COSMETICS: NATURALLY SAFE OR NOT?

Cosmetics: Naturally Safe or Not?                            

by Maria Pak, Guest Author

Formulating chemists are increasingly being asked today to design products that are 100% natural, chemical free and organically derived. Let me start by saying that there is nothing on this planet, or in our world, that does not derive from nature and is not a chemical.

I like analogies so let's consider a building. It is man made, but the materials used in its construction all originate from nature. Early settlers' log cabins can be compared to early cosmetic and toiletry products. As mankind progressed they found ways to improve the basic log cabin – to dress the logs so that there were no longer chinks that needed to be filled with mud and clay to keep out the elements and undesirable natural pests. Earthen floors were replaced by floors made of materials that were more hygienic, could be easily be cleaned, minimized earth and air borne diseases and infections. Windows were created from glass to replace sackcloth coverings to keep out insects and the environment. Straw roofs were replaced by tin then tile roofs. Wooden logs were replaced by bricks which were better insulators and did not need as much maintenance. Open fireplaces were replaced by electric stoves for cooking and eventually gas and electric heating for warmth. Walls were plastered to make them more hygienic and attractive and to enable adornments such as pictures to be displayed. As our knowledge grew so did the products we produced grow in sophistication, addressing the inherent problems of the originals making them easier to maintain and more attractive to our senses, - as well as creating a safer and more comfortable environment in which to live.

And so too the cosmetic and toiletry products - shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, body lotions etc., that we now find so indispensable, also evolved to meet consumer needs and desires and improve on the characteristics, efficacy and safety of the originals.

Reading the advertising for many of the new natural/green and organic products you will frequently see statements such as “Free from………..” and references to “nasties”. The average consumer I daresay does not have a clue as to why these ingredients are used in the first place. And I as a formulating chemist have no idea of what a nasty is supposed to be. Do these marketers really expect sensible consumers to believe that manufacturers are adding unnecessary and dangerous “nasties” into their products (sadly some misinformed people do believe it).

Let's consider parabens – what are they since we seem to be seeing several products lately which are claiming to be paraben free? They are arguably the most effective and commonly used broad spectrum anti-fungal and antibacterial preservatives in use today and have been in use for over 100 years. These are added to products to protect them, and you the consumer, from all those harmful bugs, fungi, bacteria, etc on your skin and in our environment that can harm you and destroy your product. Every time you dip your finger into a tub of cream, you are introducing millions of potentially harmful bacteria and fungi, which will love your cream and quite happily multiply, producing millions of little baby nasties, unless you have a preservative in your product that will stop them. Basically any product that contains water, which these greebies need to grow and multiply, needs an adequate preservation system to protect it and you. While there are some natural preservatives available today none have the efficacy of the parabens, and most, to be effective, need to be used at a dosage rate which then makes the product a whole lot less attractive to use since many are quite smelly. Parabens have recently become controversial because of their supposed estrogenic effects. But let’s consider the following scientific data:

{...effect of butylparaben was determined to be approximately 100,000 times weaker than estradiol, although this effect was only observed when employing a dose level which was 25,000 times higher than is actually used to preserve products.}(Edwin J. Routledge, et al. Some Alkyl Hydroxy Benzoate Preservatives (Parabens) Are Estrogenic. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.)  {As the estrogenic effect is dose-related, it may be calculated that the estrogenic effect at normal use concentrations of butylparaben is 100,000 x 25,000, i.e. 2,500,000,000 times weaker than estradiol.} { There has been consensus that any estrogenic effect caused by the doses of parabens received from consumer products are insignificant compared to natural estrogens and other xenoestrogens.}  Byford JR, Shaw LE, Drew MG, Pope GS, Sauer MJ, Darbre PD. Oestrogenic activity of parabens in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2002 Jan;80(1):49-60.

What this basically translates to is, that though there may be an extremely slight hormonal effect from parabens in cosmetic and toiletry products, we would need to be exposed to very much higher dosages than that used in today’s products before there would even begin to be any sort of effect on the human psyche and this effect is absolutely miniscule in comparison to what our own bodies produce. Parabens also rapidly metabolize (break down) in the body. Consider also that methyl paraben occurs naturally in blueberries and no doubt other fruits and vegetables! So in reality it qualifies as a natural preservative!

