5 Things You Won’t Believe Are in Your Beauty Products
Some of the ingredients used in beauty products, particularly the personal care varieties, are quite simply shocking. According to a recent study, 1 in every 8 of the 82,000 different ingredients utilized in these given products in the US are industrial chemicals. This includes some that have been proven to be carcinogenic, pesticides, reproductive toxins and even hormone disrupters. A big number of beauty products contain plasticizers, degreasers and surfactants as well.
For those who might be in the dark, plasticizers are chemicals used to maintain the softness of concrete. While degreasers are utilized to keep grime off auto parts and surfactants minimize surface tension in liquids including paints and inks. So, you can just imagine the adverse reactions when such chemicals come into direct contact with your skin. To always be on the safe side, only settle for natural beauty products, which are formulated with all-natural, organic and handmade ingredients. This can go a long way in letting you avoid the potent dangers of using products with toxic chemical formulations. Well then, here are some of the 5 chemicals frequently present in personal care products.
Parabens
Parabens are essentially the most prevalently utilized cosmetic preservatives at the moment. Generally speaking, around 75% to 90% of beauty products have these harsh chemicals. Parabens can very easily penetrate the skin, and cause serious reactions. For instance, they can imitate the key female sex hormone estrogen, and have been found present in cancerous tissues in breasts. These chemicals can as well interfere with male reproductive functions. Also, the form that is referred to as methylparaben can react with UVB rays from the sun, which culminates in fast-tracked skin aging and even DNA damage.
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an extremely dangerous chemical whose numerous applications includes resin production in wood products, vinyl floors, permanent press fabrics and toilet cleaners. There is a wide variety of beauty products that contain formaldehyde-releasing agents in their formulations. These given agents gradually, but consistently release diminutive amounts of this dangerous chemical. According to the International Agency for Cancer Research, formaldehyde is a human carcinogen. Lab research also indicates that formaldehyde present in cosmetics can be easily absorbed into the body through the skin.
Artificial Fragrances
The artificial fragrances utilized in beauty products are usually complex mixtures composed of numerous chemicals. Overall, about 3,000 different chemicals are used as artificial fragrances. These chemicals are naturally key ingredients in products such as perfumes, deodorants and even colognes. Still, they can be present in almost all other personal care beauty products. It is important to note that even those labeled as ‘fragrance-free’ or ‘unscented’ can contain artificial fragrances together with a masking agent.
The main issue with fragrance ingredients in these particular products is they aren’t normally listed on their labels. This is simply because their recipes are very often regarded as ‘trade secrets,’ and manufacturers aren’t legally obliged to disclose them. Of the thousands of chemicals utilized to make artificial fragrances, a good number of them are irritants that can trigger allergies, migraines and even asthma symptoms. Even more appalling, some individual artificial fragrances have been linked with cancer and neurotoxicity too.
Mineral Oil
Mineral oil is an extremely common ingredient in numerous personal care products including moisturizers, lip balms and even foundations. As you may probably be already aware, the skin is the biggest organ in the body, and coordinates with the kidneys to eliminate toxins from it. However, it needs to breathe freely to be in a position of executing this function. Mineral oil coats the skin as a plastic wrap would. This disrupts its natural immune barrier and blocks its capability to breathe. Mineral oil has also been proven to draw moisture from the cells found deep within the skin. This impedes cell renewal, breaks down collagen and can even destroy connective tissue. Also, the skin ages prematurely when its cells are deprived of adequate moisture.
BHA and BHT
BHA and BHT are closely related types of artificial antioxidants often utilized as preservatives in moisturizers, lipsticks as well as other cosmetics. Both of them have been found to trigger allergic skin reactions. On the other hand, BHA has been labeled as a potential human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. On its part, BHT has been found to cause tumors in specific circumstances. While there is evidence indicating high doses of it can prevent the right expression of male sex hormones and mimic estrogen.
Interesting!
We do a lot of things in the name of beauty!
I am allergic to many of these things so only use all natural products.
Oh my goodness, this is terrible. What can we do to stop this?
I had no idea these chemicals are in my products.
This is a very informative post. I learned a great deal ty for this awesomeness!
I would’ve never thought formaldehyde would be in our products. Thanks for this information.
“Formaldehyde is an extremely dangerous chemical”…..i dont know why this is even considered to be put into a product!
No wonder I am always breaking out with all the crap in makeup!
wow what an eye opener
Scary to realize what is in anything we use these days.
I didn’t know Formaldehyde was in beauty products. That is poison!
wow this is why i like all natural ingrediants!
Didn’t know about the 2nd one.. yikes
wow this is some info! thank you.
Oh my gosh! Formaldehyde! I had no idea! That is insane! How is that even legal?!
It’s horrifying what goes into our skin and hair care! I was actually trying to find my hubby an unscented antiperspirant (I can’t convince him to switch to a natural one yet) and there was a fragrance free one that had fragrance masking fragrance added. I was in shock!
This really alarms me. I wish I could make my own products, especially from natural ingredients.
