Polluting cosmetics

Translated by Francesca Valsecchi  

Women love putting on make-up: buying creams for face and body, skin serums, eye-contour products, shampoos and conditioners as to always have perfect hair, face masks, hair masks, foundation creams, coloring creams for a bright complexion and the list can go on and on.

Entering a perfumery can actually be like a conditioner after a long work day, after a particularly difficult university exam: it is like a prize, a cuddle after many hours spent studying, it is a shelter to feel well and cuddle for a while.

But have we ever thought about all chemicals that can be found in cosmetics? Are we able to read well the labels and avoid dangerous and irritant substances? Do we know that cosmetics pollute? And not just a little.

In cosmetics, in fact, there are different chemical substances which are very dangerous for nature and climate: they pass through waters, the air and the soil, and they have harmful consequences on everything they come into contact with.

According to an ECHA research, among 4500 analysed products, 285 contained banned chemicals. These substances have been identified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) or very persistent and toxic substances (PBT/ vPvB), which are known for their risks for human health and for the environment. 

There are many other substances which can be dangerous for our organism, they can be the cause of serious allergies, skin diseases, and can interfere with the hormonal cycle and with the normal pace of life. Having considered the damages caused to the environment and to the organism, it is important though, before buying a cosmetic or even just a shower gel, to read labels carefully as to avoid taking wrong choices. 

Among the most dangerous substances there is the Perfluorononyl Dimethicone, which has been found in eyeliners and lip crayon, while Perfluorononylethyl Carboxydecyl PEG-10 Dimethicone emerged as a less known substance, but as much worrying. Besides, mixtures like Cyclopentasiloxane (D5), Cyclometicone (a mix of D4, D5 and D6), and Cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) have been found in conditioners and hair masks.  

In particular, PFAS are the most dangerous polluting substances, they pollute so much that they have been called eternal pollutants, because they need much time and effort to deteriorate, also leaving toxic traces. These substances can be found almost everywhere, even in many objects of everyday use. Experts affirm that “they can be found in waterproof clothes, utensils and kitchen stuff, glass lenses, stent used in cardiology or in some drugs. However, because of their resistance, they do not deteriorate easily and for this reason some of them can have dangerous consequences on people’s health and environment”. 

We might not realize it but using even just a few drops of these substances can cause serious damages, and, in the long term, the organism feels their consequences, exactly as the environment does. These substances are responsible of most environmental damages caused by cosmetics, these are those pollutants which, little by little, are poisoning humans, the planet, the environment and the nature. 

When washing our hands with a liquid soap, when using our hydrating cream in the morning, when we are having a shower with the shower gel, we should pay attention and think about the chemicals that enter the environment, the water and the soil and that remain on the skin, up to damage and irritate it.

It is therefore important, first of all, to learn how to read labels carefully and to buy cosmetics with awareness. Cosmetic labels often hide fundamental information for the humans and for nature.

Without taking into consideration that beyond cosmetics, there is also their packaging, which is often made of plastic and therefore very polluting when dispersed in the environment. Its lightest plastic parcels can also enter the skin and cause serious damages.

Cosmetics pollute, but if we really want it, with our choices we can push less virtuous companies to do more and better. It could be enough buying health and natural make-up and cleansing agents to make a small step towards a healthier and cleaner planet, and also to protect one’s own skin.  

Taking an aware choice can mean everything in the field of cosmetics. 

In conclusion, reading labels carefully and buying creams and body cleansing gels of natural and biological origin can really be a precious arm, that we should always keep in mind.

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