THE HISTORY OF cosmetic treatments is littered with dangerous practices. In ancient Rome women put toxic lead on their faces for a pale parlour and during the Renaissance poisonous atropine was popular – to dilate the pupils. Today there are oestrogens, carcinogens and other nasties in manufactured products.
When you think that skin can absorb and deliver to the bloodstream around 60% of any product it comes into contact with – it’s a bit scary to think what we might be encountering. Worse with such speed, in less than 30 seconds some of that make-up remover or hard heel softener is pumping through your heart, moving through your liver, arriving in your kidneys and piggybacking on the blood supply to your lungs and brain. ‘Paraben free’ is a start but it’s just a drop in the ocean.
To put it in context, here are some typical ingredients found in cosmetics and toiletries; the industrially manufactured acetone found in cosmetics as well as nail varnish is a solvent otherwise used to dissolve plastics, thin printing ink and make paint remover. It is a skin irritant and is harmful to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Long-term or persistent exposure can shorten the menstrual cycle in women and cause kidney damage.
Benzyl dimethyl stearyl ammonium chloride is used in lipstick, hair colourants, body lotions, shampoos and conditioners, as well as in some contraceptive formulations. Its industrial application is to boost the efficacy of detergents and industrial cleaners. It is a skin and eye irritant associated with occupational dermatitis.
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a toluene-based cosmetic preservative commonly used in shaving gels and many products aimed at men. Toluene is a toxic chemical linked to eye and lung irritation, hormone disruption and carcinogenic effects.
Butylene glycol is utilised as a solvent and viscosity-decreasing agent to thin products so they can be more easily applied. It can be found in concealer, foundation, moisturisers, sunscreens, eye creams and mascaras. When absorbed through skin or ingested, it is metabolised into gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, a depressant that slows down the activity of the brain and the central nervous system.
Artificial colours, often listed as E-numbers, feature in soaps, shampoos, bath products, hair gels, shave gels, toothpastes, body lotions, face creams, skin toners, face masks and so on. Some colours are derivatives of coal tar and can contain heavy metal salts (including traces of arsenic and lead), others are synthesised using chemicals that can thin the skin and block pores.
Coal tar is a by-product of bituminous coal. It features in make-up and haircare products (dyes and anti-dandruff products) but also as a treatment for seborrhoea and psoriasis. Within the beauty industry it is considered a ‘safe and effective’ cosmetic biocide. However, coal tar is linked to phototoxicity, dermatitis and folliculitis. As a product of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – a set of persistent organic pollutants – there are fears around the risks associated with its mutagenic potential and possible carcinogenic effects.
Carbamic acid often listed as iodopropynyl butylcarbamate is a chemical made from acrylic acid or petroleum oil. It is found in sunscreen, moisturisers, shampoos and styling gel. It is a plastic and has all the endocrine-altering properties of plastics.
Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC) is a watersoluble preservative listed in face creams, bodylotions, shampoos, conditioners, shaving creams and also in foundations, concealers, bronzers, eye shadows, mascaras, make-up removers, hair dyes and lip balms. IPBC is thought to be a teratogen, which means it can increase the risk of
birth defects and can lower fertility. In large doses and after prolonged exposure it is considered a gastrointestinal and liver toxin. In smaller doses it can be a skin irritant.
Cocamidopropyl betaine features in body washes, liquid soaps, bath products, shampoos, toothpastes, contact lens solutions, make-up removers and other skincare products. It is a synthetic detergent that can lead to sensitisation and hypersensitisation. It was named allergen of the year in 2004 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society but is still not proscribed from beauty regimes across the globe.
One of the most common preservatives used in cosmetics is Diazolidinyl urea – unfortunately while it extends shelf life it may shorten your own – it releases formaldehyde and can increase skin sensitivity. Allergies and contact dermatitis are potential outcomes of exposure. Formaldehyde is used in some cosmetics (particularly nail polish and nail polish remover) and hair-straightening products, as well as in plastics, building materials, carpet manufacturing, paints, industrial adhesives and pesticides. It is also used as an embalming fluid in mortuaries and as a disinfectant and preservative in medical laboratories. Prolonged exposure can cause asthma-like symptoms and also increase cancer risk.
