Body absorbs 5lb of make-up chemicals a year
By Paul Stokes
Last Updated: 2:39am BST 22/06/2007



Women who use make-up on a daily basis are absorbing almost 5lb of chemicals a year into their bodies, it is claimed.


Out-of-date lipstick may be a hothouse for bacteria


Many use more than 20 different beauty products a day striving to look their best while nine out of 10 apply make-up which is past its use by date.

Dependence on cosmetics and toiletries means that a cocktail of 4lb 6oz of chemicals a year is absorbed into the body through the skin.

Some synthetic compounds involved have been linked to side effects ranging from skin irritation to premature ageing and cancer.

Richard Bence, a biochemist who has spent three years researching conventional products, said: "We really need to start questioning the products we are putting on our skin and not just assume that the chemicals in them are safe.

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"We have no idea what these chemicals do when they are mixed together, the effect could be much greater than the sum of the individual parts." Mr Bence, an advocate of organic beauty products, believes that absorbing chemicals through the skin in more dangerous than swallowing them.

He said: "If lipstick gets into your mouth it is broken down by the enzymes in saliva and in the stomach. But chemicals get straight into your bloodstream, there is no protection."

Warnings over using out-of-date lipstick and mascara have also been issued by the Royal College of Optometrists which believes such items are a "hothouse" for harmful bacteria.

Clio Turton, of the Soil Association, said: "Many women are using over 20 different products a day, bombarding themselves with hundreds of different chemicals. They should be asking themselves 'is that eyelash conditioner really essential?' "

Among chemicals under scrutiny are parabens (para-hydroxybenzoic acids) which are preservatives used in products including soap, shampoo, deodorant and baby lotion. Traces of parabens have been found in breast tumour samples, although its link to the development of the cancer is disputed.

Sodium lauryl sulphate, used to help create lather in soaps, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste and bubble bath, can cause skin irritation.

The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association said there was no reason for worry because the products were covered by European Union rules requiring them to be safe.

A spokesman said: "The cocktail effect is an urban myth. We do know how different chemicals react individually and can predict how they interact with each other and this is taken into account when the safety of products is assessed."

How long does make-up last before going out of date?

All my make-up I currently use has been bought this year so am I ok?

oh god.

room score.

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joey. babby. don't get. crabby.

okay my paranoid nature is trying to see this as a big joke. they have to scare us about EVERYTHING nowadays. swallowing toothpaste gives you cancer, i mean watch the UVs, watch your cholesterol, and fuck the rest.

Thats fucked.

i have to agree with you they say that everything gives you cancer something is always wrong with what ever you it do or use BAH

everything in moderation...we really don't know what we are putting on our body and what it can do to us a few years from now.

Man, there's pretty much some sort of scientific study concluding that just about anything you put in/on your body is going to take years off your life or add years to your appearance.

Grain o' salt.

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Deux hommes font une promenade amicale. L'un des deux porte un parapluie à son bras.
Il se met à pleuvoir. L'homme n'ouvre pas son parapluie et l'autre lui demande pourquoi.
- Parce que ça ne servirait à rien, lui répond son ami. Il est plein de trous.
- Alors, pourquoi l'as-tu pris?
- Parce que je ne pensais pas qu'il pleuvrait.

Im not too worried about EVERYTHING, but Im really going with caution on certain products.

Hair dye that's not henna, Im a dye addict (Im doing another home job this week) I get a headache and feel ill after I dye my hair from the shit seeping into my scalp so Im really going to put effort into getting a brand recommended by ewg.org

Eye liner and mascara, some have mercury in it and if you wear it everyday...well, again Im going to look for a safe brand. Im also suspecting that some of it getting in my eyes could be perpetuating my sinus infection seeing that my eye sockets have feelings of constant pressure when I press around them. All meds Ive taken have done nothing for it.

If all of this is true I should have turned green and died years ago.

Grain of salt, indeed.


This reminds me of the hoax chain e-mail everyone kept sending a while ago that said deodorants would give you breast cancer. Which turned out to be complete bs.

Hairbleach is around for decades, so are hairspray, lipsticks, bodylotions... all our grandmas and mums should be dead or sick by now...???

I'm so sick of reading about almost everything giving you cancer or a sooner death. Life is lethal.

yeah, i don't know. you can be sensible within reason, but you can't take EVERYTHING seriously.
that said, i don't mean it's unreasonable to not wear make-up!
but yeah....i pretty much EXPECT to get cancer to be honest. because mostthingsever are bad for you, it seems. as is my pessimism, apparantley. so, yeah.
YAY.

You can find something wrong with EVERYTHING if you really want to. I keep an eye on my makeup and throw it out when it gets gross, but I'm not going to be ruled by fear. We're all going to die eventually anyway, I don't think cutting everything that could potentially be bad for me is going to make me live to 150. Stop breathing the air, there are pollutants in it that are bad for you!

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"I once shot a man just to watch him die, then I got distracted and missed it. Oh my friends tried to describe it to me, but it just isn't the same."

why do you think 1 out of every 3 people have had some sort of cancer?

that really makes me wonder. i went years and years without getting styes and all of a sudden i've had two in a month. could it be my mascara?

mascara is the one thing i replace regulrarly..every 1-2 months.

did anyone even see this part...lol

I can see this having a bit of a negative effect after a while, but I doubt it's significant. Just very gross.
I don't find made-up women attractive anyways. They seem... sticky. Like wax fruit.

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WE MADE BROWNIES. I THINK WE'RE DEAD.