Cancer and Cosmetics

[DeSwiss]

SOURCE: Globe and Mail

Cancer and Cosmetics

By Margaret Philp

April 14, 2007

Amy Robertson is about as natural as a Canadian can be. Without a trace of makeup, her blond hair usually cinched in a ponytail, the former organic farmer and health-food store clerk from Vancouver scrupulously avoids preservatives and pesticides in her food. She was also tested last year by researchers collecting proof of toxic chemicals in the body.

But what she discovered shocked her -- her clean-living body was distressingly polluted with heavy metals and PCBs. If the 43-year-old is disciplined about what goes into her mouth, she is anything but when it comes to what she puts on her skin. Inspecting her herbal shampoo label for the first time, she finds cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine and methyl cocoyl taurate, the stuff of chemistry labs.

"I've always said to the kids, 'If you can't pronounce an ingredient, we won't buy it,' " Ms. Robertson says. "But I have obviously not been that good with cosmetics."

Few have. While Canadians have become savvy about chemicals in their food -- scanning package labels and paying premium prices for organic produce -- little mention has been made of the chemicals that clean our hair and moisturize our skin day in and day out.

Yet some of the 10,000 ingredients in beauty products are suspected or confirmed carcinogens, hormone-mimicking chemicals or substances linked to birth defects. And in an age of increasing fear over chemical exposures, the $5.3-billion cosmetics industry is poised to become the new frontier for health and eco-minded consumers.

more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070414.wcosmetics0414/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Oddly Enough

Average life expectancy has increased from 45 years in 1900 to 75 years today - and continues to increase by four months every year!

And nobody knows why!

:toast:

[lligrd]

2. Maybe The Cosmetic Poisons Take 70 Years Use To Kill Us

Just saying. It doesn't hurt to pay attention and consider the possibilities.

[kaygore]

4. They do know why

Clean water

Antibiotics

Better hygiene

Less strenuous and dangerous working conditions

However, coming from a family where most of my great, great grandparents, great grandparents, and grandparents on both sides were healthy and active well into their 90s, I can not expect the same for me or my siblings and niece and nephews. My parents died in their early 80s (Mom a couple of weeks before her 80th birthday of multiple myeloma and Dad who was still a full-time practicing dentist until weeks before he died just short of his 82 birthday or stage IV pancreatic cancer).

We are killing ourselves with chemicals and pesticides--often for such silly reasons as having a greener yard with homogeneous grass. Adding taste back into the food we eat is a major industry because our artificially fertilized and pesticide-laden food is devoid of taste and nutrients.

I could go on and on with examples.

Don't fool yourself or let yourself be lulled into complacency.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. Don't forget to get your Hg fillings replaced with plastic. Go to a holistic dentist.

Hg is toxic as hell and the ADA won't let your dentist tell you that.

Google "Huggins protocol" for more info or go to www.iaomt.org too.

Also get your root canals removed and the holes sterilized.
Learn about detox methods.

[Spinzonner]

6. Averages can be grossly misleading

In case of life expectancy they include infant mortality, which was much higher as you go back to the beginning of the last century.

There are better, less dramatic statistical measures.

Perhaps using those might raise the question why age at death hasn't risen even higher given all the medical advances in that time.

Just sayin'

[XemaSab]

3. Somehow I doubt her shampoo is full of PCB's

The bathroom at work, however... :scared:

[DeSwiss]

9. Yeah but then there's that other stuff....

from the article:

Some compounds in personal-care products are worth watching out for.

Lead acetate: A known reproductive toxin banned in the European Union but found in some hair dyes and cleansers in North America.

Formaldehyde: A known carcinogen found in some nail products.

Toluene: A possible reproductive or developmental toxin found in some nail polishes.

Petroleum distillates: Possible carcinogen prohibited in the EU, but found in some mascara, perfume and lipstick in North America.

Ethyl acrylate: A possible carcinogen found in some mascara.

Coal tar: A known carcinogen found in dandruff shampoos, anti-itch creams and hair dyes.

Dibutyl phthalate: An endocrine disruptor and possible reproductive or developmental toxin found in some nail polish, perfume and hair spray.

Sodium lauryl sulfate: A skin irritant prone to contamination by a probable carcinogen called 1,4-dioxane used in many soaps and shampoos for its foaming properties.

Methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl paraben: Endocrine disruptors and possible breast carcinogens used as a preservative in cosmetics such as lotions and shampoos.

*** - Ooooo, I just love the smell of sodium lauryl sulfate and butyl paraben in the mornings!!! Don't you?!?!?!

I dunno, I'm all for saving the environment and all, but if I ditch half these things I'd have to become a hermit..... Just sayin....
:shrug: :)

[Gloria]

5. From my research, the purest product line by far is by Aubrey...

I use their shampoos and conditioners, as well as their powder makeups and deodorant (E Plus High C). These are truly unadulterated products.

Burts Bees stuff is spotty...and, by the way, their line of shadows etc. has been discontinued....no making enough money on them.

Walgreens has just dropped the Natural Dentist product line. I bought the last 5 mouthwashes at one store....This is another really good line, now taken from us.

Moisturizers? Pure sesame oil followed by jojoba at night. Jojoba alone during the day.

I made this drastic switch a couple of years ago when I realized that sunscreen was giving me itches and a rash.

For a very good sunblock that you can wear on your face without looking white, go to www.EnergyTan.com---very small outfit, great product created by a retire Swiss engineer......

[demigoddess]

7. I went to aubrey's products years ago when I found out that formaldehyde

was in so many things. Formaldehyde gives me migraines. I gave up deodorant completely. (it takes three weeks to wash it off your skin) and found we all smell BETTER without it. Formaldehyde is in almost all of the ingredients in cosmetics because it is in the ingredient called 'fragrance'. Aubrey's has lovely fragrances in most of their products but they come from the natural ingredients not the added fragrances in cosmetic products.