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Chemicals in Cosmetics
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Animals Can Smell Danger in the Air. Can We?
Which of us doesn’t like a sweet perfume or the smell of mountain pines in our home. Nearly all of us do! So there is a large market out there for exotic scents and air fresheners which we seek out and go spraying merrily throughout our homes and on our skins.
But stop and think for a minute! Do you actually know what is in those bottles? Do you actually know what you are putting on your skin and that what goes on, goes in through skin absorption?
The chemicals in cosmetics have been restricted for good reasons and that’s what I would like to bring to your attention.
It is not just about wrong eating, drinking and lack of exercise that can contribute to high blood pressure, but alarmingly, it is also what we are exposed to through the air we breath and through skin absorption.
That`s why we have more and more companies springing up to cater for those of us who see the need for change.
As I mentioned above, our bodies don’t use these chemicals, so because the natural detox process is slower than what we actually accumulate, our bodies store them in the fat. This then through time is bound to build up, showing itself in adverse symptoms.
One classic example of this happened to a friend of mine. She had been using a certain brand of shampoo most of her life until one day she suddenly broke out in red, sore blotches all over her scalp and below the hairline. The blotches turned out to be psoriasis.
She even tried other brands of leading products but started to panic when she suffered the same results as before. It seems that her body could not tolerate the accumulated chemicals much longer. Later, after tests, she discovered that those chemicals were the root cause of panic attacks she suffered from and her overall mental state. She had to change to purer personal care products, and watch what foods she ate. Not make-up because she never hardly applied it. Her health has now dramatically improved.
The question is, how can chemicals in cosmetics and other products be linked to hypertension?
I have discussed briefly on other pages the importance of maintaining a pH balance of 7.5 throughout the body, and that includes the blood. The chemicals in cosmetics enter the blood stream through the skin as it absorbs the creams, potions and perfumes we apply. If the blood becomes too acidic, arteries can become inflamed and lead to secondary hypertension.
The acidity of the blood can cause the body to take more calcium from the bones to help maintain the correct pH balance, ultimately increasing the risk of osteoporosis, and other health problems.
Free radical damage also results from chemicals entering the blood through breathing and skin absorption, which can lead to atherosclerosis. This can develop when the artery wall becomes damaged or inflamed, with the added problem of cholesterol becoming oxidized. If that happens then its function of helping to build new cells is hampered and a deposit builds up under the inner artery wall. See Atherosclerosis.
Another cause is when the accumulation of heavy metals reaches saturation point it can overwork and damage the liver and kidneys; organs whose roles play an important part in the control of blood pressure.
Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics? Which ones?
Lead
I want to concentrate particularly on cosmetics because the glossy magazine image that appeals to the modern day woman has a powerful influence on the consumer, especially the younger women, exposing them to even more harmful chemicals that have not been tested for toxicity.
You need to be able to identify these toxic chemicals in cosmetics so you can avoid them like the plague.
Do you apply eye liner or a kohl pencil? I do! In fact it is about the only make-up I wear on a daily basis, but I would not feel comfortable to use it if I thought there was a possibility that it contained lead.
Not all pencils labelled kohl have actual kohl in them, but it is good to know where your cosmetics are coming from.
Studies have revealed that many kohl eyeliners containing serious levels of lead are imported from India, Arabia and the Middle East, so please choose your products carefully, especially if you live in those countries. Check the ingredients!
Long exposure to lead can bring on hypertension, caused through kidney damage. Here are some studies that reveal to what extent, lead from kohl can enter the body through skin absorption.
- Al-Saleh et al. in 1999 – Infants were found to have increased lead levels in their blood through the parents applying kohl to their children’s eyes. What about adults?
- Al-Ashban et al. 2004 – The results showed that adults too, had increased lead levels through applying kohl to the eyes.
Did you know that it can be present in other cosmetics also? Yes! It’s true! An advocacy group named The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 lipstick brands and found 20 to have unsafe levels of lead content. Some hair dyes contain lead too so check out the brand you use!
Mercury and Cadmium
You can find other chemicals in cosmetics. Another two to take notice of are Mercury and Cadmium. Mercury is found in amalgam fillings and should be mentioned here as dentistry comes under the cosmetics category. It is one of the main sources of mercury poisoning. These fillings are about 50% mercury and when a person chews, small, microscopic particles are absorbed through the tooth roots, gums and stomach or breathed into the lungs.
Moving on from amalgam fillings, Tattooing is now very fashionable today and it seems women are having their skins decorated with them as much as men, if not more. I wonder if they would be so keen if they knew the damage the chemicals in cosmetics really do. This is yet another area to take heed because the inks the tattooists use could be laden with mercury. In fact, you should know that it is one of the most common causes of inorganic mercury poisoning! An accumulation of this heavy metal can damage kidneys to the extent of failure, cause blood changes and hypertension. And watch out for Thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative. Check the ingredients in your mascara, eye moisturizer, eye make-up, make-up remover, cleansers that are soap free and contact lenses cleaning fluid because all these and much more could be concealing this compound.
In October 2006, the Health News Byte featured an article stating that health officials were warning women in Asia, who use skin lightening creams, to beware of mercury in the ingredients after researchers from the Chinese University, Hong Kong, discovered dangerous levels of mercury, chromium and neodymium in many skin-lightening creams. The product was swiftly removed by the company who had distributed It.
Now what about cadmium! It is a deep yellow to orange pigment. You will find it in lipsticks and face powders.
What nice surprises does that chemical have for us? Well, cadmium does not have to be present in abundance in products to produce hypertension. In fact, results from tests showed that it was minor exposure that caused high blood pressure. When cadmium was injected directly into the subject it caused blood pressure to drop. So the small amounts are not safe.
It targets blood vessel and heart tissue, as well as, the kidneys, lungs and brain, and results in heart disease, hypertension, liver damage, suppressed immune system and other nasty symptoms.
These reports are no exaggeration! Canada has banned the use of it in all of their cosmetics!!!
News items like the Health News Byte report above are being heard more frequently, raising our awareness that we are being bombarded by chemicals in cosmetics on an unprecedented scale which must have an effect on our health eventually. As we see high blood pressure on the rise, attempts to change our eating habits and lifestyle will go a long way, but don’t forget this hidden danger of chemicals in cosmetics.
Its time to let our natural beauty come out from under that mask. There are lots of natural products on the market that work along with nature. Try them! Your eyes will sparkle and your skin will glow. Beauty is not just skin deep after all!
Gem
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Give Harmful Chemicals the Boot
E-Solutions Around the Home
Don`t forget those harmful household cleaning products.Tap into natural cleaning resources like The Green Clean Book! It will help protect your health. And now that jobs are becoming a "hush" word, it won`t burn a hole in your purse either.
Name brand cleaning products take a huge cut of the weekly or monthly budget, and even so-called "green" products are even worse.
But alternatively you can use natural cleaning recipes, made up from harmless, cheaper substances you can generally find around the home and cost far less than expensive leading brands laden with harsh chemicals.
