16 Dangerous Skincare Ingredients

Many popular skincare and cosmetic products contain potentially harmful ingredients. Here's a roundup of ingredients to look out for, the products that may contain them, and why they can be dangerous:

1. Coal tar. Used in hair dyes and dandruff prevention products, this carcinogen is often labeled as FD&C or D&C on product labels.

2. DMDM hydantoin and bronopol. These cosmetic preservatives are particularly dangerous as they decompose, releasing the carcinogen formaldehyde—one of the many reasons to replace your makeup once a year.

3. Formaldehyde. Used in hair straighteners and many cosmetics to preserve shelf life, it's a known carcinogen that can also be toxic to nerves, development, and can trigger asthma and skin reactions.

4.Fragrances. These can trigger allergic reactions and disrupt hormone balances. Choose products labeled "phthalate-free" to avoid any potential reactions.

5.Heavy metals. Lead and mercury are often found in makeup and hair dye to help preserve the compounds, despite the fact that they are known to be toxic and are banned from other substances. Lead is a carcinogen and mercury can damage the nervous system.

6.Hydroquinone. This skin-bleaching agent can have disfiguring side effects and has been proven to cause tumors in animals.

7. Methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone. These are much easier to find in personal care products than they are to pronounce. Products containing these chemicals are highly likely to irritate skin and cause allergic reactions.

8. MEA/DEA/TEA. These ammonia compounds are used to adjust cosmetic pH and are used as foaming agents—they can irritate skin and eyes.

9.Oxybenzone. Found in sunscreens, oxybenzone is a known allergen that's suspected to disrupt hormone balance.

10.Parabens. These preservatives are extremely common in skincare products. Parabens are known to wreak havoc on hormones, the endocrine system, and have a strong link to breast cancer. Parabens are seen on labels as propyl, butylparaben, isopropyl, and isobutylparabens.

11.Petroleum-based ingredients. Ingredients containing petroleum jelly, mineral oils, or paraffin can block the skin's ability to breathe and self-exfoliate—potentially leading to breakouts and contact dermatitis.

12. Phenylenediamine (PPD). Banned in Europe, this substance is still found in many U.S. hair dyes. It's thought to can cause skin irritation and lead to respiratory problems.

13. Phthalates. Found in everything from deodorant to lotions, these skin-penetrating additives have been linked issues in to male reproductive system.

14. Retinol, retinyl palmitate, and vitamin A (in large quantities). Popular in skin creams for their anti-aging properties, these compounds can be toxic and lead to skin cancer when combined with sun exposure. They can cause birth defects when used during pregnancy. If you decide to use any of these ingredients, restrict use for only nighttime.

15. Sulfates. These help to give shampoos and toothpaste their lather, but can cause damage to eyes and skin.

16. Triclocarban or triclosan. These antibacterial ingredients in soap and toothpaste are environmentally hazardous. They can also interfere with thyroid function and hormone balance.

The FDA does not regulate most cosmetic ingredients and just because a product is labeled "organic," only 10 percent of its makeup may be derived from organic ingredients. Your best bet is to scan labels for potentially harmful ingredients and be your own advocate.

Sources:

Ewg.org: "Myths on Cosmetics Safety." Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. 2011.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/myths-on-cosmetics-safety/

Ewg.org: "Top Tips for Safer Products." Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. 2011.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/top-tips-for-safer-products/#pick_safer

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Your Physical Body Can Determine the Health of Your Digestion

Feeling sluggish? Stick out your tongue. It holds clues to how efficient your body's digestive tract is running, says Brent Barlow, ND, Okanagan Naturopathic Healthcare in Kelowna, British Columbia. But this isn't the only secret your body has to share. Your skin, hair, and nails tell stories, too.

If your tongue has a heavy, yellow coat on it, you're more likely to have indigestion, heartburn, and bloating, says Barlow. If the blood vessels on the underside of the tongue are distended and purple, that usually means there's some stagnation in the blood stream, according to Barlow. Since all the body's blood runs through the liver, it could be a sign that the liver is being taxed. The liver is like a filter, he explains, and when clogged, it slows down the body's processes. That's why the blood vessels of the tongue, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids can show signs that there is blood stagnation.

