Your skin is a beautifully absorptive surface. Think of the way it slurps up your rich and emollient body butter. Or the way it drinks in the Epsom salt bath. Or even the way it eagerly takes up the therapeutic arnica cream or medicated anti-inflammatory gel.

Get the picture. What goes on really does go in.

But do we really want that? Do you even know what most of the ingredients in that body butter are? And are they safe?

Unfortunately our personal care products can come loaded with chemicals known as Endocrine Disruptors. An endocrine disruptor is a substance that interferes with the normal function of our hormones. They might mimic our hormones, or block the way we make our hormones, or transport them, or bind them or eliminate them.

So it’s a big deal.

Ideally our (dozens of) hormones work together in harmony, with precision communication and synchronization.  But as we all know, sometimes our perfect pattern of hormones becomes…imperfect, unsynchronized, unbalanced. And there are a multitude of reasons for this.

Our environmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals is just one piece of that puzzle.

We can be exposed to a variety of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the cookware we use, the furnishings in our homes and…our skin care, hair care, make up and fragrances.

How many personal care products did you use in the first half hour of your morning? Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, body moisturiser, antiperspirant, toothpaste, mouthwash, cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, facial moisturiser, sunscreen, foundation, concealer, blush, eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, hair treatment, hair spray, perfume…? How many ingredients were in each product? How many different ‘fragrances’? How many different endocrine disruptors?

Here is a short rundown of the types of endocrine disruptors in your personal care products:

Phthalates

Are found in cosmetics, perfumes, make up, hand wash and nail polish.

Higher levels of phthalates have been found in women with endometriosis and PCOS. They can affect the immune system, with animal studies showing links with autoimmunity. Baby boys exposed to greater levels of phthalates in-utero and via breastmilk have an increased incidence of incomplete testicular descent, and smaller genital size. Phthalates are also known as ‘obesogens’ – chemicals that can increase the number of fat cells we have, the size of those cells, and the way we manage hunger.

Read: cosmetic labels. Particularly avoid products listing DEP (Diethyl phthalate), DBP (Dibutyl phthalate) and BBP (Butyl benzyl phthalate) as ingredients. And avoid ‘fragrance’ – it’s a neat word that obscures the literally hundreds of chemicals that make that signature scent!

Lead

Found in lipsticks and hair dyes.

Lead is toxic to every organ and accumulates in our body. It is linked with lowered IQ, miscarriage, kidney and nervous system damage. It’s particularly problematic for babies and children, who can absorb up to 5 times more lead than an adult.

And while lead is only found in lipstick in tiny amounts of parts-per-million, bear in mind there is no safe level of lead. And how many times to you apply and reapply your lipstick in one day? Swallowing how much?

Minimise: the number of times you reapply lipstick. Stick to chemical-free make-up. And try not to let your little ones chow down on your lippie (after they’ve smeared the walls, floor and their bodies!). Apply hair colourant as foils only, thereby reducing and absorption via your scalp.

Try the gorgeous natural hair colourants by Desert Shadow.

Chemical sunscreens

Sunscreens filter out UV radiation with either chemical filters (like Oxybenzone and Octinoxate), or physical mineral filters (like Zinc oxide and Titanium dioxide).

 The chemical sunscreen filters absorb UV radiation to prevent it from entering your skin. They are oestrogenic in nature, and have been associated with endometriosis and thyroid hormone disruption. They can be transported through breastmilk.

Physical filters reflect UV radiation away from your skin. There is some concern that when the physical mineral filters are in nanoparticle form, they may contribute to cellular DNA damage.

With melanoma skin cancer the third most common cancer in Australia, and the most common cancer in 15-44 year olds, Risk vs Benefit seems to come out in favour of taking adequate precautions in the sun.

Choose: to avoid the hot mid-morning to mid-afternoon Summer sun. Wear a hat, cover up, and apply a chemical-free mineral-based sunscreen. When trying to avoid sunscreens containing the nanoparticle forms of zinc or titanium, avoid those that go on completely clear and look for those that leave you with a light white caste - yes, you’ll need to spend a bit longer rubbing it in!

To assess how long you need to spend in the sun for adequate UV exposure for Vitamin D synthesis, try this app - it calculates your requirements based on your latitude, the time of year, and your skin tone!

Parabens

Are commonly used preservatives in shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser and make up, with oestrogenic effects. As children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of endocrine disruption, the Danish government has banned parabens from products that are specifically for small children.

Check: ingredient labels for words ending in -paraben, especially in products used while pregnant or on your children.

Triclosan

An anti-microbial and anti-fungal agent found in toothpaste, hand wash, hand-sanitisers.

This endocrine disruptor is oestrogenic in nature and has also been linked with immune system and thyroid disruption. And as a broad anti-microbial, what about potential effects on gut flora?

Triclosan has been shown to have no greater efficacy than plain soap and water, and may be contributing to antibiotic resistance. 

Skip: the ‘anti-bacterial’ handwash and sanitisers. Use plain soap and water at home, and when out and about or while travelling, or after nappy changes on the run, try this Perfect Potion hand sanitiser instead.

Look a little more closely at cosmetic ingredient lists and discover that you do have a lot of control over how many hormone-disrupting chemicals you invite into your daily skincare and beauty rituals.

You’ll find that an exploration of chemical-free beauty and skincare will reveal a treasure trove of products that are literally good enough to eat!

Check out these great resources:
- Environmental Working Group ‘Skin Deep’ database
- Nourished Life
- Adore Beauty Clean Beauty

 If you have any questions about endocrine disruptor’s and your hormonal health & fertility, please book an appointment with me to discuss.

…I love talking about all this stuff, all the time! Stay connected…