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E X C L U S I V E C T P A C O L U M N
By Association
Are chemicals in cosmetics a cause for concern? Dr Chris Flower,
director-general of the CTPA, provides some facts about the
safety of the chemicals in everyday products
Arecent story in the media
reported that the average
woman puts over 500
chemicals on her face each
day; what it failed to mention was that at
the end of the day, the average woman
washes them off again. However, I
recognise some people may feel
concerned about these numbers, so would
like to provide some additional, and
hopefully reassuring, facts about chemicals
that did not make the headlines.
SAFETY, NOT NUMBERS
The number of chemicals mentioned in
the story was said to be over 500. I have
no idea whether this is true or not – in all
likelihood, neither have the researchers. A
number of cosmetic products were simply
chosen, the number of ingredients in each
counted and then multiplied by the
number of different products a selection
of women said they used. This might be
considered extrapolation by some;
guesswork by others.
Regardless, the exact numbers of
chemicals we are exposed to is not
important. In fact, everything is a
‘chemical’, whether natural or man-made.
(To find out more about this, visit the
CTPA website www.thefactsabout.co.uk
where a new section entitled The Facts
About Chemicals contains comments
from, amongst others, the Royal Society of
Chemistry). The important issue is whether
these chemicals are doing harm or not.
Going back to numbers though, in
actual fact, we consume thousands of
chemicals in a day. Most of these come
through our food and drink as well as the
air we breathe. They get into our bodies
because the stomach and gut are
specifically designed to aid the absorption
of foods, while our lungs aid absorption
from the air.
A simple cup of coffee contains at least
200 different chemicals and these will vary
depending on the source of the beans and
the way the coffee itself was made – and
that is before you add milk and sugar, or
lemon in my case. Even a lemon contains
hundreds if not thousands of chemicals, as
do all the fruits and vegetables we eat
without a second thought.
TOXIC CLAIMS
One of the concerns expressed in the
media story was that chemicals from
cosmetics might be absorbed into our
bodies and build up over time to produce
dire consequences. This is simply a popular
myth. Our skin is a very efficient barrier
and very little can get in through it. For
example, water is one of the smallest of
chemicals, yet skin is an effective barrier to
it. If you are thirsty before taking a bath,
you will still be thirsty afterwards. If skin
was as permeable as some imply, simply
being in contact with all that water should
allow sufficient in to quench your thirst.
But of course that cannot happen.
However, the skin is not a perfect
barrier. Some chemicals are able to
penetrate to a greater or lesser degree.
But we should not worry about this. Our
bodies have developed remarkably
efficient mechanisms for dealing with
chemicals from all sources including our
food and drink. There are specialised
enzymes that break down unwanted
chemicals into harmless forms that can be
excreted. So, stories of a ‘toxic chemical
build-up’ are just not true.
Take this everyday example as an
illustration: for a headache, you can take a
couple of paracetamol tablets. The
headache will go, but you are not
protected from future headaches because
your body breaks the paracetamol down
and removes it from your system. It does
not stay or build up in the body. If you get
another headache, you will need to take
more tablets.
SAFETY MATTERS
The cosmetic industry puts consumer
safety as its top priority. Companies have a
legal obligation to ensure only safe
cosmetics are marketed and each one
must undergo safety assessments by a
qualified professional before being sold.
Companies also recognise the moral
obligation to ensure safety, but it is simple
business logic too: no company can be
successful if its products are not safe.
So what would I say to anyone worried
by media stories about ‘chemical
cosmetics’? Absolutely everything is made
up of chemicals, so it isn’t that alarming
that women supposedly apply 500 a day
to their faces – and knowing that the
body excretes or blocks out those
chemicals it doesn’t want or need would
suggest that ‘chemicals’ in our everyday
products really aren’t a cause for concern.
The CTPA represents the UK cosmetic, toiletry and perfumery industry. To find out more about
the safety of the chemicals in cosmetics and toiletries visit www.thefactsabout.co.uk.
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