Would you throw out your make up cuz of carcinogens?

studies are pretty inconclusive, and cosmetic talc cannot legally contain abestos. often it is the case that artificially controlled lab experiments don't correlate with real-world usage. one study showed that tumors could form in rats exposed to talc--when forced to inhale it 6 hours a day for half a year. which is great for proving that talc can cause tumors, but that doesn't necessitate that wearing talc-based makeup will give you cancer.

 

toast has carcinogens, but I'm not going to stop eating it lol. one of my pet peeves are random articles online that cite obscure, un-retested studies as absolute fact. or that something with mixed data = worst case scenario. i.e., ' random product/object/chemical compound = cancer/disease'. that's what gets people petrified by cell phones, for fear of brain cancer.

 

if someone is afraid of exposure to carcinogens, they probably shouldn't wear makeup to begin with. one thing to think about is not only the ingredients in the cosmetics themselves, but the chemicals leeched out of the containers they're stored in, or the process by which ingredients are extracted. like, your 100% organic olive oil could have been extracted using solvents, which leave chemical residues not listed in the ingredients.

Edited by americanclassic - 11/6/12 at 6:53pm

I wouldn't stop using products with talc. Don't the studies only focus on inhaling it, or something like that? Not just topical application on the skin. I don't know about you, but I'm not swirling my brush around in my powder with it inches from my nose while deeply breathing in...Surface application doesn't seem to be a problem.

You would be surprised at just how many carcinogens are in not only cosmetics, food, other beauty products, and even medicines. You can read your labels and learn about them on an individual basis. Most people choose to ignore them and continue use.

 

I agree. To me EVERYTHING has carcinogens depending on the study and tests.

Isn't it strange our air and water are more polluted we are exposed to more chemicals,yet our life expectancy is longer now than it was 100 years ago.

I'v actually been considering switching over to a more natural (better yet, organic) beauty regime, but like it was mentioned above the actual containers themselves can leak toxins into your products so I'm not sure it's worth going on a hunt for new products and making the switch! RMS Beauty is about the only company I've found so far that's conscious of their packaging and only uses glass containers for all of their makeup. So, yeah, I do still intend to use up my existing products because I can't seem to escape chemicals either way.

That is so true. