When you expose your skin to chemicals, you are unnecessarily ‘playing with fire’. Many workers in the construction business found that when they handled lumber that had been treated their livers became damaged. No, they did not eat the wood, they merely touched it! This lumber was treated with arsenic and when they repeatedly touched and handled the wood it played havoc with their bodies. The largest organ of the human body is the skin. Now that we realize this, we must put this question to ourselves – “Are we safe when we repeatedly use chemical based skin care products?”

Did you know that eye makeup has mercury added to it at the rate of up to 65 parts per million?

Mercury in canned fish is heavily scrutinised, but no one seems at all concerned about the threat posed by mercury in eye make-up. This deadly metal is easily absorbed through the skin and can accumulate in one’s body.

You should avoid bronopol if possible. This is an ingredient found in mascara. When this ingredient was tested on lab animals, it caused blindness and eventually resulted in death. It will take a very high concentration of bronopol to be affected by side effects such as these, but what about the woman who uses the same brand of mascara for decades?

Formaldehyde is a chemical that is found in many different hair care products and lotions. Ingredients such as DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinyl urea are known to irritate the respiratory system, can cause asthma, skin reactions and allergies and have even been known to trigger heart palpitations.

Exposure to formaldehyde has varying effects such as chest pains, headaches, dizziness, immune dysfunction and even cancer. Be wary of trade names that include aminoform, formid, and uritone. There are others to be concerned about, but this is a beginning.

Something else that is absorbed through the skin is coal tar derivatives. Ingredients such as 1-Naphthol and 2-Naphthol are named in this group. If these ingredients were to be taken orally, only 2 teaspoonfuls would be fatal!

Ingredients like vitamin C and E are often added to makeup to block the toxic effects of nitrosamines in the form of lauryl sarcosine, monethanolamine (MEA), cocoyl sarcosine, diethandamne (DEA) and laureth sulphate. When you buy makeup that touts the addition of these vitamins, read the rest of the ingredients. Instead of providing something extra these vitamins may be blocking carcinogenic substances the product contains.

Makeup often contains ingredients that act as emulsifiers, moisture retainers and solvents. These ingredients also are part of the products such as antifreeze and brake fluid! One of these ingredients is propylene glycol. Due to the toxicity of this substance, the EPA states that workers must wear skin protection when working with this product. Safety Data Sheets also give the warning that if propylene glycol is absorbed through the skin, then one may suffer from abnormalities in the liver, brain and kidneys. Despite all of its ill effects, it still remains an ingredient in makeup and some stick deodorants.

Cosmetics, skin care products and lotions are applied on a daily basis. Before purchasing a product, wisely read the ingredients on the label. The parts per million of certain toxic ingredients may be very small, but if you use a product over many years, there will be a slow and steady build-up in your body. Mysterious illnesses can often be traced back to something that a patient thought had no consequences. One good option is to go organic. This would be the kindest thing you could ever do not only for your skin, which is the largest organ of your body, but for all your other body organs too. Be sure that you begin to monitor what you put on your skin before you apply it.