Bad Chemicals NOT found in PREP products
Parabens
Which prevent bacteria from growing in beauty and personal-care products, are able to mimic or interfere with estrogen in the body, and exposure to estrogen is one of the primary influences on the development of breast cancer.
Parabens are getting into your body. In March, Dr. Darbre and her team published the results of a study that replicated the original study done in 2004, with a much larger sample size. They looked at the concentration of five parabens in breast tumor tissue. One or more types were found in 99% of the tissue samples, and all five were measurable in 60% of the samples. “The take-home message was that we validated the earlier study with a much more substantial study. Parabens are getting into the breast, and they’re getting in in significant amounts,” she explains.
Yes, your skin is letting them in. The parabens identified in the study were primarily intact, meaning they’ve bypassed the liver. What does this mean? You’re not getting them from your food; they’re being absorbed through your skin.
Sulfates
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, commonly referred to simply as sulfates, sulfates or SLS are also problematic for those worried about harmful chemicals. It is a low cost foaming agent found in many shampoos, facial cleansers, and shower gels. It is also used in industrial strength cleansers such as car wash soap, engine degreasers and garage floor cleaners because it instantly dissolves grease and oil.
Clinical studies have proven that SLS can be very irritating to both the skin and hair because it strips both of their natural protective oils. The biggest concern about this ingredient, though, is the manner in which it reacts with other ingredients used in skin and hair care products. When combined with many popular ingredients, it forms nitrosamines (nitrates). Nitrates are clinically and scientifically proven carcinogens.
DEA: Diethanolamine
A chemical used as a wetting or thickening agent in shampoos, soaps, hairsprays and sunscreens, blocks absorption of the nutrient choline, which is essential to brain development in a fetus.
Padimate-O (PABA) - Nitrosamines, potent carcinogens, may form in products that contain Padimate-O. There is no way of knowing if they have formed. Found in cosmetics and sunscreens.
Paraffin - Possible carcinogen. Found in cosmetics and food.
Petroleum (Petrolatum) - Suffocates skin and traps toxins in body, clogs pores. Found in lotions, skin creams, and body jelly.
Phthalates - Accumulates in the body; proven damage to liver, lungs, kidneys and reproductive systems. Appears in vinyl flooring, plastic wallpaper, perfume, hair spray, deodorant, nail polish, hair gel, mousse, body and hand lotion. Look for it in children’s toys, as; DEHP, BBP and DBP.
Sodium Chloride
Table salt (processed at high heat). Eye irritation, some hair loss, and dry and itchy skin. Found in shampoo as a thickener.
TEA: Tea, Triethanolamine
TEA causes allergic reactions including eye problems, dryness of hair and skin, and could be toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time. These chemicals are already restricted in Europe due to known carcinogenic effects (although still in use in the U.S.). Repeated skin applications of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major increase in the incidence of liver and kidney cancer. Found in shampoos, skin cream, bubble bath, shaving gel, conditioner, lotions.