The use of cosmetics is now an integral part of our civilization and our “image” of ourselves, our physical appearance, has acquired an almost absolute value in our communications with the world around us.

 

The words of the legal description of the term ‘cosmetic’ are actually becoming a reality: “substances and compounds, as distinct from medicines, designed for the external surfaces of human body…to modify its appearance..”.

So appearance is becoming increasingly more important than our true and innermost being, and our inner values are being swapped or exchanged for the cult of outward appearance, determined by mass-media and advertising which are more interested in business and profit than in people’s health.

But thankfully, beyond these hedonistic influences, beyond appearance or what others want you to believe is true, a new awareness is growing amongst consumers; an awareness that, stemming from a more mindful attitude, prompts the consumer to stop, reflect and ask for information before buying a product.

This new attitude is seen, at least here in UK and I’m sure also in Italy, in the choice of cosmetics, in the careful reading of their labels, in a better understanding of their contents and, last but not least, an appreciation of their effective quality and their environmental impact.

In this paper we will analyze the impact of cosmetics on the general environment, on our lovely planet and on our health, which is the first place we must protect and then, in detail, consider all possible implications for natural therapies and in particular in homeopathy.

 

Washing your hands, or brushing your teeth with toothpaste, having a shower, shaving, or washing your hair are common actions that millions of people repeat every day. And this without mentioning other more specific actions: the use of moisturisers, creams, oils, hairsprays or hair-dye, fake tans, balms, products for personal hygiene, perfumes, after-shave, oils for before and after sun, deodorants, bath salts, nail gloss, lip gloss, lipsticks and other make-up, products for your body, perfumes etc..

But, what is the consequence of these simple hygiene requirements or these complex cosmetic “needs”? The direct consequence is that millions of tonnes of synthetic chemicals are poured into our water, our rivers and seas, into the air we breathe, into the earth we till, and they interact with our Ecosystem, already delicate and damaged enough, with serious consequences for its equilibrium and, more especially, with grave direct and indirect risks to our health.

 

Facts:

- Adult women (..and not only women..) use approximately 12 cosmetic products per day, teen-agers as many as 17*.

- It is estimated that more than 400 million tonnes of chemical substances are produced each year and part of this is related to the production and commercialization of cosmetics, of which 2 million tons are produced in Europe alone*.

- According to the National Geographic 700,000 tonnes of pollutants are released into the air daily, partly from home products, partly from cosmetics and hair-dyes. Somebody living in an industrialized country may be exposed to up to 500 pollutants*.

-The European Inventory of Existing Commercial chemical Substances (EINECS) lists 100,000 chemical substances, and 75,000 in USA of which 10,000 are used by big cosmetic companies.

Scientists at Birmingham and Warwick universities have warned that the mix of disinfectants, shampoos and other household products are producing drug-resistant bacteria around the coasts of Britain, increasing the likelihood that certain medicines will be ineffective at combatting dangerous diseases.

Research by the Department of Plants and Environmental Science at the University of Gothenburg (Tobias Porsbring), has demonstrated that chemicals assumed to be non-toxic in isolation can create a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals once in the water course that together pose an environmental threat.

Researchers at Baylor University, working in conjunction with US Environmental Protect Agency (EPA), have detected residues of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities. A similar phenomenon was found with regard to nanoparticles, increasingly often used in cosmetics.

In a study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the residential and industrial sewage outflows of Saint Francisco Bay were analyzed; 18 out of 19 samples were contaminated by three endocrine disruptors: Triclosan, Bisphenol A and Phthalates.

Other studies have recorded high levels of benzene and naphthalene in the brains of salmon and trout. A further problem linked to the break-down of certain substances used in cosmetics is the creation of nonoxynols and other alkylphenol compounds with a hormone mimicry effect in turn leading to abnormalities in the sexual development of fishes and animals.

In the 1990’s in Florida, sexual abnormalities were found in 67% of panthers, as well as in whales in Québec. In Lake Eire, salmon were found with thyroids up to a million times bigger than normal.

 

In 2005 Greenpeace commissioned an analysis of branded perfumes and cosmetics (shampoos, etc..) and phthalates and synthetic musk were found in many of them. Both these are “endocrine disruptors” so they interfere with the hormone process, mimicking the action of oestrogen in the body. They have been linked to breast cancer, reduction in sperm counts and thyroid abnormalities. On one hand, they are absorbed by our body with all the attendant consequences, on the other hand, they are released into the environment increasing its pollution.

 

In another study of the Aisonas River in Greece, 4 phenolic compounds were found: nonylphenol monoethoxylate, bisphenol A and triclosan (all endocrine disruptors) along with 4 non-steroidal medicines. The presence of these compounds puts the aquatic environment and all its organisms at risk, and consequently also the human body.

 

In another Norwegian study commissioned by the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) to examine the pollution of water by selected pharmaceuticals (16 types + 2 derived from sexual hormones) and cosmetics (7 different chemical substances) it was found that only 3 of these remained undetected. Every other compound was identified in the waste waters, the result of human drug and cosmetic use with all the consequent environmental effects.

In our closed Ecosystem, there is no action, whether at an industrial level or in the home, without an Environmental impact. This is the philosophy, consolidated now by various scientific and Quantum theories, which asserts that all is One. As a consequence, the molecules of a hairspray used by a fashionable hairdresser in any given city will arrive in someone’s lungs many thousands of miles away.

In this perspective the use of organic cosmetics is an important conscious choice and contribution for a healthier and more beautiful World.