2015, സെപ്റ്റംബർ 8, ചൊവ്വാഴ്ച

Book Review, Toxic Beauty.



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 bookEye 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 മാവി 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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