Dear Friends,
The following is based on a book
I red, recently. The book is an eye opener for people who use beauty products.
So I thought of writing a review on the book. Of course this may not look like
a conventional book review. But I like to call it so.
You can post in the group, if you
think it is good for the members.
Thanks.
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Book Review, Toxic Beauty.
There was a
saying that when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon thinking that he was first
human to be there, he found a tea shop operated by a Malayalee there. Now there
is another saying that, even lady workers going to the paddy field to work and
definite to get dirt all over there body including the face go to beauty parlor
on their way to work and get a facial done.
In my childhood
we never sow a beauty parlor. They were not visible even in the big cities in
bhAratham before late 1980s. Now they are every where.
During the
1990s seven ladies from bhAratham were winners in the so-called beauty
pageants, around the world. Were there not beautiful ladies before that in
bhAratham? Why not that many winners before or after that period? Did any one
think why?
The cosmetic
industry organizes these contests with just one aim and that is to increase
their business and there is always a noticeable increase in the sales of beauty
products in the country from where the winner is. In other words they select
the winners from the country where they want to increase their business.
And they did increase their business in bhAratham by seven fold with in
that seven to ten year period. The beauty pageants are in actuality only an
advertising gimmick for cosmetic industry. Now you can see this gimmick ever
five minutes on every TV channels of our land.
Recently, I
stumbled upon an article about the toxic effects of the products people use to
enhance their beauty. This led me to a book “Toxic Beauty” written by Dr Samuel
S. Epstein. Dr Epstein is professor emeritus of environmental health at the University of Illinois,
Chicago. There
is another book published by a British author by the same name on same subject
which, some say is a better book, in naming the safer products. Dr Epstein has
authored or coauthored 15 books and published 270 scientific papers. He has
been a consultant to the U.S. Senate and is a frequent witness for
congressional testimony and also a consultant for the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of Labor. He has won numerous national and
international honors, including the 1990 Rachel Carson Legacy Award and the 2005
Albert Schweitzer Golden Grand Medal for International Contributions to Cancer
Prevention.
Some of you may
be using beauty products and other daily use items such as tooth paste, mouth
wash, lotions, soap, moisturizers, shampoos, sunscreens,
hair dyes, and perfumes. In addition Ladies may be using makeup items
such as powders, lipstick, mascara and eye lashes. For baby’s the Mothers may
be using baby wipes, diaper creams, lotions, moisturizers and shampoos supposed
to be safe for babies. Also some of you may be using skin whiteners, a product
aimed at people of African and Asian origin and many more items. According to
this book, majority of them are serious health risk.
If
you use them, or your family members, especially your spouse, you may be at the
risk of getting some toxin into your body and also passing it on to your
children. If your parents used them before your birth your exposure to those
items was already done before you were even born. They may cause cancer and
hormonal disruption. But unlike cigarettes, which carry cancer warnings on
their labels, cosmetics and other personal-care products generally have no such
labels.
These are some
of things I sow in the book. Researchers from Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention and some universities in the US found ‘phthalate’ [‘phthalate’ is a chemical compound used as a plastic
softener and in many personal grooming products. It is reported to be a
possible cause of reproductive or developmental problems because it mimics a
natural hormone] at different levels, in the diaper urine of several
hundred babies within twenty-four hours of the use of lotions, powders, diaper
creams, baby wipes, and shampoos and found that the highest phthalate levels
came from the lotions, shampoos and the powders. They also found that higher
the number of products used the absorption of phthalates increased. This was
even more among the younger infants.
The book also
says that some products for infants and children were
found to contain ingredients which have Carcinogens -- a substance or agent
that can cause cancer. The book also points the readers to a website
where you can get more information. The URL is www.
cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguidel/ (for information on safer
children's personal-care products).
In USA, skin
whiteners or lighteners are now being intensively marketed to women of African
and Asian descent, also some men remember Mr Michael Jackson. Now these are the
world's fastest growing product and in Asian market it has 10 percent of the
market. This product contains “two active ingredients,
the potent natural hormone cortisone and the frank carcinogen hydroquinone (an
ingredient banned in Europe that poses risks
of leukemia and genetic damage). This combination inhibits the natural
production of melanin, the compound responsible for dark pigmentation of the
skin”.
This book also
says that many brands of mascara, eyeliners and
skin-lightening creams contain mercury. This is also legal (in USA) and it is
used as a preservative and germ killer. But remember Mercury
is known to retard brain development in children and can cause neurological
damage in adults who experience high or long-term exposure. So, many
toxicologists recommend avoiding any contact with mercury, even low level.
Even from small
doses, mercury accumulates in the human body over time and mercury fumes that
collect in jars of skin cream or in tubes of mascara, and are inhaled when the
containers are opened; add to the cumulative body burden. Placing mercury
directly on exposed skin, as with eyeliners and skin creams, heightens the
absorption, the book says.
As per this
book, a study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found
that most brand-name lipsticks contain detectable levels of lead that can be
toxic to the wearer. Some Cosmetics lipstick contains the potentially
contaminated ingredient lanolin, a fat extracted from sheep's
wool.
According to
the book, products used in hairdressing, beauty and
nail salons are serious threats to the health of the stylists and, to a lesser
extent, their clients as per this book. Eye
lashes are potentially dangerous, because of the toxicity of the glue used.
Some products used in hairdressing and beauty salons contain many unlabeled
toxic ingredients. They include carcinogens, [a substance or agent that can cause cancer. Radiation and some chemicals
and viruses are carcinogens] phthalates, [a
chemical compound used as a plastic softener and in many personal grooming
products. It is reported to be a possible cause of reproductive or
developmental problems because it mimics a natural hormone] allergens
and penetration enhancers. As per the book, Professor Paul Elliot of the
Imperial College London had found male infants of hairdressers and beauty salon
therapists exposed to hairsprays during pregnancy developed genital
abnormalities attributed to the endocrine disruptive effect of phthalates [a chemical compound used as a plastic softener and in
many personal grooming products. It is reported to be a possible cause of
reproductive or developmental problems because it mimics a natural hormone.]
Book also says
that there are substantial evidence of toxic effects experienced
by salon workers which include respiratory illness and asthma, nausea, sleep
disorders, fatigue, and numbness and pain in the fingers.
Now coming to a
product a lot of our people probably use is hair dye, in US, Japan and Europe
about 35% of women and 10% of men use this product. And what are the effects? According to the book inflammation and serious hair loss is
one bad effect of this. Black and brown dyes contain numerous hidden
carcinogens [a substance or agent that can cause cancer. Radiation and some chemicals and viruses are
carcinogens] including paraphenylenediamine (known as ppd) known to cause
cancers, particularly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple
myeloma, bladder cancer, and breast cancer. Book also says that there is
suggestive evidence that the cause of Jackie Kennedy's premature death was due
to the frequent use of these hair dyes.
The frequent
and prolonged use of these dyes has been associated with significant risks for
a range of cancers, including acute and chronic
leukemia, multiple lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and
bladder and breast cancers, the book says.
There are some
lists of safe products given in the book, which some write that is not much
safe. However the safest action will be not to use any of these products. The
best for hair is coconut oil, for your tooth it is umikkari ഉമിക്കരി or mavila മാവില or neem stick.
And of course you can replace soap with payaru podi പയറു പൊടി. There are
some Ayurvedic and other natural products with out these toxic ingredients
available in the market now.
The book is
very informative and it is worth the price of US $24.95 and some stores may
sell for less. It is Published by benbella books and Distributed by Perseus
Distribution.
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