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Below is a four step program to eliminate exposure to dangerous toxins found in personal products. This list is drawn from original research by Dr. Louisa Williams.
1) Read the labels on all of your products. Check out all of your personal grooming products including shampoo, cream rinse, soap, hair spray and gel, moisture lotion, shaving cream, deodorant, toothpaste, astringents and make-up. Then, read the labels of all your household cleaning products, packaged foods, and vitamins. Don't forget to check products that come from the health food store.
2) Compare the ingredients in your products to the list of petrochemical solvents below. You will quickly discover that many health and beauty products - and even over-the-counter vitamin formulations - include toxic ingredients.
3) Eliminate exposure to all products with obvious toxic ingredients.
- Switch to better, "cleaner" products.
- All fingernail polish is toxic - even the "toluene and acetone-free" ones at the health food stores. Use a buffer for natural shine. The glue used for fake nails is seriously toxic.
- Conventional perfumes contain petrochemical solvents. Natural essential oils are a much healthier alternative.
- If you must use a toxic household product, always use gloves, and limit how much you inhale.
4) Avoid contact with petrochemical solvents via absorption, ingestion or inhalation.
In most cases, negative health consequences of long-term micro-doses of petrochemicals will reverse following six months of avoidance.
Toxic Petrochemical Ingredients
"Prop"
Isopropyl Alcohol or Isopropanol
Produced as a byproduct of the petroleum and natural gas industries.
Used as rubbing alcohol, a mild antiseptic, and for fever reduction. Found in paint thinners, racing fuels, fuel line deicers, antifreeze, paint removers, cleaners, and disinfectants. It is extensively used in medications (aspirins, Alka-Seltzer, Witch-hazel astringent, etc.) and many cosmetics, from make-up to shampoos and moisture lotions.
Twice as toxic as ethanol, and IS absorbed through the skin. Also, has a longer cumulative effect in the body due to toxicity of its oxidation product, acetone. Isopropyl intoxication can cause skin irritation, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, mental depression, narcosis, coma and death.
Propyl Alcohol or Propanol
Similar to the effects of isopropyl alcohol but has an additional drying effect on the skin.
Propylparaben
Propyl alcohol plus ester form of p-Hydroxybenzoate.
Used extensively; can cause contact dermatitis and is toxic.
Propylene glycol
Permeates through skin better than glycerin and is less expensive.
Widely used in cosmetics, artificial vanilla extract, and brake fluid.
Can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.
Or any other chemical listed with prop in the name.
"Methyl"
Methyl alcohol or methanol
Common solvent especially irritating to the eyes.
Made from the distillation of wood.
Used widely in household cleaning products, in industry, antifreeze, cosmetics, some herbal blends, infant formula, and carbonated drinks.
Although methanol is only 1/3 as intoxicating as ethanol, in the liver it is converted to toxic formaldehyde and formic acid. (McMartin, K. et aI, American Journal of Medicine, 1980)
It is especially toxic to the eyes, and many cases of blindness after overdose are reported in the literature. (Sullivan, Krieger, 1992)
Methylparaben
Widely used as a preservative in cosmetics.
Can cause allergic reactions.
Methylcellulose
A binder and thickener.
Has caused cancer in rats.
Or any other chemical with methyl in the name.
"Butyl"
Butyl Alcohol or Butanol
Solvent and clarifying agent.
Strong irritant and toxin.
Manufactured from the fermentation of maize or synthesized from acetaldehyde.
Used in the lacquer and dye industries, in the manufacture of safety glass, hat and textile industries, shoes, and cosmetics.
Butylparaben
Used as an anti-fungal.
Very toxic.
Butylene glycol
Common in hair sprays;
Toxic to central nervous system and kidneys.
Or any other chemical with butyl in the name.
"Ethyl"
Ethyl alcohol, ethanol, or "Grain Alcohol
Made by the fermentation of sugars and starches
Used as an antibacterial agent in mouthwashes, nail enamel, astringents, as the base for many perfumes and colognes, and many cosmetics. Medically used as a topical disinfectant, sedative and blood vessel dilator. (Winter, 1994) .
In its pristine form, and in moderate amounts, ethanol is not toxic, due to its chemical similarity to alcohol produced in the body from the fermentation of sugars. However, in order to be used in cosmetics it must be denatured (made undrinkable) with such toxic solvents as acetone, turpentine, and benzene. (Oettingen, 1993) This renders it poisonous in moderate to large amounts.
Ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, impaired perception, stupor, coma and death.
Ethylene glycol
Used as an antifreeze and solvent;
Very toxic to central nervous system, lungs, and kidneys.
Ethylene dichloride
Solvent and wetting agent;
Highly toxic even through skin absorption.
EDTA or ethylene-diamine-tetraacetatic acid
Preservative. Also used in carbonated beverages.
Highly allergenic, and can cause kidney damage and cancer.
Miscellaneous:
Benzene, toluene, styrene, xylene, etc.
Toxic aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum
Rarely will appear on the label, but is present in most plastic containers.
Mineral Oil / Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum derivative;
Suffocates the skin; indigestible when absorbed; toxic.
Some preservatives are not toxic:
Ascorbic acid (or Vitamin C) is nontoxic if extracted cleanly
Benzoin, a gum preservative not related to benzene, is nontoxic if extracted cleanly.
Citric acid, often extracted from grapefruit seeds, in a natural preservative and is nontoxic if extracted cleanly.
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