Its really quite shocking what is put into the products we put on our skin.
I knew about most of these which is why I have been using natural products. When I became pregnant I did a lot of research into products because I didn’t want to use anything that could harm the fetus.
If you get your products from Europe, they have banned thousands of products that are still used all the time by American companies.
thanks for the info
Great! I try to stay away from all that stuff. It dismays me that it is even in some of our skin care. Thanks for letting us know which ingredients to avoid.
I knew about parabens being in certain products but I had no idea about formaldehyde. That’s gross , no wonder certain products make me break out .
I think this is why i have rosacea because i was using all this crap on my face. so now i only use natural skin care.
Great information that will let people know what is inside the beauty products they use.
Thanks for this info. I often don’t think about all the harmful additives when purchasing beauty products.
The word formaldehyde gives me full body chills! None for me please & thank you!
Noice!
Wow, I didn’t realize! Thank you for the information!
I am most surprised by Formaldehyde. Wow! That just doesn’t sound good.
I actually wonder about the chemicals in our food and personal care products and how much they are contributing the fibromyalgia epidemic. It seems the advent of these mass produced chemically heavy items all coincide with the start of the illness that plagues so many including myself. Thank you for making natural products that are safer for us!
I would never have thought formaldehyde would be in our products. How scary!
Thank you for the heads-up!
Had no idea about this!
I’m not big on make-up. It really wasn’t because of my suspicions which are all but confirmed here but simply because I’m somewhat of a supporter of all things natural.
However, I’m always happy to run into article like these to share with others. I do get that people like to doll up but knowing how many chemicals are in the mix it really is best to save it for special occasions and/ or find make-up that doesn’t have all of that stuff… and not just make-up but the nail polishes, the toners, the shampoos…
Ingredient watcher and scrutineer for 10 years +, Never again in life with put chemicals on my sensitive skin.
Unfortunately, most all-natural skin care products are usually on the expensive side of the spectrum, which is why less expensive toxic and skin-irritating products remain on the market. Aloe plants can be grown at home and used simply by cutting a branch/stem tip. I wonder if coconuts can be cut open and the hardened oil/fat used naturally on skin as well.
Good informations. I didn’t know that formaldehyde is in my beauty products.
Wow!! Formaldehyde?!? Parabens, BHA, BHT, mineral oil, preservatives… messes with your hormones, some cause cancer– I really need to read the labels and ingredients before I buy beauty products just like I do with food. Just WOW!
I did know about all those ugly things in many products. That’s why I avoid them.
“According to a recent study, 1 in every 8 of the 82,000 different ingredients utilized in these given products in the US are industrial chemicals.”
Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for posting!
Now I know i’ll do more to utilize the natural ingredient we have access to
To protect my skin and internal health too
This is article is scary yet informative and I’m glad I came across it.
I definitely try to avoid all of the chemicals. Our skin is natural and deserves as much.
thanks for this information!
Oof! Didn’t know about half of these. Thanks for sharing!
I do my best to avoid the chemicals listed. Natural ingredients are the best things to use
Oh wow! Such a great read.
I have been active in eliminating parabens in my skin/hair products and artificial fragrances in just about everything. It’s not instant for me since I am doing it my attrition – budget won’t allow a total replacement of everything! Thanks for the information on other ingredients to be mindful of.
Can you tell the names of any brand which makes natural beauty products at affordable price
I avoid fragrances like the plague, they almost always irritate my skin!
Also which is a valid point not mentioned is animal tested.
If more people were aware of this there would be total outrage.
Great information, I didn`t really know all of this stuff before.
Even products marketed as natural, can contain some of these nasties! Our skin is so porous, we must be careful what we introduce to our bodies. 100% natural all the way.
The mineral oil stuff is new to me, thanks for the valuable health info.
I know that the salt one dries out your hair but I wonder what it is counteracting?
Interesting and shocking! Thanks for the info
There’s so much bad stuff in a lot of beauty products! Great info.
I am grateful for the information about these harmful ingredients.
It’s funny how when people think about the system,we see glaring dangers of manufactured goods.Go natural .
A lot of this is not surprising its just a wonder why people started adding these things !?!?
Looking through ingredients for anything you put on your skin is so important. FRAGRANCE IS SO UNNECESSARY! Makes me mad it is ever added into any facial products. We don’t need it. Reminds me of the not so safe food coloring in packaged snacks. No one actually cares for the color, it’s the taste we’re here for. For beauty products, we want a decent outcome and fragrance will do more harm than good.
For over 20 years, I have been using skin care products that are non-toxic. My face looks and feels great!
great info
interesting info
Wow from now I’m I will pay close attention to what’s in my beauty products thank you!
Interesting read
i try not to use alot of products on my skin,i tend to stick to one cream and coconut oil for my lips as my lips are allegic to lip balms for the most part
No wonder I have leaned more towards natural products.
I always make sure to check the ingredients in all my beauty products. I just need to get better about my makeup next.
I had no idea these were in my products! This is truly scary!
First, I had no idea that mineral oil was bad for you! I need to start reading labels better.