Ten Toxic Cosmetic/Personal Care Products You Should Be Cautious About Using

The most eye-opening scientific fact I learned from both my husband’s and my cancer journey is that whatever touches our skin is absorbed into our bloodstream and circulates throughout our bodies. In fact, it’s estimated that 60-70 percent of the chemicals or toxins we apply to our skin are absorbed into our bodies. Before cancer, I always assumed that as long as I washed those chemicals off my skin, I was fine. How could I miss this important fact for so long?

I also did not read the labels on my cosmetics and skin care products. The average American woman uses 12 personal care products in one day, and the average American man uses about six. The European Union has banned about 1300 chemicals in personal care products, while our country has only banned about 11. The EU restricts ingredients until they are proven safe, while the US tends to allow ingredients and only removes them years later after post-market research uncovers major issues.

After being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer for which I had no genetics or risk factors, it forced me to dig deeper and begin reading labels. We must realize that we are consuming toxic chemicals when we apply personal care products that contain chemicals to our body.

Some things we put on our skin may cause skin irritation and allergic reactions. But as an estrogen-driven cancer survivor, I’m more concerned about the chemicals that are endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. The FDA does not regulate chemicals in personal care products, so we must learn to read labels. The cosmetic industry is like the Wild Wild West, and anything goes. With no government oversight, they are left to decide what goes in their products and are allowed to not list all ingredients.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic hormones and disrupt the body’s natural hormones. Carcinogens are substances or chemicals that have the potential to cause cancer. Here are some toxic chemicals found in common cosmetic and personal care products: Quaternum 15, methylene glycol, formaldehyde, mercury, aluminum, phthalates, parabens, and PFAS or forever chemicals, just to name a few. My videos on parabens and other chemicals will be referenced below.

Here are the ten cosmetic/personal care products you should be cautious about using:

Deodorant – We apply deodorant and antiperspirants daily or risk losing friends. Did you know that they contain fragrance which is nothing more than chemicals, aluminum—a toxic metal used in antiperspirants to block sweat ducts, parabens—which is used as a preservative, but is also an endocrine disruptor linked to breast cancer, phthalates which can cause hormone imbalances, and triclosan—an antibacterial banned by the FDA in soaps, yet allowed to use right under our arms and close to our breast tissue? There are many deodorants that work, which do not contain toxic chemicals.

Hair Color – This is one of the worst and contains ammonia, lead acetate, PPD which contains coal tar, DMDM hydantoin which can release formaldehyde, and parabens, just to name a few. Not on my head and that close to my brain! But perms are just as bad, and I had three a year for many years. But no more. There are hair coloring products that don’t contain as many toxic chemicals. Ask your hairdresser about these.

Hair Spray – It’s a necessity for both women and some men that contains propellant gases which push the spray out, propylene glycol—an endocrine disruptor used to make anti-freeze, PUP – a chemical made from petroleum that holds the hair in place, and phthalates, which are banned in Europe. Again, these chemicals are applied on your head and can also be inhaled. And shampoos and mousse are usually no better. I use hair products made by John Masters that are organic.

Nail Polish – This is probably the most toxic of all as far as inhalation. It contains formaldehyde (Isn’t that the chemical we used to dissect a frog in science lab in 7^th grade?), toulene, phthalates—a plastic and endocrine disrupting hormone, resin—another plasticizer, and camphor—a toxic oil. It’s unknown how much these chemicals are absorbed through the nail, but just the inhalation is quite concerning. After my cancer journey, I no longer polish my nails or go into nail salons. There are nail products such as Dazzle Dry that have less toxic chemicals. If you do go into a nail salon, make sure it’s well ventilated.

Soap – Something we use every day contains more chemicals than one can imagine, such as sodium laurel sulfate to make suds, antibacterial chemicals, 1,4 dioxane, parabens, and fragrance. The good news is here are many soaps on the market that don’t contain these chemicals.

Shaving Cream – This is something almost every man uses and may contain benzene—a known carcinogen, and titanium dioxide as well as sulfates, phthalates, formaldehyde, and parabens.

Sunscreen – I’m not sure if I’m more concerned about the sunscreen chemicals or the damaging effects of the sun. We should be concerned about both. Sunscreens generally contain oxybenzene—an endocrine-disrupting hormone that’s linked to birth defects and elevated liver enzymes. It also contains two other endocrine-disrupting hormones called homosolate and octinoxate. There are sunscreens on the market that do not contain these chemicals. I use some of these sunscreens, but I also try to stay out of the sun as much as possible by wearing hats, coverups, umbrellas, etc.

Make-up – These essentials, which help women to improve their appearance, come at a cost in more ways than one. Basic foundation may contain lead and aluminum, sulfates, retinol, 4,1 dioxane, ethylene oxide, and ethanolamines which are banned in Europe. There is no safe level of lead in the bloodstream, and lead is commonly found in many lipsticks at varying degrees. Other metals in lipstick include chromium, cadmium, and aluminum. I now use make-up which meets the European Standard.

Mascara – This is one of the most used cosmetics that I don’t use anymore. Why? Because most contain mercury as a preservative, coal tar, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, and sulfates. All these chemicals can irritate your eyes. Again, there are cosmetic companies driven by the European standards that don’t contain these toxic chemicals, but I still don’t want any particles that can get into my eyes.

Anti-aging Creams – Oh, how we crave these, especially as we age. But they contain retinol, which may make you more susceptible to cancer, PTFE—a chemical found in Teflon, and PFOA – the forever chemical, and both are linked to cancer. Parabens and mercury may also be found in these creams. Here’s the anti-aging cream that I use that absolutely contains only natural ingredients. It’s called Dream Cream by Purity Woods. Here’s the link with discount to purchase this amazing product – Purity Woods Anti-Aging Skin Care Products When you purchase from this link, this ministry may receive a small portion to help cvoer expenses.

Since the FDA does not properly monitor personal care products and cosmetics, you must be the sheriff for you and your family.

In these examples, we’ve seen the common chemicals of parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, aluminum, and mercury over and over again. With many of these chemicals banned in Europe for use in cosmetics and on the skin, we must read labels and look for cleaner alternatives. They are out there. We must also be the sheriff since in the US, we are living in the Wild Wild West as far as these chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products are concerned.

View this message on YouTube, which shows the products I use:

Ten Personal Care Products You Should Be Cautious About Using

Eight Hormone Disrupting Chemicals to Avoid

For Your Health,

Ginny

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer and was recently awarded the First Place Golden Scrolls Award for Memoirs, a finalist in Serious Writers Book of the Decade, and Second Place in both Selah Awards for Memoirs and Director’s Choice Award for Nonfiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It recently received the Christian Authors Network’s (CAN) Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing for reaching 62.5 million people with a message of cancer prevention and survival. It was written with commentary from an oncologist and was featured on CBN’s Healthy Living Show, Atlanta Live, and CTN’s Homekeepers along with over 75 media outlets. Learn more and cancer and wellness prevention blog and book information at www.ginnybrant.com. Ginny is on YouTube