Emily Fletcher lists the products she uses on a typical day.
asserted
she → list → day
At 18 different items, it’s only slightly more than the average person, who uses about 14.5 personal care products a day, from soap and toothpaste to cosmetics, fragrances and hairstyling products.
asserted
who → ’ → cosmetics
But a paper published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology says these 14.5 products expose a person to an estimated 100 or more unique ingredients each day, “many of which are known or suspected allergens, carcinogens, endocrine disruptors or neurotoxicants”.
asserted
many → publish → which
Teenagers who are exposed to beauty and skincare content on social media use more products than their peers and the average adult, the research found.
asserted
research → expose → peers
This is a “critical window of susceptibility”, alongside pregnancy, says Yousuf Mohammed, an associate professor in the school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Queensland.
asserted
Mohammed → say → Queensland
Most of us use personal care products on the assumption that they will help us or, at the very least, not harm us.
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they → use → us
“Inactive ingredients found in personal care products act as the vehicle, preservative or texture enhancer for a formula,” Mohammed says.
asserted
Mohammed → find → formula
“While they do not directly treat a specific skin condition – a job reserved for active ingredients – their impact on your body and health can be profound.”
asserted
impact → treat → body
He cites new research that found 98 per cent of tested personal care items contained undisclosed chemicals, many carrying hidden health hazards.
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many → cite → hazards
‘I wouldn’t put this in someone’s eye’
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I → put → eye
When Fletcher, 41, gave birth to her first child 11 years ago, she began thinking about the products she was buying for her newborn daughter.
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she → give → daughter
Women in her mum’s group recommended this cream or that wipe.
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Women → recommend → cream
But, when the optometrist looked more closely at them, she found ingredients they wouldn’t use in eye drops because they can cause allergic reactions.
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they → look → reactions
“I wouldn’t put this in someone’s eye, so why am I wiping it over a large surface area of a baby’s skin,” she wondered.
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she → put → skin
Fletcher didn’t think it was fair that someone should need a science degree to identify the products that don’t contain harmful ingredients.
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that → think → ingredients
So, she began blogging.
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she → begin → ?
As her blog gained traction, it evolved into a directory and annual Clean + Conscious Awards to “highlight those brands who are actually doing the right thing”.
asserted
who → gain → thing
What we apply can be absorbed by the skins, says Dr Jacinta Martin, a reproductive and developmental biologist at the University of Newcastle.
asserted
Martin → apply → Newcastle
“But also potentially through mucosal surfaces, such as the lips and mouth, inside the nose, around the eyes or through genital and vaginal tissues, depending on the product being used – important when we consider period products,” she says.
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she → depend → products
What impact are these ingredients having on us?
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ingredients → have → us
Until the middle of the 19th century, many people stayed stinky all day.
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people → stay → century
The bubonic plague outbreak sparked widespread fear of washing with water; soap was primarily for clothes, not bodies; and commercial toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo came to market only between 1873 and 1903.
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toothpaste → spark → 1873
Few people used cosmetics, which were associated with immoral behaviours, and in 1916, only one in five Americans used toiletries at all.
asserted
Americans → use → toiletries
Now, as Martin says: “We are potentially applying many different products, containing many different chemicals, to our skin, hair and lips every day, and doing that repeatedly over many years – including during important periods of growth and development.”
People who use more products tend to have higher levels of chemicals such as phthalates, phenols and parabens circulating in their bodies, said lead author of the new study, Emily Barrett, a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health.
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author → say → Health
Those chemicals have been linked to a wide range of outcomes, including preterm birth, asthma and reproductive issues, Barrett says by email.
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Barrett → link → email
“Complementary studies in animals also show that those chemicals can interfere with important biological processes that can then contribute to disease.
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that → show → disease
Yet direct causation between personal care products themselves and these health issues has not been established.
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causation → establish → products
“I think concern is warranted, but not panic,” Martin says.
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Martin → think → ?
“I don’t think we know enough yet.”
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we → think → enough
Specifically, there are questions about the concentrations and combinations of different chemicals, how much actually enters the body, how frequently we’re exposed, when in our lives that exposure occurs, and what happens when exposures occur repeatedly or in combination over long periods of time.
So, what action should we take?
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we → be → action
It’s not just down to the consumer, experts say.
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experts → ’ → consumer
Brands need to be more transparent about ingredients, and governments need to tighten regulation around the chemicals used.
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governments → need → chemicals
But you can still reduce your exposure.
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you → reduce → exposure
In Barrett’s study, a three-day health product intervention where participants’ standard products were replaced with “cleaner” products (selected to be free of phthalates, parabens, triclosan and benzophenone-3), urinary concentrations of many (but not all) of the chemicals declined by up to 45 per cent.
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concentrations → replace → cent
- Go fragrance-free: Phthalates are used in fragrances to make the scent last longer.
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scent → go → fragrances
So the first step is to use fragrance-free products or only those scented with essential oils.
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step → use → oils
“Avoid ‘unscented’, as these often use masking chemicals to hide smells,” Mohammed says.
asserted
Mohammed → avoid → smells
Additionally, he says, because blends are legally protected as proprietary trade secrets, a single listing of the word “fragrance” or “parfum” can mean dozens of undisclosed chemicals, including petrochemical derivatives and neurotoxins.
asserted
listing → say → derivatives
- Simplify your routine: Consider how many products you need to use.
asserted
you → simplify → products
“Fewer products generally means fewer opportunities for exposure to unnecessary chemicals,” Martin says.
asserted
Martin → mean → chemicals
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
