Learn how to

Question: Is mineral-based make-up safer for you than make-up bought at drug stores or department stores? Most of the mineral-based make-up contains titanium dioxide and/or silica, and some contain iron of some type. Is this okay for your skin? I am wondering how such make-up is absorbed into the body, too!

Answer: Like all cosmetics, mineral-based products raise more questions about their safety than answers. Many mineral-based make-ups contain (or potentially contain) nano-size ingredients, which are 10 to 1,000 times smaller than their normally-sized counterparts and are more likely to be absorbed into the body through the skin because they’re so small.

One recent study by the National Center for Toxicological Research found that nano-sized particles could be detected throughout the lymphatic system within minutes after being deposited in the skin of mice. And once nano-particles are absorbed by the body, studies to date suggest that they are quite damaging–for instance, they can cause emphysema-like symptoms when absorbed into the lungs and are toxic to a variety of cells. In short, it is a good idea to avoid inhaling mineral-based cosmetics–be careful to not create dust, as particles can quickly absorb deep into the lungs–and avoid using them on damaged skin where the likelihood of absorption is dramatically increased.

As for the second part of the question, we have a limited understanding of the ingredients titanium dioxide, silica, and iron, as used in cosmetics. Why don’t we know more? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.

Who knew that washing your hands could harm your health and the environment? Thanks to the chemical industry, a hazardous antibacterial compound called Triclosan is now an ingredient in many household and personal care products such as soaps, cleaners, cosmetics, clothing, and even children’s toys.

While consumers might think Triclosan can protect them from harmful bacteria, it turns out that the use of this dangerous chemical in household products is no more effective than soap and water; and may be doing more harm than good.

To make matters worse, Triclosan persists in the environment, mixes with other chemicals to form more toxic substances, contributes to the growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and causes a range of human and ecological health problems.

Triclosan also poses a threat to the environment. It is toxic to algae, phytoplankton and other aquatic life. This is a major problem, as many products that contain Triclosan are now washing down our drains and into our water systems, making Triclosan a common contaminant of streams and rivers.

Because it is a contaminant in sewage sludge that is often spread on land, the chemical is now showing up in earthworms. Triclosan bioaccumulates in these organisms and researchers are concerned that it will accumulate and spread through aquatic and terrestrial food webs.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have some responsibility for regulating the marketing claims companies make about products containing Triclosan. But unfortunately, neither agency restricts use of the chemical in consumer products.

When a product containing Triclosan is used on inanimate objects, it is regulated by the EPA, which has registered the chemical as a pesticide. If a company markets a product containing Triclosan with a health claim such as “kills bacteria,” then EPA must verify the product’s effectiveness. If a product contains Triclosan, but does not make such a claim, then EPA does not review it.

Read the full story.