Forever chemicals in everyday cosmetics
RootCause Dispatch #1
At RootCause Dispatch we aim to bring your attention to issues affecting health, fertility and optimal human function.
Here’s an interesting paper titled ‘Fluorinated Compounds in North American Cosmetics1’ by Whitehead et al. It investigated the presence of per-/polyfluroylakyl substances (PFAS) in everyday cosmetics.
Researchers bought 231 different cosmetics from US and Canada and tested them for presence of fluorine, a marker of PFAS. They found that foundations, mascaras and lip products (lip gloss/lipsticks) had the highest proportion of fluorine. They further tested 29 products directly for PFAS:
‘All 29 cosmetic products contained detectable levels of at least four PFAS, with a maximum of 13 individual PFAS detected in a single product’
The authors concluded
‘The measurements of high total fluorine concentrations in a variety of cosmetic products in combination with the detection of several PFAS classes using targeted analysis indicate widespread use of fluorinated ingredients in cosmetics. Of particular concern are the high levels of 6:2 and 8:2 FTOHs, which are precursors to PFCAs that are known to be environmentally mobile and can cause adverse effects in both humans and the environment.’
PFAS are synthetic compounds used in a wide range of industrial and domestic applications such as water repellents for fabrics, apparel, carpets, and paper coatings.
If you’ve ever used a non-stick or teflon pan then you have been exposed. Contaminated drinking water is also a major source of exposure. They are branded in mainstream media as ‘forever chemicals’ because they are resistant to degradation and persist in the body and the environment.
These substances are proved to be toxic, in a growing list of ways. They have endocrine disruption effects on both reproductive and thyroid hormones, and are linked to include infertility, liver and kidney disorders2. Maternal PFAS exposure during pregnancy results in fetal exposure.
Cosmetics containing PFAS is likely to be a meaningful source of exposure for women, inadvertently absorbing these substances through the skin and tear ducts.
Secondly, most of these products were not labelled as containing PFAS, so women are unaware they are slowly poisoning themselves. No doubt cosmetic companies exploit labeling requirements, failing to disclose these toxic chemicals under the guise of protecting ‘proprietary’ ingredients. According to the authors, the cosmetic the 2019 value of cosmetics in the US was worth $20 billion.
Think for a minute of the societal consequences of at least two generations of reproductive-aged women applying xeno-estrogenic and carcinogenic substances to their skin, hair and lips on a daily basis.
Then consider the additive toxic effects of a range of other environmental contaminants such as phthlaltes in body lotions and shampoos, bisphenols in food plastics and RoundUp in GMO corn, wheat and soy.
It is not surprising that so many people are obese and infertile while the incidence of cancers and reproductive disorders is rising. I strongly suspect life expectancy, health span will be greatly reduced in Gen X, Millenials and Zoomers compared to the elderly Silent Generation and even the Boomers who lacked toxin exposure on this level.
Alright RCMD what do I do about it?
Act now.
Avoid using off-the-shelf mascaras, lip products and foundation unless you know the ingredients are non-toxic
Find and use cosmetics that do not contain toxic substances (especially before and during pregnancy)
Tell your friends and raise awareness of the issue
Don’t sacrifice health for cosmesis. Don’t wait for government or regulation to save you. Reject the programming of the ‘Cosmetic-Industrial-Complex’, which uses manipulative marketing to exploit feelings of inadequacy and sell you topical poisons.
The Rest Is Up to You…
-RCMD
June 26th 2021
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00240
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7663035/#B266-ijerph-17-08020