The first thing to know about toxic chemicals in cosmetics, is that cosmetics in Europe are completely free of toxins. According to European legislation, cosmetic products have to pass very thorough toxicological tests to ensure safety as long as the manufacturer’s rules are followed (to give a very extreme example, we do not have to use nail polish on our eyes, because it will obviously cause damage)
The label “toxic free” is a claim of some brands because as it says @laurabey_ in its Instagram, it is a way to emphasize that that product does not carry toxics as if the one of another brand did and it is an immoral way of competition that the greatest harm is done to the consumer.
We are going to review some of the alleged toxic substances for our organism:
– Parabens: These are preservatives that are added to most cosmetic products (creams, shampoos…) to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms and the product from going bad. Parabens are found in nature and are exactly the same as those we can find in cosmetics (we will talk about natural and synthetic products later). When asked if they cause cancer: categorically NO. A few years ago some reports came out that have been totally discredited by the scientific community
– Sulphates: Sulphates are substances with cleaning properties whose action consists of solubilizing fatty substances in water, they are the cause of the foam in these products. Sulphates are quite common in shampoos to remove sebum from the scalp and the strongest ones can cause dry hair or scalp irritation. Therefore, a shampoo with or without sulphates should be used depending on our needs, a hair with an oily root will benefit more from a shampoo with sulphates than one with a dry root (bearing in mind that these substances do not in any case affect the colour of highlights or dyes or hair loss).
– Silicones: Like parabens or sulphates, they are usually rejected by some consumers. We can find them in many cosmetic products such as creams or shampoos. Silicones improve the appearance of hair and skin leaving hair softer and shinier and skin smoother. In addition, in some cases they also have a protective function. The main reason why they are rejected is because there is a particular type of silicone (those not soluble in water) that is believed to accumulate on the scalp and in this case we must also clarify that this is false because the sulphates we talked about before are responsible for eliminating these residues. So, in this case, we should also use a shampoo with silicones according to our needs. A thick and dry hair will be grateful for this type of silicones and a straight and greasy hair will look better if the silicones are soluble in water or even if no silicones are used.
They can also be present in creams and in this case, the reason why they are not accepted is because of the false belief that the skin “breathes”. We can perfectly use silicones on our skin as long as it is with clean skin to avoid dirtying the pore and leaving pimples (in this case, oily acneic skin can be happier with water-soluble silicones as they will be less heavy on the face)
– Aluminum salts: This substance is a common in antiperspirant deodorants that temporarily block the sweat glands. They are accused of being related to some cases of breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease, but there is no evidence or rigorous studies to prove it.
This list is only a ridiculously small part of the supposedly toxic components in cosmetics. We have already made it clear that ALL cosmetic products are safe and will not cause us any harm. I would also like to take advantage of this and stress that most of these products are synthetic and therefore no worse or more harmful than those obtained naturally. Any substance will have exactly the same chemical composition if it is natural than if it has been synthesized in a laboratory, it is not safer or more effective, the only difference is the way of obtaining it.
And you, what do you think about these substances that are present in most cosmetics? If you like this kind of articles leave it in the comments and we will make more articles dismantling these myths.
