl phthalate (found in perfumes) decreased by 27 percent, and methyl and propyl parabens (found in cosmetics) fell by as much as 45 percent. In addition, triclosan (found in antibacterial soaps and toothpaste) and benzophenone-3 (found in sunscreens) reduced by 36 percent, explain the physicians. Unexpectedly, at the end of the study, participants showed a small increase in the concentration of two less common parabens. The researchers suspected that these chemicals were either not listed on the labels of chemical-free products or they came into the products by accidental contamination. More research is needed to clarify what the chemicals have gotten into the products, the researchers say.
If possible, use care products without harmful chemicals
A significant drop in chemical levels was seen after only three days. Thus, it is clear that simple measures can be taken, such as using products with fewer chemicals to make a significant difference. Organic products or products without harmful chemicals are usually more expensive and harder to acquire for teenage girls with little money. However, the higher costs should not scare off young women, as non-chemical care products will give them a healthier future. Unfortunately, chemical-free products are not widely available. If you can not or do not wish to purchase such products, you should at least make sure that you use care products that contain as little of the harmful chemicals as possible. (As)