Can Cosmetics Be Unhealthy?

1 min

New research suggests that many chemicals used in cosmetics and other personal care products could adversely affect women’s reproductive hormones. Study leader Anna Pollack of George Mason University said the research was the first to look at the mixture of chemicals widely used in personal care products and investigate their effects on hormones in healthy, reproductive-age women. Her team collected 509 urine samples from 143 women between the ages of 18 and 44, none of whom had any chronic health conditions or were taking birth control pills. They found that even low-level exposure to parabens, which are antimicrobial preservatives, and benzophenones, an ultraviolet filter, may lead to both increases and decreases of reproductive hormone levels. Dr. Pollack said the findings indicate that some of the chemicals might increase estrogen levels, which if confirmed by follow up studies, has implications for breast cancer and other estrogen-dependent diseases.

Source:
Anna Z. Pollack et al, “Exposure to bisphenol A, chlorophenols, benzophenones, and parabens in relation to reproductive hormones in healthy women: A chemical mixture approach.” Environment International, November 2018, doi.or/10.1016/j.envint.2018.07.028

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