We all know that anything in excess is bad for us and the most innocuousCosmet and harmless things can kill us if used in excess – even drinking too much water will kill you.

Looking at advertising typical for many of these products we see statements such as the following:

{Make up & beauty products are designed to help us look & feel good, and it's important they produce results. But of equal importance is the content of these products & what effects they can have on our skin & body.  As a retailer of organic cosmetic & makeup products, XXXX Cosmetics responds to both these concerns. All our brands are primarily made of strictly natural ingredients; they do not contain petrochemicals, synthetics or other chemicals, therefore, they are good for you. So you don't have to worry about what's in your mineral make up, skin care, shampoo, lipstick, & other personal care products.}

Simply not true! We do indeed have to worry about what is in our products, or to be more precise, what is NOT in our products, especially things such as preservatives. And we all know how deadly nature can be.

Natural nasties: Arsenic was used in the 19^th century as a skin whitener, and laudanum, which contained opium, as a tonic. So as the saying goes – “We've come a long way babe” and so has our industry. Arsenic, mercury and lead are all natural materials, as harmful to man as natural nasties such as pseudomonas aeruginosa (a Gram-negative bacterium that is noted for its environmental versatility, it’s ability to cause disease in particular susceptible individuals, and its resistance to antibiotics.), staphylococcal bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that is a common coloniser of human skin and mucosa. (Staphylococcus aureus can cause serious illness, and is an opportunistic bacteria. It can enter the body through any minor skin abrasions.  

A sad recent example is the death of 20 year old Brazilian model Mariana Brindi as reported in N Z Herald 25.1.09:

{“She returned to a hospital on January 3 in septic shock from the infection that would force doctors to amputate first her feet, then her hands. Doctors said there was little they could do but pump drugs into her and hope for the best. It was a nightmare scenario for anyone with an infection: Her body did not react to the latest and most potent drugs while the bacteria in her veins spread from head to toe. In Brindi's case, the culprit was the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be drug resistant.”}

Dioxy hydrogen – such a nasty chemical sounding name! It kills many thousands of people every year - yet we could not exist without it. Our bodies are made up of about 70% of it; we could not survive long without it. What is it? Good old water, the chemical H20. Drink too much and it will kill you; you can drown in it; it can destroy whole towns in the form of a storm or tsunami; drinking polluted water will make you very sick. Is it dangerous? Yes, if not treated with respect, but can we live without it - no.

Free From: One “Free from” claim  that I particularly find irritating is “Does not contain SLS.”  I doubt that ANY shampoo on the market today does contain SLS. Most contain SLES which is an entirely different kettle of fish, it’s a relatively mild surfactant which does the job that it is intended to do in a shampoo, i.e. emulsify and remove the dirt and grime from your hair leaving it clean, shiny and fresh. Sure, there are some milder surfactants available with names such as ammonium lauryl sulphate or triethanolamine lauryl sulphate, if those sound better to you and you can afford to, and are willing, to pay more for your shampoo, but at the end of the day they all basically perform the same function in much the same manner.

Much maligned petroleum oil is about as natural a starting point as you can get, though in its crude form it may not be as attractive to the eye or nose as a pretty flower. Petroleum jelly has long been recognized as one of the safest and most effective skin moisture barriers available. Our mothers and theirs slathered it onto our bottoms as babies to prevent nappy rash.

Some manufacturers of “natural” products will go to a manufacturing chemist and say “I do not want any propylene glycol in my product because it is used in car radiators”. So is water, - does that make it bad for you!

Many marketers also want to use only 100% natural fragrances, but if you check the list of allergens on the European list of restricted fragrance materials you will find most of these occur in natural essential oils, most especially in citrus oils, be they cold pressed, organically grown or whatever.

Natural oils are especially prone to oxidation and to becoming rancid and smelly. Not only that, the results of natural oxidation and degradation of natural essential oils have been found to have much greater potential for causing allergic skin reactions than synthetic fragrances! Several natural essential oils are actually quite hazardous to, and not at all good for your skin, eg, natural bergamot and cinnamon – both are known skin sensitisers and there is a need to be extremely careful formulating when using these oils. The mainstream fragrance industry has formulated and imposed safety guidelines on how these essential oils can be safely used to counteract any possible undesirable side effects.

