WOULD YOU ? eat what you put on your skin?

Cosmetics containing tiny "nano" particles are being used widely despite unresolved issues surrounding their safety, a consumer watchdog warns.

Many skin care products, including sunscreens and wrinkle creams, contain this technology to make them easier to apply and invisible on the skin. But experts are concerned about their possible long-term effects on the body, Which? reports.

Which? wants more safety checks and tighter regulation of their use. It says, at the moment, consumers cannot tell which products use nanomaterials as many fail to mention it.

Nanocosmetics
Nanotechnology is the science of manipulating atoms and molecules on the nanoscale - 80,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The cosmetics industry is using it to create new materials with novel properties.

On the flip-side, that might mean unexpected risks. Which? wrote to 67 cosmetics companies, including all of the main brands as well as smaller ones, asking them about their use of nanotechnology, what benefits they thought it brought and how they ensured product safety.

Seventeen firms responded, and of these, eight were willing to provide information about how they used nanotechnology. Most of the eight, which included The Body Shop, Boots, Nivea, Avon, L'Oréal, Unilever, Korres and The Green People, used nanotechnology for the UV filters in their sunscreens.

Which? also found evidence of other cosmetics companies offering nanocosmetics online.

Skin penetration
These products included nano emulsions - preparations containing oil and water droplets reduced to nano size - used to preserve active ingredients, such as vitamins and anti-oxidants, and for their lightness and transparency. Another example was a type of nanomaterial called "fullerenes" used in anti-aging cream products.

Scientists have raised particular concerns about potential toxicity of fullerenes if they were able to penetrate the skin. There is also a concern that the nanomaterials in sunscreens might be able to breach sunburned skin.

The Which? report says all nanocosmetic products should have an independent safety assessment. The precautionary principle should be applied to products where there are potential risks but where it is not currently possible to assess their safety so that consumers are not put at risk, it says.

Sue Davies of Which? said: "We're not saying the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics is a bad thing, far from it. Many of its applications could lead to exciting and revolutionary developments in a wide range of products, but until all the necessary safety tests are carried out, the simple fact is we just don't know enough.

"The government must introduce a compulsory reporting scheme for manufactured nanomaterials so we are all aware - and only those that are independently assessed as safe should be allowed to be used in cosmetics."

Regulation
In September 2006, the government launched a voluntary reporting scheme for all engineered nanomaterials to find out what was, or could be, on the market, to guide the development of regulations. This has had a limited response - 12 responses in two years - and is now under review.

A spokeswoman for the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association said: "The industry is working with government to provide more information on the safety of these products. The safety assessment of cosmetic products is a legal requirement and that assessment is robust and takes into consideration the particle size of ingredients."

Professor Dame Ann Dowling, chairman of the Royal Society working group on nanotechnologies, said: "The Royal Society has been calling, for the last four years, for companies to make public the safety testing methods they have been using on their nanoproducts. We are disappointed at continuing lack of transparency in this area.

"More research does need to be done on the effects of manufactured nanoparticles on human health and the environment. This is important so that regulation can be built on a proper understanding of any risks."

A European Commission spokeswoman said: "We are working towards improving our ability to assess the safety of all consumer products using nanomaterials including cosmetics.

"The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identifed Health Risks (SCENIHR) is currently preparing an update of its 2006 opinion on the risk assessment of products of nanotechnologies. This update will be available in January 2009."

Boots said it did not consider its current use of materials was of concern to health. The Body Shop said its products helped to protect human skin.

Organic Monitor Comment
The lack of research on nanoparticles led Soil Association to prohibit nanoparticles in certified organic cosmetics earlier this year. Other certification agencies are following suit. However, the issue remains a contentious one, as demonstrated at the Natural Beauty Summit last month where Soil Association, Croda and FEBEA were involved in a debate on the role of nanoparticles in the cosmetics industry.

 

Source: Organic Monitor - Natural Cosmetics Newsfeed Nov 08
Date: 8 November 2008
Source: BBC News

 

 

To get access to cosmetics that contain absolutely no chemicals or nano-particles visit http://www.organicways.co.uk/toiletries.html  To get access to safe sunscreen containing no harmful ingredients visit http://www.organicways.co.uk/suncare.html

Women who are planning to conceive or who are in the first three months of pregnancy should look at what they are using ... 

If you are worried that your make-up or hairspray might damage your unborn baby visit http://www.organicways.com to get recipes to make your own products or to buy our recommended safe products containing only 100% beneficial ingredients.

 

France is intending to label cosmetics according to their safety for pregnant women.

The alarm was raised be Roselyne Bachelot, the French health minister, saying that health authorities in France want to label cosmetics as being fit or not for pregnant women.  This intention comes after a study was published by the Imperial College London, revealing that pregnant women who experienced higher than normal hairspray exposure had double the likelihood of giving birth to babies with hypospadias, which is a reproductive development condition. The report suggested that the affect was due to hormone disruption caused by chemicals in the hairspray. The British government want the EU to address the issue in a complete fashion rather than as an isolated agenda, for which reason they want to see it added to the European Cosmetics Directive.

"BERR does not think this is something which is suitable for individual countries to take forward unilaterally and hope that the French raise this during the current negotiations on the revision of the cosmetics directive, where a discussion can take place among experts on cosmetic products," said the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform spokesman.  Leader of the study from the Imperial College study, Professor Paul Elliott, said "Labels enable people to make informed choices. In the vulnerable period of pregnancy, it makes sense for people to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals," and that "It is part of a broader discussion about minimising chemical exposure in early pregnancy." 

"Women who are planning to conceive or who are in the first three months of pregnancy should look at what they are using," said the chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Professor Steve Field.  He also added that "The cosmetics industry needs to look at this and clearly label their products. Anything like this raises concerns, but I don't think people should panic."

Source: HealthyPages.co.uk
Date: 03 Dec 2008

If you are concerned about your hair spray products why not visit us at www.organicways.com to find out how you can make your own hairspray or get access to safe organic cosmectics containing only beneficial ingredients.  What certain companies consider as "organic" and "natural" may contain mainly chemical ingredients and only a small percentage of botanical ingredients.  Check your labels and if you cannot find the "honey and milk" on the ingredients label you definetely don't have it in the bottle.  Become an ingredient detective - YOU are the only one that can decide and choose what you want to put on your skin.

 

 

Can synthetic ingredients and carcinogenic chemicals and toxins in skincare and haircare products harm the unborn child?  For more information send blank e-mail to baby@organicways.com