By Udayabhanu Panickar
There
was a saying that when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon thinking that he was
first human to be there, he found a tea shop operated by a Malayalee there. Now
there is another saying that, even lady workers going to the paddy field to
work who are definite to get dirt all over there body including the face go to
beauty parlor on their way to work and get a facial done.
In
my childhood we never sow a beauty parlor. They were not visible even in the
big cities in bhAratham before late 1980s. Now they are everywhere.
During
the 1990s seven ladies from bhAratham were winners in the so-called beauty
pageants, around the world. Were there no beautiful ladies before that in our
good old bhAratham? Why not that many winners before or after that period? Did
any one think why?
The
cosmetic industry organizes these contests with just one aim and that is to
increase their business and there is always a noticeable increase in the sales
of beauty products in the country from where the winner is. In other words they
select the winners from the country where they want to increase their business.
And they did increase their business in bhAratham by seven fold with in
that seven to ten year period. Some people say it was a 17 fold increase. The
beauty pageants are in actuality only an advertising gimmick for cosmetic
industry. Using women as models! Slaves may be a better word to use. It
is a wonder that no social activist or women’s liberation experts don’t see
this heinous act against women! Now you can see this gimmicks every five
minutes on every TV channels of our land.
About
three to four years back, I stumbled upon an article about the toxic effects of the
products people use to enhance their beauty. This led me to a book “Toxic
Beauty” written by Dr Samuel S. Epstein. Dr Epstein is professor emeritus of
environmental health at the University of Illinois, Chicago. There is another book
published by a British author by the same name on same subject which, some say
is a better book, in naming the safer products. Dr Epstein has authored or
coauthored 15 books and published 270 scientific papers. He has been a
consultant to the U.S. Senate and is a frequent witness for congressional
testimony and also a consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Labor. He has won numerous national and international honors,
including the 1990 Rachel Carson Legacy Award and the 2005 Albert Schweitzer
Golden Grand Medal for International Contributions to Cancer Prevention.
Within
the last three years yet another book was published in our good old bhAratham
also on this subject.
Some
of you may be using beauty products and other daily use items such as tooth
paste, mouth wash, lotions, soap, moisturizers, shampoos, sunscreens, hair dyes, and perfumes. In addition
Ladies may be using makeup items such as powders, lipstick, mascara and eye
lashes. For baby’s the Mothers may be using baby wipes, diaper creams, lotions,
moisturizers and shampoos supposed to be safe for babies. Also some of you may
be using skin whiteners, a product aimed at people of African and Asian origin
and many more items. According to this book, majority of them are serious
health risk.
If you use them, or your family members, especially your spouse,
you may be at the risk of getting some toxin into your body and also passing it
on to your children. If your parents used them before your birth your exposure
to those items was already done before you were even born. They may cause
cancer and hormonal disruption. But unlike cigarettes, which carry cancer
warnings on their labels, cosmetics and other personal-care products generally
have no such labels.
These
are some of things I sow in the book. Researchers from Centers for Disease
Control & Prevention and some universities in the US found ‘phthalate’ [‘phthalate’ is a chemical compound used as a plastic
softener and in many personal grooming products. It is reported to be a
possible cause of reproductive or developmental problems because it mimics a
natural hormone] at different levels, in the diaper urine of several
hundred babies within twenty-four hours of the use of lotions, powders, diaper
creams, baby wipes, and shampoos and found that the highest phthalate levels
came from the lotions, shampoos and the powders. They also found that higher
the number of products used the absorption of phthalates increased. This was
even more among the younger infants.
The
book also says that some products for infants and children were found to contain ingredients which have Carcinogens -- a
substance or agent that can cause cancer. The book also points the
readers to a website where you can get more information. The URL is www.
cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/parentsguidel/ (for information on safer
children's personal-care products).
