Since I was a little girl I have always liked nice cosmetics. I used to love to play with mother’s make-up and pay a lot of attention in choosing nice-smelling and good-looking soap and shampoo. But, when I was a teenager, my mum warned me about the damage that cosmetics could do. She explained me that she read that some toxic substances (parabens, aluminum etc) are in some cosmetics and that I should really avoid them as they were carcinogen. I felt I was a bit annoyed by what my mother told me as it mainly means that she did not want me to buy the same, fashion and very advertised, products as my girlfriends. I did not really felt that these substances could be dangerous because everyone I knew was not worried about them, except my mother. But, because she was my mother and I had to obey her I follow her advices. Now, that I am a young women, I still like to use cosmetics as they often make me feel prettier. I still buy products without parabens because it has become a kind of habit.
Yesterday, I was doing some research for a health information request we got at NWHN and I found a really interesting article on Cosmetics and Breast Cancer by the Breast Cancer Action (that can be found at http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=cosmetics-and-breast-cancer).
What I found is the confirmation of my mother says: some ingredients in cosmetic products can be dangerous and we need to be cautious when choosing them.
Actually I learned that testing is voluntary and controlled by the cosmetic manufacturers. Because of that, many ingredients in cosmetic products are not tested for safety and can pose serious health risks.
According to the Breast Cancer Action, many cosmetics contain chemicals known as parabens and phthalates, which recent studies indicate may be linked to cancer development.
• Parabens are chemical preservatives that have been identified as estrogenic and disruptive of normal hormone function. (Estrogenic chemicals mimic the function of the naturally occurring hormone estrogen, and exposure to external estrogens has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer.)
• Phthalates are known to cause a broad range of birth defects and lifelong reproductive problems in laboratory animals exposed to these chemicals during pregnancy and after birth. Phthalates are also known to be hormone-mimicking chemicals, many of which disrupt normal hormonal processes, raising concern about their implications for increased breast cancer risk. They are often found in perfumes and are more difficult to detect than the parabens. All cosmetic products are normally required to give to consumers the ingredients contained in the product. But, this rule does not apply to perfumes as the ingredient list is considered as secret. Sometimes the only way to find out if there are some phthalates in your perfume is to e-mail or call the perfume company.

Cosmetic companies argue that these chemicals are not harmful because only used in very small quantities. However the timing of exposure is very important. When we really think about it, since our childhood we are exposed to lots of comestic products. So even a very small dose of some chemicals can have serious consequences in children and young women who are still developing.
When I got back to my apartment after reading this, I just checked some of my products (mainly make-up) to see if I was using some of them with parabens and phthalates. I am. I thought that I was protected against the harmful effects of some chemicals because I already made sure that my skin care products- deodorants-shampoo were paraben-free. But, harmful chemicals are really everywhere, even in some eye-shadow or mascara.
So, I decided that I was going to change my actual make-up products to organic ones. It is a really good excuse to buy some new make-up and it’s good for my health. I don’t really like the idea of poisoning myself every morning by putting some face brush. I encourage everyone do to the same. Breast Cancer Action provides a list of cosmetic brand that don’t use phthalates and parabens. You can also find some organic cosmetic (brands that are not really more expensive than the other ones) in classic make-up/ cosmetics shops.
Moral of the story: Always listen your mum

Sarah Gondy
NWHN intern