Excessive Use of Cosmetics Leads to Adverse Effects on the Body

Women, across the globe, use a vast range of cosmetics everyday to look their best, but this excessive use is leading to a chemical pile up in their bodies.

A new study has found that women who use make-up every day are soaking up nearly 5lb of chemicals a year into their bodies.

Many use over 20 different beauty products per day while nine out of 10 apply make-up which is past its expiry date.

Addiction to cosmetics and toiletries means that a cocktail of 4lb 6oz of chemicals a year is seeping into the body through the skin.

Some synthetic compounds involved have been associated with side effects ranging from skin irritation to untimely ageing and cancer.

Richard Bence, a biochemist spent three years researching the conventional and the supposedly 'safe' products.

"We really need to start questioning the products we are putting on our skin and not just assume that the chemicals in them are safe. We have no idea what these chemicals do when they are mixed together, the effect could be much greater than the sum of the individual parts," the Telegraph quoted Bence, as saying.

Bence, an advocate of organic beauty products, also said that taking in chemicals through the skin is more hazardous than gulping them down.

"If lipstick gets into your mouth it is broken down by the enzymes in saliva and in the stomach. But chemicals get straight into your bloodstream, there is no protection," he said.

Caution over using outdated lipstick and mascara have also been issued by the Royal College of Optometrists which considers that such items are a "hothouse" for harmful bacteria.

"Many women are using over 20 different products a day, bombarding themselves with hundreds of different chemicals. They should be asking themselves 'is that eyelash conditioner really essential?' " Clio Turton, of the Soil Association, said.

Among chemicals under inspection are parabens (para-hydroxybenzoic acids) which are preservatives used in products like soap, shampoo, deodorant and baby lotion.

Sodium lauryl sulphate, used to help produce lather in soaps, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste and bubble bath, can be the root of skin irritation.

However, The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association has claimed that there is no reason for worry, as the products are enclosed by European Union rules entailing them to be safe and harmless.

"The cocktail effect is an urban myth. We do know how different chemicals react individually and can predict how they interact with each other and this is taken into account when the safety of products is assessed," a spokesman said.

Source-ANI
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