Skin Care: Chemical Based Or Organic Products?

Exposure of chemicals to the skin is both hazardous and unnecessary. Many people in construction found their liver damaged when they handled treated lumber. They, of course didn't consume it, but merely touched it and the prolonged, repeated action of touching the arsenic coated lumber played havoc with their body. The biggest organ in your body is your skin. Respiration and direct absorption of chemicals take place through the skin. Knowing this, women need to ask themselves whether they feel safe, repeatedly using chemical based skin care products.

Eye makeup has mercury added to it at a rate of up to 65 parts per million. Repeatedly we hear on TV that there is mercury in canned fish and pregnant women should limit their intake of fish. However no one ever mentions anything about the effect that mercury in eye makeup may have. This deadly metal is absorbed easily through the skin and accumulates in the body.

You should steer clear of bronopol. This ingredient is found in mascara. When it was tested on lab animals, it was found to bring about blindness and even death. It will take a very high concentration of bronopol to bring on these side effects, but think about the woman who uses the same brand of mascara for years.

Formaldehyde is a chemical that is found in many different hair care products and lotions. Ingredients such as DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinyl urea are known to irritate the respiratory system, can cause asthma, skin reactions and allergies and have even been known to trigger heart palpitations.

When you have been exposed to formaldehyde you can experience such side effects as immune dysfunction, headaches, dizziness, chest pain and even cancer. Be careful about trade names that contain aminoform, formid and uritone. You should also be concerned about others, but this is a good start.

Coal tar derivatives are also absorbed through the skin. Ingredients like 1-Naphthol and 2- Naphthol are included in this group. If taken orally an amount as small as 2 teaspoons is fatal.

Ingredients like vitamin C and E are often added to makeup to block the toxic effects of nitrosamines in the form of lauryl sarcosine, monethanolamine (MEA), cocoyl sarcosine, diethandamne (DEA) and laureth sulphate. When you buy makeup that touts the addition of these vitamins, read the rest of the ingredients. Instead of providing something extra these vitamins may be blocking carcinogenic substances the product contains.

Makeup often contains ingredients that act as moisture retainers, emulsifiers and solvents. Did you know that these ingredients are all part of the make-up of brake fluid and antifreeze? One of these ingredients is propylene glycol. Due to its toxicity, the EPA has stated that workers need to wear skin protection when working with this product. Safety Data Sheets give the warning that if this ingredient is absorbed through the skin, one may suffer from abnormalities in the brain, liver and kidneys. Despite all of its ill effects, it remains an ingredient in some stick deodorants and makeup.

Cosmetics, skin care products and lotions are applied on a daily basis. Before purchasing a product, wisely read the ingredients on the label. The parts per million of certain toxic ingredients may be very small, but if you use a product over many years, there will be a slow and steady build-up in your body. Mysterious illnesses can often be traced back to something that a patient thought had no consequences. One good option is to go organic. This would be the kindest thing you could ever do not only for your skin, which is the largest organ of your body, but for all your other body organs too. Be sure that you begin to monitor what you put on your skin before you apply it.