In a cosmetic or toiletry product you sometimes need to use an antioxidant to stop natural oxidation (which makes your product smell and often look very unattractive), from occurring before you use up your very expensive lotion or potion. Again there are natural antioxidants available, but they are generally quite expensive, and also require much higher dosage rates, - and even then, are not as effective as their synthetic counterparts.

All of which goes to show that a little knowledge is indeed a dangerous thing. Knowledge is not something that comes naturally, it is something we have to seek to acquire. There is an interesting website called Sense About Science (www.senseaboutscience.org.uk) which I encourage you to visit if you are interested in finding out more about the various topics mentioned here.

“Scientists are worried about the growing disconnection between the lifestyle view of chemicals and the chemical realities of the world.”

                                    Tracey Brown – Director Sense About Science

Some manufacturers are also starting to claim “chemical free” products but as Tracey goes on to say that the chemical realities of the world are that everything is made of chemicals and that synthetic chemicals are often much safer for human health than so-called natural ones and that unfounded anxieties about chemicals is encouraging people to buy into ideas and “remedies” that make little scientific or medical sense.

“If someone came into your house and offered you a cocktail of butanol, iso amyl alcohol, hexanol, phenyl ethanol, tannin, benzyl alcohol, caffeine, geraniol, quercetin, 3-galloyl epicatchin, 3-galloyl epigallocatchin and inorganic salts, would you take it? It sounds pretty ghastly. If instead you were offered a cup of tea, you would probably take it. Tea is a complex mixture containing the above chemicals in concentrations that vary depending on where it is grown.”

                                                               Derek Lohmann, research chemist}

One marketer phoned their manufacturing chemist, very disturbed because their product contained sodium chloride – really? As most people know this is common salt. Our bodies need salt to maintain a healthy electrolyte balance. You don’t get much more natural a material. It again serves to demonstrate some of the unfounded anxiety and hysteria about so called “chemicals” that we see today. There is no such thing as a chemical free product.

Synthetic products are generally recognized in the cosmetics industry as being safer for consumers because they have a much greater degree of purity and consistency than naturals, which can vary greatly depending on growing and climatic conditions. Another very important aspect to the use of synthetic products we need to consider is that there simply are not enough “natural” materials available globally to meet the needs of the world's consumers.  And what happens, as so often does, when drought or other forces of nature destroy entire crops and create global raw material shortages. At such times prices soar, often quadrupling, quintupling or more, until normal supply is restored (usually about 12 months), and availability of supply becomes a major headache for manufacturers who simply cannot get the materials they need to continue to produce their products and get them onto market shelves so they are available when you want them and at a price that you can afford to pay.

Consumer numbers are continuously increasing as the populations of many second and third world countries become better educated, resulting in increased personal wealth. They also become more sophisticated and have disposable incomes that can be spent on little luxuries for themselves such as fragrances, cosmetic and toiletry products, instead of food or shelter, all of which adds to the growing demand for these products.

Fake tans - these are definitely of chemical origin but much safer for us than a natural tan which, contrary to being a sign of good health as so many think, is actually a sign of skin damage, - our bodies way of dealing with a threat that in years to come can pose a very serious and deadly health risk, skin cancer. There is no such thing as a healthy natural tan! If you like tanned looks go for the synthetic Faux Glow! It is much less dangerous than the natural and could save your life.

Animal testing -Let’s look at another common claim – “No animal testing”. Until recently it was not possible to put a consumer product on the market in Europe if all the ingredients used therein had not been animal tested. If these ingredients have not been tested in the past 5 years then manufacturers can claim no animal testing - which only means that the products were likely to be less technologically advanced since the newer ingredients that had been developed in those intervening 5 years could not be used.

In reality very few cosmetic manufacturing companies do their own animal testing, which is done not to torture poor helpless animals, but to try and ensure the highest degree of safety of those ingredients for human use. It is mostly done by the raw material suppliers to satisfy regulatory requirements before these products can be marketed to manufacturers.

