How many cosmetics do you use every day?
On average, women use a dozen cosmetic products daily, like soaps, shampoo, deodorant, makeup remover, serum, day cream, nigth cream, eye cream, body lotion, hand cream, foot cream, lip balm, makeup, toothpaste, sunscreen, foaming bath products, mousse and other hair care and styling products, nail polish, nail polish remover, dye, hand sanitizer and more.
The health impacts are difficult to measure
While it may be easy to identify certain harmful properties, the effects of longterm exposure, the quantities used, and product interactions are more difficult to quantify. Because of their considerable persistence in the environment and bioaccumulation potential (ability to accumulate in living organisms), various chemical substances used commercially are literally invading the planet. Very little scientific data is available about most of these pollutants' long-term effects, particularly about how mixing these chemicals might produce a cocktail effect.
Synergies could result in exponential damage
With the many synthetic chemicals that can now be found in our bodies, we have become actual receptacles for potentially dangerous substances. Year after year, corporal pollution increases and becomes more complex.
Today, this is a recognized issue and a major environmental health concern. However, the topic remains controversial, because it calls into question traditional approaches to environmental and public health policies, and a number of industrial and economic decisions. Serious health effects associated with persistent and bioaccumulative substances include testicular, ovarian and breast cancer, loss of fertility and a decrease in viable sperm, growth and development abnormalities, and damaged immune systems, among others.
Young women are most at risk
Date compiled in the United States has shown that teenage girls are the top consumers of such products and are therefore highly exposed to the chemicals they contain.
According to a team of American researchers, the frequent use of cosmetics, perfumes and other beauty products can double teenage girls' exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (reprotoxins), directly affecting these young consumers' hormonal and reproductive systems at a crucial time in their development.
Several studies have concluded that long-term exposure to these different endocrine disruptors is a concern for pregnant women, infants children and adolescents experiencing puberty. Such chemicals are also likely to cause hormone-dependent cancers in animals.
Réglementation des fabricants de produits cosmétiques
Au Canada comme aux États-Unis, à part les phtalates, les fabricants de cosmétiques peuvent légalement inclure des agents chimiques dans leurs produits, mais sont tenus d’en faire mention sur l’étiquette. Plus de 4000 nouveaux produits sont commercialisés chaque année au Canada. Dans ce contexte, il est difficile pour Santé Canada d’en évaluer rapidement l’innocuité, estime le porte-parole de la fondation David Suzuki. L’organisme a d’ailleurs produit en 2010 un important rapport sur les ingrédients toxiques contenus dans les produits cosmétiques, ciblant douze produits à éviter.
Santé Canada juge que toute substance est inoffensive jusqu’ à preuve du contraire. Ils évaluent un produit seulement à la suite d’une plainte. Il est certain que plusieurs substances passent sous les radars pendant plusieurs années!
Autant la synergie de principes actifs peut être intéressante pour obtenir de beaux résultats, autant la combinaison d’actifs toxiques peut créer des dommages. La solution est de se renseigner et minimiser la présence de ces agents toxiques de notre environnement immédiat. Vous pouvez télécharger l'aide-mémoire des agents toxiques en format PDF de Davincia pour y parvenir plus facilement.