Living

There is no planet B

5 Comments / Eco, Living

No we are not lost in space, but we’re doing a damn fine job of collectively screwing up planet earth. In the land down under, we can’t even get organised enough to take reusable bags to the supermarket.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Currently, we’re exposed to well over 85,000 synthetic chemicals that are not fully tested. These chemicals are ubiquitous and found in the foods we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. 
  • Out of the 10,500-plus cosmetic ingredients that are used in personal care products, only 11% have been reviewed and catalogued. That is for single dose and single use only.
  • There is no pre-market approval required for the sale of chemical-filled cosmetics, unless you are making a therapeutic claim.
  • There are no legal definitions of the terms ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ and there are no laws to regulate their use.
  • Fragrances are considered trade secrets and are not listed on labels because manufacturers are not required to disclose the components of fragrance ingredients. Instead the generic term ‘parfum’ is listed to disguise a multitude of potentially harmful chemicals.

If you’re over being in the dark about what dangerous chemicals your beauty products contain and you’re ready to be armed with more information, then Truth in Beauty is your solution.

Familiar axioms that are bandied about such as ‘the dose makes the poison’, and ‘60% of what you put on your skin gets absorbed within 26 seconds’, are broad, sweeping nebulous statements that support either side of the chemical argument. 

Neither are really the point. It’s not surprising, that it’s now becoming evident that after an analysis of dozens of everyday chemicals, their combinations, cross relationship and interaction may increase the risk of cancer. 

REGULATIONS

Chemicals in cosmetics are still considered safe in low doses. But who is regulating them and what happens when you ingest a little bit of a lot of different chemicals over time and mix them together in unknown and unquantifiable combinations and concoctions? 

The layering and accumulative effect of applying personal care products has never been tested for safety or regulated and many could have a synergistic or enhanced effect.

SO, HOW ARE COSMETIC CHEMICALS REGULATED?

To the detriment of our health and longevity, the combination of chemicals and the layering of various ingredients is not the way that regulators typically think about cancer risk when they evaluate and assess the safety of a single compound. Instead, a test is carried out on an individual chemical on laboratory animals, exposing them to progressively smaller amounts until it no longer causes malignant tumours to grow. Then they take that dose, and determine the equivalent for humans, and apply what is called a ‘margin of safety’ by declaring that some small fraction of that low dose is safe for people as well. 

The big assumption driving the margin of safety is that a smaller amount of a chemical is less dangerous than a larger amount. 

Even experts agree that that’s not true for all chemicals. Some chemicals like ones that mimic hormones (endocrine disrupting EDC’s), may be more toxic at lower doses because our bodies are attuned to respond to minute quantities of natural hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

But what’s even more sobering is that regulators haven’t required testing of mixtures of chemicals used in cosmetics at all, so the long-term and combined effects are unknown and unquantified. One of the most pressing issues is to implement changes in the way regulators assess the health effects of chemical mixtures. This isn’t going to happen unless we as consumers are in the know and take decisive and informed action.

HAS ANYTHING CHANGED?

In 2013, a research team (a coalition of 174 researchers from 28 countries) set out to determine whether mixtures of some chemicals, at small concentrations found in the environment, could plausibly trigger the formation of cancerous tumours. They focused on 85 chemicals that were impossible to avoid in modern life, that were likely to disturb biological function and were not thought to pose cancer risks at the very low doses that people tend to ingest or are exposed to them.

The researchers scoured the scientific literature to understand how each of these chemicals could affect 10 important processes that are essential to cancer development. Among them: tumour-promoting inflammation, resistance to cell death and the formation of new blood vessels to feed malignant cells.

In addition, they categorised whether each of the chemicals exerted biological effects at very low doses to which humans are ubiquitously exposed. (These doses are so small that they tend to be measured in parts per million or parts per billion.)

Of the 85 chemicals researchers examined, 50 were found to affect cancer-causing processes in the body, even at very low doses. These 50 everyday chemicals included bisphenol A (used in manufacturing plastics), triclosan (often found in hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial soap) and atrazine (a commonly used herbicide).

Each of these chemicals affects different processes that could lead to cancer for example – Bisphenol A makes cells less sensitive to signals to stop reproducing and atrazine encourages inflammation. It’s plausible that consuming mixtures of these chemicals is riskier than consuming any one individually. 

Five years later and still very little has changed when it comes to harmful chemicals in cosmetics. Regulators and policy makers need to start looking at the totality of the exposure, instead of one chemical at a time. 

Truth in Beauty is about transparency as opposed to fearmongering. It’s about making self-empowered and informed choices that support health and wellness. It’s about harm minimisation and stacking the cards in your favour.

How Does Your Daily Life AffectT Your Skin

2 Comments / Living

POLLUTION

You only have to look at the filthy residue left on your car after a thunderstorm to see how much pollution there is in our towns and cities. All that grime doesn’t just mess up your paintwork though – it can play havoc with your skin too, compromising its natural protective barrier and leaving it vulnerable to everything from dry patches to blemishes and premature ageing.

What’s more, studies have shown that the skin of people in polluted areas also tends to be less hydrated, sheds dead cells less efficiently and suffers more oxidative stress than those is pollution-lite rural areas.

There’s even evidence to suggest that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from car exhaust fumes contributes to hyperpigmentation. Bottom line? Not only is cleansing face wash crucial but a man needs to pollution-proof his skin by adding a defence shield to his daily grooming routine.

COLD WEATHER

Given that harsh weather can disrupt the skin’s natural protective barrier – and that the structural proteins that make up human skin tend to function best in a warm, slightly moist environment – it’s little wonder that skin can look below par once temperatures drop and moisture-robbing winds start to bite.

Crucial to protecting skin from the elements is the use of products that can support collagen production, strengthen its natural defence shield and deliver long-lasting hydration.

CENTRAL HEATING AND AIR CON

There’s only one thing worse for your skin than being outside in the cold weather and that’s being inside, where conditions can be even harsher. That’s because central heating and air conditioning make dry, cold hair even drier and when that happens it acts like a sponge – soaking up moisture from your skin.

This is why keeping skin adequately hydrated is so crucial – whether you’re outdoors and up a mountain, at home on your sofa or at your desk in the office.

SUN

By now most us understand the importance of protecting our skin against sun damage. With Cancer Research UK estimating that a dose of sunburn once every two years can triple our chances of developing skin cancer it pays to factor up in the summer. What many of us forget, however, is that the sun’s burning UVB rays aren’t the only danger to our skin: its UVA ones are damaging too.

Responsible for the bulk of premature ageing, UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin than UVB rays, damaging DNA, causing wrinkles and increasing the risk of skin cancer. What’s more, UVA rays bombard the skin all year round – even in winter – which is why products containing built-in, broad spectrum sunscreens are useful weapons in any man’s grooming armoury.

Look out for our new product launches in Summer 2017.

HOT WATER

You might not be able to do much to change the environment outside your house much but making small changes to the environment on the inside can reap big rewards for your skin. Keeping skin supple can be as simple as ensuring the air around you doesn’t get too dry (try dotting bowls of water around to increase the amount of moisture in the air). Washing in warm rather piping hot water and spending less time in the shower can help skin too since hot water tends to strip skin of its natural oils, causing it to become dry, tight and dehydrated. Turn down the heat and you won’t just save your skin of course – you’ll save money and help the environment too.