In
USA, skin whiteners or lighteners are now being intensively marketed to women
of African and Asian descent, also some men remember Mr Michael Jackson. This
is a fact in our ancient land also. The whitening products are very common and
we can see the TV announcers and contestants in the so-called “reality shows”,
without any reality get more and more fair skinned every day. Now these are the world's fastest growing
product and in Asian market it has 10 percent of the market. This product contains “two active ingredients, the potent
natural hormone cortisone and the frank carcinogen hydroquinone (an ingredient
banned in Europe that poses risks of leukemia and genetic damage). This
combination inhibits the natural production of melanin, the compound
responsible for dark pigmentation of the skin”.
This
book also says that many brands of mascara, eyeliners
and skin-lightening creams contain mercury. This is also legal (in USA)
and it is used as a preservative and germ killer. But remember Mercury is known to retard brain development in children and
can cause neurological damage in adults who experience high or long-term
exposure. So, many toxicologists recommend avoiding any contact with mercury,
even low level.
Even
from small doses, mercury accumulates in the human body over time and mercury
fumes that collect in jars of skin cream or in tubes of mascara, and are
inhaled when the containers are opened; add to the cumulative body burden.
Placing mercury directly on exposed skin, as with eyeliners and skin creams,
heightens the absorption, the book says.
As
per this book, a study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that most brand-name lipsticks contain detectable
levels of lead that can be toxic to the wearer. Some Cosmetics lipstick
contains the potentially contaminated ingredient lanolin, a fat extracted from
sheep's wool.
According
to the book, products used in hairdressing, beauty and
nail salons are serious threats to the health of the stylists and, to their
clients as per this book. Eye lashes are
potentially dangerous, because of the toxicity of the glue used. Some products
used in hairdressing and beauty salons contain many unlabeled toxic
ingredients. They include carcinogens, [a substance or agent that can cause cancer. Radiation and some chemicals
and viruses are carcinogens] phthalates, [a
chemical compound used as a plastic softener and in many personal grooming
products. It is reported to be a possible cause of reproductive or
developmental problems because it mimics a natural hormone] allergens
and penetration enhancers. As per the book, Professor Paul Elliot of the
Imperial College London had found male infants of hairdressers and beauty salon
therapists exposed to hairsprays during pregnancy developed genital
abnormalities attributed to the endocrine disruptive effect of phthalates [a chemical compound used as a plastic softener and in
many personal grooming products. It is reported to be a possible cause of
reproductive or developmental problems because it mimics a natural hormone.]
Book
also says that there are substantial evidence of toxic effects experienced by salon workers which include respiratory
illness and asthma, nausea, sleep disorders, fatigue, and numbness and
pain in the fingers.
Now
coming to a product a lot of our people probably use is hair dye, in US, Japan
and Europe about 35% of women and 10% of men use this product. And what are the
effects? According to the book inflammation and serious
hair loss is one bad effect of this. Black and brown dyes contain numerous
hidden carcinogens [a substance or agent that can cause cancer. Radiation and
some chemicals
and viruses are carcinogens] including paraphenylenediamine (known as ppd)
known to cause cancers, particularly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease,
multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, and breast cancer. Book also says that there
is suggestive evidence that the cause of Jackie Kennedy's premature death was
due to the frequent use of these hair dyes.
The
frequent and prolonged use of these dyes has been associated with significant
risks for a range of cancers, including acute and
chronic leukemia, multiple lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, and bladder and breast cancers, the book says.
There
are some lists of safe products given in the book, which some write that is not
much safe. However the safest action will be not to use any of these products.
The best for hair is coconut oil, for your tooth it is umikkari ഉമിക്കരി
or mAvila മാവില or neem
stick. And of course you can replace soap with payaru podi പയറു
പൊടി. There are some Ayurvedic and other
natural products with out these toxic ingredients available in the market now.
(The book is
very informative and it is worth the price of US $24.95 and some stores may
sell for less. It is Published by benbella books and Distributed by Perseus
Distribution.)
