The nasty things we use every day

I have always had concerns about what chemicals are in my house, from cleaning agents to cosmetics. It seemed logical to me that if I was careful about feeding food additives to my children or myself, and about eating organic when possible, then I should also be cautious about the products I use domestically and on my skin. So for years I have used eco cleaning products such as Ecover and Faith in Nature. Conveniently enough, these are sold in bulk at Wingham Country Market (http://www.winghamcountrymarket.co.uk) and Canterbury Wholefoods (http://www.greenpeawholefoods.co.uk ) so I can even save on the number of plastic containers I have to recycle, which is a bonus. And these days you can buy these and other products from your local supermarket. My favourite cleaner at the moment for example is one I picked up recently by Greenscents, it has a fantastic smell of mint which makes my kitchen smell very fresh and clean! Contrary to popular myth, I have not found that these products don’t do as good a job as conventional ones, or have a more limited range - I even have managed to find an eco anti-bacterial spray by Faith in Nature, which is great as we have a baby in the house as well as a couple of cats.

Recently though there has been a lot of publicity about a preservative called MI or Methylisothiazolinone, a preservative used in cosmetics and household cleaning products. Dermatologists are complaining that it is used in much higher levels than before, and causing a huge increase in contact dermatitis and other allergic reactions (Duffin 2013). It is contained in up to 16.5% of household products, and allergic response is happening at 50% of the maximum permitted concentration (Lundov et al. 2011). It’s nasty stuff, and there’s a lot of it about.

However, there are a lot of products out there that you wouldn’t want to have near you, and what’s really scary is that some products (such as moisturisers, foundation creams and sunscreens) are left on the skin - in other words, the chemicals have plenty of time to work their way into your blood stream.  As they say on the Skin Deep website ((Environmental Working Group 2007)

The average woman uses 12 products containing 168 different ingredients daily. Many cosmetic chemicals are designed to penetrate into the skin’s inner layers, and they do.

Common ingredients to avoid are :-

Benzalkonium chloride

butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)

Coal tar hair dyes and other coal tar ingredients

DMDM hydantoin & bronopol (2-Bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol)

Formaldehyde

Hydroquinone

Oxybenzone

Parabens (Propyl, Isopropyl, Butyl, and Isobutylparabens)

Petroleum distillates

Phthalates

Triclosan & Triclocarban

One of the problems is that these chemicals are often given different labels on the packaging, so it can be difficult to identify what is in the products that you use. However, have a look on the Skin Deep website(see above) for their ‘Top tips for safer products’ where these chemicals are discussed at more length - you’ll be horrified by their known properties, from known human carcinogens to skin irritants.

My solution is to identify brands that I can afford, that do a good job, and that are made by conscientious companies that I can trust. Jason’s (http://www.jasonnaturalcare.co.uk ) do great shampoo and conditioner, and I love their anti-wrinkle day lotion. Green People do a really effective sunscreen and after sun cream, and of course Faith in Nature do a good range of shampoos, conditioners, shower gels and liquid soaps. There is plenty of stuff out there that doesn’t contain nasties, does what it says on the packet, and won’t break the bank. Why use anything else?!

Bibliography

Duffin, C., 2013. Warning over ‘epidemic’ of skin allergies from chemical in cosmetics and household products. Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10164452/Warning-over-epidemic-of-skin-allergies-from-chemical-in-cosmetics-and-household-products.html [Accessed July 15, 2013].

Environmental Working Group, 2007. Top tips for safer products | Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database | Environmental Working Group. Available at: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/top-tips-for-safer-products/ [Accessed July 15, 2013].

Lundov, M.D. et al., 2011. Methylisothiazolinone contact allergy: a review. The British journal of dermatology, 165(6), pp.1178–1182.