Those little red bumps on the backs of your arms? They're pretty common, assures Barlow. They may signal an essential fatty acid deficiency, but even then, there's still a question of what can be causing the deficiency. You may not be eating enough essential fatty acids or you may have a food allergy. "With food allergies, you get inflammation in the intestine that may prevent proper absorption, or possibly cause inflammation in the small vessels in the skin, which show up as raised bumps or a rash."

Is there an inflammatory issue going on in the digestive system that is manifesting in the skin? If you went to your doctor, or skin specialist, most likely you'll be given a cream. And though it may relieve the symptoms, it doesn't address the root of the problem. Such inflammation helps your doctor determine what is causing the condition.

You've heard this one: If you have white spots on your nails, you have a zinc deficiency. And you've heard this one, too: If you have ridges in your nails, you have a protein deficiency. Those are definitely clues, says Barlow, but they're not definitive when it comes to a diagnosis. What it does say is that not enough nutrients are coming into the body, or what's coming in isn't actually being absorbed through the lining of the intestine and passed into the bloodstream.

That mark on the fingernail, or purple tongue, or bumps on the arm show that your body's "check engine light" is on, but it doesn't say what part of the engine to check, stresses Barlow. Unlike your car, It doesn't say I need an oil change or replace a filter. It says bring to a professional and have it checked. For optimum performance, it means something needs to be addressed. These signs are merely starting points for you and your doctor to explore and discover what's truly causing your digestive upset.

Source:

http://www.castanet.net/news/Natural-Health-News/65002/Physical-Signs-of-Poor-Digestion

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Can Baldness Be Cured?

Muffin top middles look awful and signal poor health. Back fat is unsightly too and nobody wants flabby arms that wriggle. The good news is there's one place on the body where having fat actually helps you look better—the head. It turns out hair growth isn't possible without fat.

Assistant professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Senior Researcher at Yale University, Valerie Horsley and her team of researchers observed that when hair dies, the layer of fat in the scalp that comprises most of the skin's thickness shrinks. Conversely, when hair growth begins, the fat layer expands. The process is called adipogenesis.

About 40 million men in the U.S. are affected by male pattern baldness-the most common type of hair loss. Although hair loss may be caused by disease, medicine, medical treatments, and stress, male-pattern baldness is related to aging, heredity, and changes in testosterone levels.

Everyone loses hair and some hair loss is normal. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the average person loses between 50 to 100 hairs every day—not terribly significant considering a typical scalp has 100,000 hairs. A receding hairline, bald patches, or thinning around the temples are generally a sign of male pattern baldness which is medically known as androgenetic alopecia. Surgery and medication that work to provoke hair growth are available to treat this condition, but the Yale researchers believe their findings could put an end to toupees, transplants, minoxidil, and finasteride since they may have uncovered the key to generating new hair growth.

For years, scientists have known that stem cells can be used to grow new hair-producing follicles but haven't learned how to signal them to do so. People with male-pattern baldness don't lack stem cells in their hair follicle roots but instead lack the fat which may make hair follicle roots dormant. Researchers suspected the signal to switch on the hair growth process might be buried in the fat cells.

To test their theory, they injected mice unable to grow hair and fat tissue with a type of stem cell involved in the creation of new fat cells called adipose precursor cells. Before the injection, the follicles of the mice were dormant but two weeks following the injection, the study found that hair follicles had begun to grow. "The fat cells are important for hair growth. If they're not there, the hair won't grow," Horsley said in a press release.

The precursor fat cells also produced a chemical called platelet-derived growth factor that aids in hair growth 100 times faster than normal cells do. Up to 86 percent of hair follicle grown was restored in mice with the injection of this chemical.

"We don't know for sure if it's a cure for baldness," the study author told the Yale News, "But we are hopeful that in humans, adipocyte precursor cells (stem cells) will also be a viable therapy to induce hair growth."

Going forward, researchers will explore whether the cellular signaling in mice works the same way in humans. The study's findings also don't address hair loss involving DHT. (DHT is a product of the male hormone testosterone and is thought to cause hair follicles to shrink, but its role is not completely understood.)

No doubt there's more work to be done in the hair area. In the meantime, embrace your baldness. After all, being bald is fashionable in certain circles and you may as well enjoy the money you save from not needing haircuts or buying shampoo. Here's something else to consider: being called a fat head just might be a compliment in the not-so-distant future.

Sources:

Yale University
http://www.yale.edu

The American Academy of Dermatology
http://www.aad.org

The American Hair Loss Council
http://www.ahlc.org

Family Physicians
http://www.familydoctor.org

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