chemicals in cosmetics

I've been looking into some of the personal care and hygiene products that I use everyday and there have been some unsettling findings. I have sensitive skin and in the last 5 years or so I've had problems with dry skin and ickiness when I shave my legs. So I use CeraVe Moisturizing Cream everyday to protect my legs. However, when I searched CeraVe Moisturizing Cream on Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics database I found that it's ranked a 4 on a hazard scale ranging 1-10, one being the safest and ten being the most hazardous. There are worse scores, but there are also better ones and this is a product that I put on daily in globs. Below is a list of the ingredients in the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream I use.

Ingredients:

Purified water, Glycerin, Ceteareth-20 and Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate and Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Ceramide 6-11, Ceramide 1, Hyaluronic Acid, Cholesterol, Petrolatum, Dimethicone, Potassium Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phytosphingosine, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum.

 

None of the ingredients were directly mentioned in Okala's book but there are still some that I'm concerned about. I highlighted the most hazardous product in the ingredient list, Propylparaben, which got a 7 out of 10 on the hazard scale. Digging a little deeper I found out that this ingredient causes mild skin irritation and sensitivity (Source). This is something I put on my legs to stop skin irritation from shaving, seems a little counterproductive now. On Environmental Working Group’s site I found that propylparaben is an allergen and has restricted use in cosmetics.

Most unsettling though, was the fact that it mimics estrogen and therefore disrupts hormones (Source).

I hate the idea of something messing with my hormones, which is one reason I am very careful about what medications I take.

I think I'll probably wean myself off this product. I bought some fractionated coconut oil on Amazon and I want to see how that works as a moisturizer for my sensitive skin.

I probably could eliminate CeraVe product if I wanted to. Propylparaben is so far down the ingredients list that I'm not too concerned with it's negative effects, but I wish I knew about it before. CeraVe Moisturizing Cream is definitely not the worst cosmetic out there, but I think I'll try the coconut oil for a while and see how that goes. Plus the coconut oil has one ingredient and is not tested on animals! I'll keep you posted on the transition.

The video below is a little beginners information of the problems in the cosmetics industry. I found it pretty unsettling and very eye-opening. It really shouldn't be a minefield in the cosmetics isle. The Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) is a good start at holding companies accountable. If it's dangerous why are they putting it in products we use on out skin, or our kid's skin?! Things like CFP make me feel better and give me hope that we're moving in the right direction. I feel like it isn't enough though. Banning harmful chemicals should be country wide initiative, not something that is down to the individual companies. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen under the current administration, but a girl can dream.