The animal activists in their day did achieve a purpose in that alternative testing methods were developed to try and predict any adverse or fatal reactions. In vivo (within a living organism) and in vitro (in an artificial environment outside the living organism) testing methods though are predictor models only for what happens in the human body or on human skin and the only way to test these predictions is by testing on humans or animals. Would you rather be the guinea pig, especially when it comes down to products that are used on your child! (Now you see I am using some of the hype used by these companies! But then you see how easy manipulation by marketers can be.)

Animal products used in cosmetics are another interesting topic. As David Steinberg, Past President of the American Society of Cosmetic Chemists, explained in a radio interview in Los Angeles several years ago, we humans are basically carnivores, and, except for vegans, meat is a part of our diet. We use some of the by-products from the slaughter industry, such as leather, to manufacture shoes, handbags, furniture, etc. Other by-products are converted to ingredients used in the manufacturer of cosmetic and toiletry products. Would people protesting the use of these prefer that, instead of utilizing these by-products, they are dumped and contribute to the ever growing global problem of garbage disposal. Which is the better path? Is it not better to use these valuable waste products which are materials of totally natural and sustainable origin.

The cosmetic and toiletry industry, contrary to what one would surmise from the many alarmist claims abounding in the market place, is a highly regulated industry which is constantly striving to improve its knowledge of the many ingredients used by the industry, and is committed to ensuring the highest degree of safety of these products for consumers.

It is ironic that the use of botox injections is now very commonplace amongst these same consumers who purportedly like the touchy, feel good thought of using natural, organic products. Botox derives from botulism which is one of the deadliest (natural) toxins known to man. Yet so many people are quite happily and voluntarily being injected with this material which paralyzes their facial muscles - all in the name of beauty.

Organic products - The jury is still out as to whether organic products offer any real benefit over their non-organically grown counterparts. The body recognizes chemicals in the form of vitamins and minerals, fibre etc from the food we eat, without analyzing its derivation. Just as compost, regardless of its source, will break down to the same chemicals that soil and plants can use to grow and produce healthy plants. While there is no doubt the educated palate can differentiate the taste of a home grown tomato or bean, the body recognizes only the nutritional aspect of the tomato or bean and the constituents of that nutritional value remain the same whether home or organically grown - a bean is a bean is a bean.

Soy products may raise dementia risk: study by Stephen Daniells

07-Jul-2008 - Consumption of soy products like tofu may raise the risk of dementia, according to a new study from Britain and Indonesia.  (Interestingly, increased consumption of fruit was also positively linked to dementia.)

These were the results of a recent study, which if you took at face value, would have you shunning all soy products and fruits. However, the author goes on to say that the study was mostly conducted in Indonesia where they were many other contributing factors in the lifestyles of those studied, which most likely contributed to these findings. No doubt if some television current affairs programme had gotten hold of this study we would have seen it splashed, as fact, across the front pages of most media and people would have been questioning the safety of both soy products and fruit!

So take what you read with a pinch of  salt – a chemical,  Na2Cl. Much better that you, as a consumer, start to think about what you are doing to try and protect our precious environment -  recycle as much as possible, keep a compost bin, conserve our resources and save energy, - have shorter showers, recycle grey water, switch off all those lights in the rooms you are not using, turn off the air conditioner and open the windows, turn off the heater and put another sweater on, turn the computer, DVD player and TV OFF instead of into standby mode, get your car serviced frequently, take the stairs not the elevator, - a few simple things that do not cost anything (in fact can save us money), and that we can all do to save our planet and our future!  

Lastly, let us not forget that the rate of technological progress in the world in the last half of the twentieth century was greater than all of previous history since the beginning of mankind.  Look at the advances in medical science which are keeping us living longer lives and curing or controlling illnesses which would have naturally killed us in days gone by. Would you really still want to be living in that log cabin with the sackcloth curtains?

Q

 Let’s just show some common sense here.

About the Author:  Maria Pak has a Diploma in Applied Science and has worked in the cosmetic industry for over 45 years in various roles from product development, sales development and marketing in New Zealand, Australia, UK, USA, and as General Manager of a multinational corporation in Australia and Philippines. Although she is now semi-retired, she is still working in sales and marketing.

She wrote this article “because I became concerned at the amount of misinformation spreading through the marketplace alarming people unnecessarily. The Cosmetic and Fragrance industries are both highly regulated with these organisations committed to constant research to bring the safest products to consumers worldwide."