5 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
  • |
Guys, remember way back when your Mum told you that kissing girls would cause to you catch germs. Turns out she was on the right track, but it's actually much worse:

In a small study out last week, researchers asked a group of teenage girls to hand over their lipsticks and glosses and tested them for toxic metals, including lead and cadmium. Though metal content varied widely from brand to brand, they found that women who apply lipstick two to three times daily can ingest a significant amount--20 percent of the daily amount that's considered safe in drinking water or more--of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese. Depending on the lipstick, in some cases women who slathered it on (14 times a day or more) were meeting or surpassing the daily recommended exposure to chromium, aluminum, and manganese. Lead, a metal that humans should avoid exposure to entirely, was detected in 75 percent of the samples.
Which 20 Lipsticks Contain the Most Lead? | Mother Jones
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    The EU has always banned a lot more toxic chemicals in cosmetics than the US.

    I never quite know how to react to the fact (and I think it really is a "fact"?) that quite a few of the people who are most quick and vociferous to complain about toxic ingredients in commercially available products are the very same people who object to FDA interference, licensing and regulation and regard it as "nanny statism".

    An interesting dichotomy, there.

    And another is the way that some metals, in particular, can be described either as "heavy metal toxins" or as "essential trace elements".

    You'd think that the terminology chosen might depend on the quantities being discussed, but I'm not at all convinced that it actually does: I suspect it depends mostly on people's prejudices.

    Interesting to see manganese and chromium on that list. Metabolic physicians these days are often telling us that these are two "essential trace minerals" of which a standard Western diet can be deficient, I think? I don't think they recommend lipstick as a source of either, though. :p
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8054503].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ThomM
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      The EU has always banned a lot more toxic chemicals in cosmetics than the US.

      I never quite know how to react to the fact (and I think it really is a "fact"?) that quite a few of the people who are most quick and vociferous to complain about toxic ingredients in commercially available products are the very same people who object to FDA interference, licensing and regulation and regard it as "nanny statism".

      An interesting dichotomy, there.
      It's not so much that we object to what they are suppose to do, but what they actually do.
      Currently the FDA sets regulations that favor the large pharmaceutical companies and the bio-tech companies over the consumers. For example to get a new gmo approved all the company has to do is submit it's own research showing it is safe and the FDA excepts it. They may have a period where you (the consumer) can submit objections, but they are ignored.
      Congress passed a bill a few years ago that basically made it legal for pharmaceutical companies can bribe the FDA into fast tracking approval for any new drug they come out with. Yet if a (for example) a cranberry grower said their product could be used to treat yeast infections, they would be shut down by the FDA.
      The way they work is if you have a natural product that has health benefits you have to show years of trials and testing to get it approved by the FDA. On the other hand if you have a new pharmaceutical you want approved and your one of the big corporations you can legally just give the FDA around $20,000 and they will approve your drug.
      Signature

      Life: Nature's way of keeping meat fresh
      Getting old ain't for sissy's
      As you are I was, as I am you will be
      You can't fix stupid, but you can always out smart it.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8056469].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SunilTanna
    Of course it depends on what chemical form you take in the substance.

    Table salt might raise your blood pressure, but a little isn't that bad, and a certain quantity is actually needed. however the chemical formula for salt is NaCl, meaning it contains sodium and chlorine - you would not want to consume either in their elemental form.

    In their elemental forms, you may recall from school chemistry:

    Sodium is a reactive metal that reacts violently with water. chlorine on the other hand is a poisonous gas (and was used as a chemical weapon in ww1).
    Signature
    ClickBank Vendor?
    - Protect Your Thank You Pages & Downloads
    - Give Your Affiliates Multiple Landing Pages (Video Demo)
    - Killer Graphics for Your Site
    SPECIAL WSO PRICES FOR WARRIORS + GET THE "CLICKBANK DISCOUNT" TOO!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8054574].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I think most women's heads would reel if they knew how toxic the average makeup is. I never use anything that isn't "cruelty free" because they use fewer toxins -- if you know it's safe for animals in the first place, you don't NEED to test it. Even then, though - I really watch what I put on my skin. Skin is absorbent

    In the US most of our personal care products and cleaning products are dosed with toxic chemicals, and many of them are soooo toxic that they are banned in most countries. The average home has around 200 toxic chemicals in it - use bacterial soap? Yeah it wipes out germs - and livers and kidneys to boot. That's just one example.

    Ya know - when you consider the cost of cleaning products and the toxic chemicals they are laced with - then think about the cost of baking soda, salt, vinegar, etc -- and then consider that those three natural products deter insects, kill mold, fungus, and bacteria -- I'm not sure why a person would buy the other stuff.

    I have rules about purchasing anything that could contain chemicals.
    1. If you are going to eat it, it needs to be labeled organic.
    2. If I am going to clean with it, if it says "see a physician when swallowed" it doesn't make it into my home. "Dilute with a glass of water" means it is strong enough to make you sick to your stomach or give you diarrhea but it's not toxic.
    3. If I'm putting it on my skin it has to be cruelty free and cannot contain any toxin on my master list of chemicals often found in a product type that is toxic in any way.

    I can't completely avoid the US toxic stew - but I sure try to minimize it as much as I possibly can.
    Signature

    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8056142].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Spot on, Thom. Our FDA is so corrupt that it's a joke even having them around. They are funded by the very wolves they are supposed to protect us from. Headed by an ex MONSANTO executive. Testing? They can pay to put out a drug and "test it" within a certain time frame. Now guess who it is that they are testing these things on? If it starts killing enough people, if someone has enough money for the lawyer to get it pulled, then they'll pull it.

    Aspartame was rejected twice - Rumsfeld (money and power) was able to get it put back as an accepted product even though it's proven to be a health nightmare. Now they want to put it in milk for kids with NO labeling! They recently put through a law that makes it impossible to sue for harmful effects or death due to experimental vaccines - since when is "experimental" a drug that should just be distributed to the public to see if it's any good?

    We DO want regulation of harmful chemicals -- the FDA doesn't do that. The thought that is what it does is what they depend on to keep citizens from demanding that the agency be shut down.
    Signature

    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8056539].message }}

Trending Topics