Can Your Makeup Give You Cancer?
Chemicals Found In Car Products Also Found In Makeup
UPDATED: 1:37 pm CST February 21, 2002
CLEVELAND -- Some of the chemicals found in your makeup can also be found in a mechanic's garage, reported affiliate Web site NewsNet5.com in Cleveland.
"When I work on cars, we wear gloves that protect us from any chemicals that are in the oil or antifreeze or engine cleaners or anything," said Don Guerra, an auto mechanic.Caswell said that products like antifreeze, garage floor cleaner and engine degreaser also contain chemicals found in most cosmetics.Caswell asked: Would you ever think of spraying engine degreaser inside your mouth?The answer is obviously no, but she said that one of the active ingredients -- sodium lauryl sulfate -- is also an active ingredient in many toothpastes. The substance is also found in any product that foams.The Environmental Protection Agency requires workers to wear gloves and goggles when working with propylene glycol.Caswell said that it's the active ingredient in antifreeze, but it's also an ingredient in hand lotion.PEG, also known as poly-ethylene glycol, is used to dissolve oil and grease. It's also found in shaving cream. PEG can strip the skin's natural moisturizers and leave the skin's immune system vulnterable.Research shows that talc could cause ovarian cancer and testicular cancer, but it is the main ingredient in most makeup.So could these ingredients make you sick? Dr. Jennifer L. Popovsky, a dermatologist, says no."They're very safe because they're not really absorbed into the body and because they're used in such tiny concentrations in all of these products," Popovsky said. They're not going to give you cancer because they've all been tested, she said.If you would like to eliminate chemicals all together, go the organic route. There is all-natural makeup on the market.Popovsky said to be careful because many cosmetics found in organic stores are not subject to Food and Drug Administration approval.
"When I work on cars, we wear gloves that protect us from any chemicals that are in the oil or antifreeze or engine cleaners or anything," said Don Guerra, an auto mechanic.Caswell said that products like antifreeze, garage floor cleaner and engine degreaser also contain chemicals found in most cosmetics.Caswell asked: Would you ever think of spraying engine degreaser inside your mouth?The answer is obviously no, but she said that one of the active ingredients -- sodium lauryl sulfate -- is also an active ingredient in many toothpastes. The substance is also found in any product that foams.The Environmental Protection Agency requires workers to wear gloves and goggles when working with propylene glycol.Caswell said that it's the active ingredient in antifreeze, but it's also an ingredient in hand lotion.PEG, also known as poly-ethylene glycol, is used to dissolve oil and grease. It's also found in shaving cream. PEG can strip the skin's natural moisturizers and leave the skin's immune system vulnterable.Research shows that talc could cause ovarian cancer and testicular cancer, but it is the main ingredient in most makeup.So could these ingredients make you sick? Dr. Jennifer L. Popovsky, a dermatologist, says no."They're very safe because they're not really absorbed into the body and because they're used in such tiny concentrations in all of these products," Popovsky said. They're not going to give you cancer because they've all been tested, she said.If you would like to eliminate chemicals all together, go the organic route. There is all-natural makeup on the market.Popovsky said to be careful because many cosmetics found in organic stores are not subject to Food and Drug Administration approval.Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
