11 Dangerous Ingredients You Should Avoid at All Costs

[joeblow]

11 Dangerous Ingredients You Should Avoid at All Costs
By Sarah Irani, EcoSalon
Posted on December 7, 2009, Printed on December 8, 2009

http://www.alternet.org/story/144426/

The greener we become, the more we have to scrutinize. I for one have cleaned up my home, my diet, my cleaning products and of utmost importance the products I put on my skin. I'm an avid ingredient reader and do the research -- after all, my skin is the largest organ in my body! Here's a list of some common skin and hair care chemicals we all need to avoid.

1. Coal Tar: Coal tar is used to treat eczema, psoriasis and other skin disorders and can be found in anti-itch creams and scalp treatments. It's also a known carcinogen.

2. Diethanolamine (DEA): A lathering agent in soaps and shampoos, DEA isn't carcinogenic by itself, but can react with other chemicals in products to create a carcinogen readily absorbed into the skin. Look for DEA in many forms, such as Cocamide DEA, Oleamide DEA and Lauramide DEA.

3. Formaldehyde: A frighteningly common ingredient in a variety of beauty products. Formaldehyde can irritate your eyes, nose and throat, dry out and irritate your skin and even cause asthma and cancer with repeated exposure.

4. Parabens: Parabens have had a lot of press lately and I'm finding more and more products specifically labeled "paraben free." This is because parabens, in their many forms (methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, or butylparaben) have been linked to breast cancer. The FDA claims that parabens aren't dangerous at very low levels, but when you consider that 25,000 different cosmetics and skincare products contain these chemicals, it's feasible to build up quite an exposure in a lifetime.

5. Phenylenediamine (PPD): An ingredient used in hair dyes (including eyelash dye), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has run studies that show a higher in among hairdressers and cosmetologists; they have the highest PPD exposure. Although PPD is not approved for products that come in contact with the skin, hair dye usually gets on your forehead or ears for up to 30 minutes. Why take the risk?

6. Phthalates: The subject of much controversy because of hormone-disrupting phthalates being found in plastic baby bottles and teethers, let's not forget that they're a common ingredient in cosmetics, too.

7. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): A foaming agent in soaps and shampoos, SLS and SLES are skin irritants and can enter the heart, brain and liver through the skin and accumulate in these organs.

8. Toluene: Found in nail polish and hair dye, this is a nasty one. Toluene is toxic to the nervous system and breathing it in can cause dizziness and headaches. High exposures can lead to birth defects and miscarriage, so watch out if you work in a nail salon. Use toluene-free brands of nail polish instead.

9. Fragrance: Because of an FDA loophole, cosmetic companies can hide a whole slew of chemicals, many of which are phthalates, under the label "fragrance." Read more about the dangers of fragrance, and avoid this ingredient like the plague.

10. Triethanolamine (TEA): TEA is used to balance PH and is a common ingredient in "gentle" cosmetic products, but unfortunately it's been known to cause allergic reactions, is an eye irritant and can cause dry hair and skin. With consistent use, TEA is absorbed into the body and accumulates, where it can become toxic.

11. Hydroquinone: A skin-bleaching ingredient, hydroquinone is banned in Japan, the European Union, and Australia, but it's still in use in the United States and other countries worldwide. Hydroquinone is found not only in Asian and African skin-lightening products, but in creams to lighten age-spots as well. There's some evidence that hydroquinone is a carcinogen, and is linked to ochnronosis, a condition in which grayish brown spots and bumps occur on the skin.

When choosing cosmetics, read the ingredients, do your homework and go as simple and natural as possible. You really don't need all that extra junk to be beautiful.

 

© 2009 EcoSalon All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/144426/

[Jenny Lake]

We are fundamentally porous to the environment and have two major protections for integrity --microorganisms and the fidelity of DNA/RNA. The skin is as important to elimination as the intestinal tract. Don't put anything on your skin unless its an emergency. And polymer microgels can deliver toxins right from synthetic clothes! Most people use skin products because their skin is dry --what causes that? Not enough fats and too much water in the diet can do that and wreck your skin over time. If you have to have a topical treatment, try organic virgin coconut oil or raw butter and egg --the probiotic value of the butter makes it an excellent cosmetic treatment. I've heard in combination with wild honey it also makes an excellent skin treatment. Alot of spotting, itching, rash and roughness can be a vascular problem and the skin is not receiving nutrients or making a healthful 'exchange' with the outside.

[abduLMaria]

i hear about the rise in breast cancer rates among young women and don't know the exact cause but i know the approximate cause.

the approximate cause is a low-level bath of chemicals that we live in, that didn't exist 40 years ago.

i used to get a dose of it when i used to drink the pool water sometimes when i was swimming.  i talked to some of the other guys at the gym about it, along the lines of, "do you know what you're drinking ?"

a soup of all the chemicals excreted by the other swimmers via sweat & urine.  we haven't taken a poll but some of them pee in the pool, some don't.  not polite "dinner table conversation", admittedly.

so, when i did do that, i got very low level dose of all those excreted anti-depressants & other things people in San Diego eat & consume.  plus whatever is in the city water that they use to fill the pool.  like fluoride.

i've started using spring water to cook with when i'm making rice or beans or oatmeal, so as not to be eating fluoride-infused food.  of course, the spring water has a cost, in comes in a plastic bottle.

anyway, yes there's a lot of manmade chemicals in our environment that weren't there 2 generations ago.  and we have it "good" in America - in China, the less affluent workers & probably even some of the wealthy folks are living in a foul soup of industrial chemicals.

to me, that tendency of American corporations to send pollution offshore to be ingested by other cultures is one of the most widespread examples of Talmudism-in-action.

when business execs talk about "privatize the profits, socialize the costs", they are talking about (for example) the Barrick gold mine in South America I read about.  249 tons of cyanide for every ton of gold produced.  given Barrick's associations (George HW Bush and some of the other Iran-Contra gang), i doubt that they have the most environmentally conscious plant manager deciding how to dispose of that cyanide.

if it was me, i'd build a concrete & steel & glass lined pit to be a home to the toxic effluents for the next 20 generations.  but ... Barrick would never hire me.

[kolnidre]

The greener we become, the more we have to scrutinize.

Maybe if the writer didn't put so much junk on her skin she wouldn't be so "green."

Sorry about that.

There is so much displacement of truth I wonder if we really know anything true anymore. For instance, (mostly) chicks (and metrosexual fairy boyz, I suppose) put all sorts of toxic sludge and potions on their skin, eat GMO frankenfood, drink toxic water, take fluoride and chlorine showers and drinks, ingest hormone-disrupting substances, and yet they blame the sun for skin cancer!

[Jenny Lake]

I get Mercola's newsletter sent to my inbox and thought I'd try pasting here to see if the links work (they don't), but included in the first article "How to Wipe Ten Years Off Your Face" is this video: http://www.mercolahealthyskin.com/skincare-offer.aspx on skin care and toxic products.
I agree with him about 'fats' and disagree about water consumption. Ironically, the newsletter face comes complete with regular ads featuring Mercola's top products --probiotics for digestive health. If you know me, you know my thoughts about "scrubbing and flushing" the digestive tract. One of these days, I'll gather all my facts about water and print it up...til then, I'll have to just bear it, but not without complaint.

From:  Dr.Mercola (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx
December 17, 2009 - Issue 1386 The newsletters are also available via RSS: http://rss.mercola.com/NL/rss.aspx  
 
 
 
   
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Uncover the breakthrough age reversing secrets of America's youngest looking women and be a smash at your class reunion (takes just five minutes a day).

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