Cancer-causing Ingredients Used in Skincare
Breast Cancer
Chemicals and contaminants can be found in food, water, and several other every day products that we use and have been linked to cancer. Although many of the chemicals and contaminants in cosmetics and personal care products likely pose little risk, exposure to some has been linked to serious health problems, including cancer.
Since 2009, 595 cosmetics manufacturers have reported using 88 chemicals, in more than 73,000 products, that have been linked to cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.
Many of these chemicals should be banned from cosmetics, as proposed in California Assembly Bill 2762, the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act.
Banned Chemicals
Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
Paraformaldehyde, a type of formaldehyde.
Methylene glycol, a type of formaldehyde.
Quaternium 15, which releases formaldehyde.
Mercury, which can damage the kidneys and nervous system.
Dibutyl and diethylhexyl phthalates, which disrupt hormones and damage the reproductive system.
Isobutyl and isopropyl parabens, which disrupt hormones and harm the reproductive system.
The long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, which have been linked to cancer.
M- and o-phenylenediamine, used in hair dyes, which irritate and sensitize the skin, damage DNA and can cause cancer.
The Best Way to Stay Safe is to Stay Clear of All Suspicious Chemicals
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the law defines cosmetics as “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body… for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance.” This includes skin moisturizers, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail polishes, eye, and facial makeup, shampoos, permanent waves, hair colors, toothpaste, and deodorants, as well as any component of a cosmetic product. It does not include products used solely as soaps.
Cosmetics are different from drugs, which are defined as “articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” and “articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals.”
Read labels and avoid cosmetics and personal care products containing formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (quaternium-15, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, and 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3 diol), phenacetin, coal tar, benzene, untreated or mildly treated mineral oils, ethylene oxide, chromium, cadmium, and its compounds, arsenic and crystalline silica (or quartz).
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Cal. Dep’t of Pub. Health, Cal. Safe Cosmetics Program, Current Data Summary, https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/CSCP/Pages/SummaryData.aspx (last accessed Mar. 8, 2019).
Environmental Working Group, the Toxic Twenty Cosmetic Ingredients and Contaminants, accessed at http://cdn3.ewg.org/sites/default/files/u352/Toxic%2020%20List.pdf?_ga=2.36293026.364182527.1554126027-937396664.1520601435&_gac=1.259664632.1553597903.CjwKCAjwm-fkBRBBEiwA966fZF139RiUrtNyeYyElYAnOqpk3GtURCnrAjqAsTCXwDcJ1oSIgOtY1BoCOKcQAvD_BwE
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