Diethanolamine (DEA) is often used in the processing of commercial soaps and shampoos when not being utilized in industrial cleaners, pesticide sprays, agricultural chemicals and the rubber processing industry. Similarly, Ethylene glycol – when not in your beauty products is used to make antifreeze, hydraulic brake fluids, solvents and plastics. It is derived from ethylene oxide, a primary ingredient of pesticides and insecticides – now you can say with confidence that there are no flies on you.
Many products that used parabens have now gone paraben-free to meet the lobbying of concerned women, breast and ovarian cancer groups and the worries of the general public. But not all have appropriated the cause of healthier product. Parabens are often listed as isobutylparaben, butylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben and parahydroxybenzoate – they are used as a shelf-life extender in many cosmetic and toiletry products.
The problem with parabens is their xenoestrogenic effect, meaning that they are shaped quite like oestrogen, and once absorbed into the body they fill up receptors in your cells normally reserved for real oestrogen. The consequence of this is that other neurotransmitters and glands mistakenly start relaying messages and making adjustments based on the presence of what they assume is real oestrogen.
Many modern foodstuffs also contain parabens to extend shelf-life. So, in terms of limiting your exposure, a home-made makeup cleanse or shaving oil or a natural moisturiser might be a good start.
You might not want to give up your favourite foundation or mascara but by taking it off with a natural kitchen oil – your make-up is fat soluble – you won’t be drying out lash and skin with a solvent or alcohol cleanser that strips rather than dissolves and so makes lashes brittle and leaves pores exposed. Simple olive oil dissolves mascara clumps and conditions the lash in the process. Simple olive oil breaks down the grease in makeup while pulling gunk out of pores and leaving hydrating level of sebum behind to keep skin radiant and supple.
If you add thyme and lavender leaves from the garden to the oil and sit it on a windowsill to ‘sun infuse’ for two weeks the antibacterial phytochemicals in those leaves leech into the oil and make it medicated to treat acne and blackheads as well as lift make-up off.
Add calendula petals instead and you get a vitamin A rich oil that you can use as a cleanser or night serum and the vitamin A triggers collagen and elastin to reproduce so you get firmer, younger skin. All the over-the-counter anti-age creams are based on Vitamin A. If you use soya oil it contains bioflavonoids that actually slows the follicle regrowth of shaved or waxed areas – so you can stay smoother for longer.
If you add a spring of rosemary to ordinary white vinegar or apple cider vinegar you get a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory – this is a great treatment for dandruff, psoriasis and eczema.
Meanwhile, chamomile tea can be used as a rinse to lighten and thicken blonde hair and sage tea brings out the shine in dark hair and helps degrease the scalp while, believe it or not, ginger root is a brilliant rinse to energise the body of red hair. Cooled fennel seed tea is great to end a sty but also to revive tired eyes and a strawberry contains alpha hydroxyl acids that lift stubborn stains from teeth – no more mouthful of bleach and an out of date dentist mag to rummage through.
All these natural treatments work on the basis of their phytochemicals, many of which are in cosmetics already but synthesised and added to with artificial colour and thickeners. Salicylic acid in your corn remover is willow bark, the BHAs in your acne treatment is available in birch leaves. The biggest over-the-counter skin toner is witch hazel extract – extracted from the twigs of that plant.
Cleopatra’s famous habit of bathing in asses’ milk works – it’s full of lactic acid that sloughs of dead skin cells, removes gunk from pores, stimulates skin resurfacing and leaves the bather with tighter skin. Lactic acid is in all milk products – so you could go Mrs Doubtfire on it and have a whipped cream facial or simply cleanse with milk.
Sometimes a little natural beauty is all you need to be drop dead gorgeous without dropping dead trying to be gorgeous.
Fiann Ó Nualláin is an advocate of gardening for health with a background in horticulture, nutrition, naturopathy and ethnobotany. His new book, The Holistic Gardener, published by Mercier Press, is available to buy now.
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