would you eat your face cream?

“Of course, not!” most people will tell you. When asked why, the usual explanation goes something like this: “It would taste awful” or “I don’t know what’s in there” and of course my personal favourite “it would probably make me sick”.

Few people realize that close to 60% of everything we apply on the skin is absorbed directly into our bodies. In reality, we are eating our face cream every day. Interestingly, many health-conscious people inadvertently douse their skin with those same chemicals, which if ingested, could make them sick? This is a classic case of “what you don’t know can hurt you.”

Part of the problem is a long held misconception that skin is impermeable and is separate from the rest of the body. We now know that is not true. The skin is the largest organ in the human body which absorbs everything, including chemicals.

Chemicals in cosmetics are a problem for several reasons. When chemicals (such as preservatives and food additives) are ingested through the mouth, the body has a well established channel of elimination (liver, kidneys) to safely deliver these chemicals out of the body. When chemicals are absorbed through the skin, however, they enter the bloodstream immediately and are deposited in tissues and organs. The body can easily become overwhelmed with toxins and has to work extra hard to eliminate them. If the chemical burden become too much, illness ensues.

Chemicals in skincare products have been linked to many health problems. The most common ones are skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, acne, dermatitis, premature wrinkles and excessive dryness. Other more serious health problems include: headaches, migraines, cancer (breast and skin), uterine fibroids, hair loss, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, suppressed immune function etc... This is only a partial list.

Most skincare products on the market, even health food store brands, contain chemical additives and preservatives. This is true even if a product is 99% natural and contains only a small percentage of chemicals. The body is such a complex living organism that it takes only a minuscule amount of chemicals to disrupt common bodily systems.

For example, Parabens are a family of preservatives (commonly known as Methylparaben or Propylparaben) that can upset the highly sensitive endocrine system (which secretes hormones that regulate many bodily functions). Parabens have a disruptive effect on the body because they mimic the hormone estrogen. Studies suggest that parabens are able to be absorbed through the skin and to bind to the body's estrogen-receptors, where they can encourage breast cancer cell growth in women, and lower sperm count and decrease fertility in men.

Parabens are only one such example. Hundreds of questionable chemicals are commonly used in conventional skincare products. Because the cosmetics industry is not regulated, and profitability is a major consideration, most beauty products contain chemicals which have not been adequately tested for safety. In fact, North American skincare products contain many ingredients which have already been banned in Europe.

When choosing beauty products, it’s more important than ever to read labels and to buy only products with natural food-grade ingredients. Recently, a new law has come into effect that requires all cosmetic ingredients to be listed on the label. It’s time to be just as smart about what we put on our bodies as inside them.