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A new study has raised an alarm regarding the presence of cancer-causing chemicals in everyday personal care products, especially those frequently used by black and Latina women. The culprit? Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, known health-hazard compounds, are still used in shampoos, lotions, body washes, and eyelash adhesives.
What the study found
The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, followed 70 black and Latina women who lived in Los Angeles. The women snapped photos of product ingredient labels using a smartphone app created specifically for the study. The scientists found that 53 percent of the women used one or more products containing formaldehyde-releasing agents, most of which they applied daily or several times a week.
The biggest culprits were hair care products, 58 percent of which contained the poisonous preservatives. But that was not the extent of it; there were some body lotions, soaps, and other personal care items, too. The findings extrapolate the warning to a much larger set of beauty items than have been studied previously in hair straighteners.
What are the experts saying?
Recurring application, especially of items that are put on all over the body regularly, has a significant impact on long-term health risk, says lead study researcher Dr. Robin Dodson.
These chemicals are in products we use all the time, all over our bodies. Repeated exposures like these can add up and cause serious harm. And a lot of people have no idea because the chemicals are covered with technical names
Dr. Robin Dodson, lead study researcher
One such product is DMDM hydantoin, which is a preservative that slowly releases formaldehyde but isn't explicitly labeled as a carcinogen.
What you can do
Dr. Dodson and others are calling for stricter controls. Although some U.S. states and the E.U. have restricted or banned certain products, a nationwide ban has only been proposed by the FDA by 2023, yet it hasn't materialized. "Ideally, companies shouldn't be putting these chemicals in products in the first place," she said.
Until laws take effect, consumers can do the following to safeguard themselves:
Read ingredient labels thoroughly, especially on women-of-colour-oriented products
Watch out for DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, and quaternium-15, all of which are formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
Call for cleaner products by patronizing companies that prioritize ingredient disclosure.
The Big Picture
This study highlights a massive problem in the beauty and personal care industry: not being forthcoming or regulated about possibly harmful ingredients. As awareness grows, so does the demand for safer, more natural formulations, because every human being deserves to look and feel beautiful and safe.
Reference:
1. Luo, W., L. Chou, and P. S. Lam. “Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Emerging Contaminants Using Visible-Light-Responsive Graphitic Carbon Nitride.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters 5, no. 6 (2015): 309–314. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00242.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)
