The toxic ingredients in cosmetics you must ware

Every day we use soap and detergents to wash, face creams and body to make our skin soft, shampoo and conditioner for silky hair, not to mention amount of cosmetic products that we women have in our beauty -case: lipstick, eye shadow, eye and lip pencils, eyeliner, mascara and nail of each color. But have you ever wondered what's inside the products we use every day?

A few months ago made headlines a study in which it was stated that a woman spreads every day 515 types of chemical additives. Although the study was promptly denied by Unipro, just stopping at least once to read the labels of the most common cosmetics and detergents, to meet terms and acronyms sometimes difficult to pronounce that often prove harmful to the skin and cause allergic reactions, sensitization or irritation.

We tried to draw up a short list of the most harmful ingredients used in cosmetics:

PRESERVATIVES that all those substances that must be added to cosmetics containing water to prevent the development of mold or bacteria. Among the most common are:

FORMALDEHYDE: is found in many common products and unfortunately is also widely used in the preservation of cosmetics. Products such as makeup, shampoo and varnishes that contain formaldehyde as well as being a preservative is a powerful bactericide. Although it has been ascertained its carcinogenicity, formaldehyde continues to be contained in a wide range of products, although at very low concentrations.

PARABENS: the six main parabens that can be found in the formulations on the market are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben and benzylparaben and are used as preservatives in moisturizers, sun, toothpaste, shampoo, detergents intimate, air fresheners, in shaving gel, in fact in many cosmetics for everyday use, even in so-called "natural" or "organic." It 'been amply demonstrated that these substances penetrate through the skin and remain intact inside the tissue, accumulating. Although they are legally authorized in the European Union, including parabens are seriously suspected of being carcinogenic.

Quaternium 15: is always part of preservatives. It 'found in many cosmetics make-up of the eye, in the makeup, shampoos but also in lotions and sunscreens. It 'harmful because it releases formaldehyde is toxic and leads to sensitization.

KATHON CG: is another preservative, a broad spectrum antimicrobial action, colorless and odorless contained in skin cosmetics, products for personal care and household products. From the toxicological point of view, Kathon CG, has been classified as irritant, primary despite a huge use. And 'possible to find it on the labels with synonyms like Grotan, EUXIL or isothiazoline.

Other substances commonly used in cosmetics that everyone has at home are:

MEA-DEA-TEA: are not the names of three charming sisters but respectively the initials of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine and are found in many cosmetic compounds. They can almost always find products that make foam then shampoo, soap and shower gel, giving rise to nitrates and nitrosamines or carcinogens.

Paraphenylendiamine (PFD): This substance, the name difficult to pronounce, we meet often when we go to the hairdresser, is in fact the most important dye used for permanent hair colors. Very often gives rise to sensitization so that this substance has been banned in many European countries.

PHTHALATES: one of the most offending substances, which had already been extensively discussed, is widely used in the cosmetic field. According to a Greenpeace report, a large number of fragrances for men and women of the best brands contains two substances that may have adverse effects on health: in fact phthalates and synthetic musks.

SURFACE: are substances with foaming properties, detergents and solubilizing properties. Are obviously present in all the products that cleanse the body and hair and best known are undoubtedly the sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Are not carcinogenic, as was thought until a few years ago, but being very aggressive is better to prefer products containing surfactants, especially the more delicate and limit its use.

TOLUENE: Read toluene and you immediately think of the nail products and in fact the toluene is the solvent used to easily lay the enamel. Unfortunately it has been linked to disorders of the nervous system and can also cause damage to the kidneys. To address this problem some cosmetic companies have taken their disposal by the members of the offending substance. Perhaps our enamel will erode faster, but we can be sure not to poison us.

BOUQUET: all cosmetics generally have a pleasant smell. We are inclined to think that the fragrance inside of products for personal hygiene is completely harmless, but it is not so. 95% of the chemicals used in perfumes and cosmetics fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum and since that perfumes have a low molecular weight, can penetrate more easily into the skin and can cause allergies or breathing difficulties.

HYDROQUINONE: reading the labels of products for lightening the skin is easy to find in this compound, a phenol that turns out to be harmful, irritating and dangerous for the environment. Although it was forbidden to use as skin-lightening, this substance is still used in hair dyes, although in low concentrations.

COAL TAR: often in dermatology to treat psoriasis are used tar therapy. Among these, the more effective is the Coal Tar or coal tar which, for its activity reductant and antiseborroica, is used in many creams caverns itching and in treatments for the scalp but can give rise to phenomena of photosensitization.

ALLUMINIUM: we find it within lots of products, food and non food, and obviously there is between the components of many cosmetic, particularly deodorants and antiperspirants, which may contain up to 20% of aluminum salts in the form of hydrochlorides of aluminum hydrates and zirconium. Prolonged use of these substances is linked to the risk of onset of breast cancer since aluminum salts are able to significantly damage the DNA of cells, stimulating their degeneration into cancer cells.

With this list of products harmful to health and the environment, we were not going to scare you or convince you to empty the vanity case! Simply we'd like to let you know which products are safer to use and push towards responsible consumption of cosmetics, preferring those natural, organic, fair trade and are not tested on animals. For rapprofondire refer to our guide on eco-cosmetics.