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05/10/07 
Title:Is your make-up killing you?From: The Daily Mail on the 5th October 2007(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=485704&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source )Women absorb 5lb of chemicals from cosmetics every year - from cancer-causingcompounds in face cream to arsenic in eyeshadow. We tested two beauty junkies to revealthe shocking toll on their bodies...Charlotte Kohl and her sister Emma are attractive young women. Their looks, they admit,are very important to them, which is why, between them, they use more than 70 different beauty and cosmetic products every day. Take Charlotte, 27, an estate agent from EastLondon. Each evening, after slathering her face with a concoction of night creams, shesleeps with a dental bleaching kit on her teeth and fake tan all over her body.Every morning, she uses an array of products in the shower, ranging from shower gelsand exfoliating scrubs to 'body building' lotions to give life to her fine hair.Her make-up regime includes blusher, bronzer, eyeliner, eye shadow and mascara, andshe never leaves the house without covering her head in a thick cloud of hairspray.Her 24-year-old sister Emma, a personal trainer, follows a similar routine, but she alsohas an obsession with lipgloss: she owns 60 different ones and touches up her lips everyfew minutes. In a bid to ensure she always has fresh breath, Emma also cleans her teethseven times a day and carries a tube of toothpaste in her handbag, which she rubs into her teeth and gums at almost hourly intervals. Between them, the two girls get through four cans of deodorant a week, and spend £1,000 a month on cosmetics."We have been into cosmetics since we reached our teens," says Emma. "We're the sort of  people who rush out to buy a new mascara just because it claimed to do more for our eyelashes than any other mascara previously. "I'm a complete sucker for anything thatsays it can make me look or feel better, or that is endorsed by a celebrity."And Charlotte and Emma are not alone. Last year, Britons spent £6.4billion on cosmeticsand grooming products, with the average woman applying 12 toiletries every day. Buthere's the rub - these toiletries can bring with them at least 175 chemical compounds.A recent study found that British women are one of the heaviest users of cosmetics inEurope and, as a result, we ingest through our skin, and occasionally through the mouth,up to 5lb of chemicals a year. Take Emma's favourite fuzzy peach lipgloss for instance:she loves its colour and the fact it 'tastes nice', but according to the list of ingredients, itcontains 28 manmade chemicals. Her deodorant contains 26 chemicals and Charlotte'shairspray has 23. Of course, the manufacturers would say these chemicals and resulting products are safe, but a growing school of thought begs to differ.
 
As part of a new television documentary, presented by Sarah Beeny (who for the past twoyears has been on a personal mission to remove as many chemicals from her lifestyle as possible), Charlotte and Emma agreed to have their blood and urine tested for a selectionof chemicals found in their cosmetics. They were then challenged to live without their  beauty products for eight days, swopping everything for natural chemical-free varieties.They also stopped using domestic cleaning products. The results will surprise even thosewho find it hard to believe that everyday cosmetics could really be doing us any harm.Certainly, both sisters did not think there would be anything potentially dangerous in their make-up bags."The ridiculous thing is that I've always tried to avoid chemicals whenever I can," saysEmma."I always buy organic food."I never in a million years thought I could be exposed to chemicals which could damageme through my make-up."Make-up makes me feel good and it wouldn't have even crossed my mind that it could be doing me harm."Cosmetics contain many different kinds of chemicals, but of particular concern are agroup of preservatives called parabens, which by some estimates are found in 99per centof all 'leave on' cosmetics, and 77per cent of 'rinse off' cosmetics.These are known hormone disruptors: evidence suggests they can mimic the femalehormone oestrogen, and a lifetime of increased exposure to oestrogen is linked to aheightened risk of breast cancer.One study found parabens present in 18 out of 20 breast cancer tissue samples (though itis important to note that the study did not prove they'd actually caused the breastcancer).Parabens are also thought to adversely affect male reproductive functions.Another troubling chemical is the antibacterial agent and pesticide triclosan, which isused in toothpastes, soaps, household cleaning products and body washes.It belongs tothe chlorophenol class of chemicals, which are suspected of causing cancer in humansand taken internally, even in small amounts, can cause cold sweats, circulatory problemsand - in extreme cases - coma.Also of concern are phthalates, a substance that gives our lotions that silky, creamy,texture, but which are also a 'plasticiser' used to make plastics flexible.Certain phthalatesare known carcinogens, and studies have suggested they damage the liver, kidneys, lungsand the reproductive system, as well as affecting the development of unborn baby boys.The list goes on. Sodium laureth sulphate, a frequent ingredient in shower gels andshampoos, is a skin irritant; Propylene glycol, found in soap, blushers and make-upremover, has been shown in large quantities to depress the central nervous system tomake it function less effectively, and aluminum in deodorants is linked to breast cancer  by medical research.
 
And did you know that certain eye shadows contain arsenic?One thing is for sure: few of us would want to rub any of these chemicals into our eyes,far less ingest them in liquids by drinking them. Yet, every day, we rub them into our skin, and allow them to enter our bodies.Given the facts, it's hardly surprising that agrowing number of experts believe these substances have a cumulative effect on our  bodies.They think the 'chemical cocktail' inside us is contributing to the increasedfrequency of a host of illnesses ranging from eczema to cancers as well as developmental problems such as autism and dyslexia. "It's difficult to see the link between chemicals incosmetics and damage to health unless you stand back and look at the wider picture,"says Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton, author of Toxic Overload and supporter of the campaigngroup Chemical Safe Skincare."Man-made chemicals first emerged 100years ago, and every decade since, the overall production of these synthetic chemicals has doubled."We are surrounded by chemicals: in the air, in our food, in our water and especially inour cosmetics, and the fact is that our bodies can't break many of these substances down."Our systems are becoming more polluted and we are beginning to see the results of thatin terms of increased illnesses and even birth defects, especially in boys. "There is nodoubt that one of the ways we are exposing ourselves to these chemicals is through our cosmetics."Dr Baillie-Hamilton also thinks that absorbing chemicals through our skin is moredangerous than swallowing them. "At least if you ingest chemicals through your mouth,your digestive system can do something towards dealing with them," she says. "If they gothrough your skin they hit your blood stream immediately and are then transported tovital organs such as kidney and liver, where they may be stored for many years."So how did Emma and Charlotte's chemical detox pan out?Before they started, both girls had to get rid of all their old products.The contents of their make-up bags and bathroom cabinets filled a black bin liner, and they were givenalternative products, from ranges including Elave, Skin Shop, Aubrey Organics, JaneIredale, Burts Bees and Purenuffstuff. Household cleaning products came from Ecover."At first, I really missed my own cosmetics and our new make-up didn't seem that good,"says Charlotte. "The chemical-free mascara I was using didn't seem to hold onto mylashes and the hairspray felt as if I was spraying my hair with water. "I had to reapply thenatural lipgloss so many times because it kept rubbing off."Emma agrees: "We went outone night with our new make-up on and it was hopeless, the hairspray didn't hold, thelipgloss kept rubbing off and I ended up less than fragrant, too, because the naturaldeodorant wasn't powerful enough." During the experiment, perhaps to encourage themnot to go back to their old products, the girls were given information about their usualmake-up.
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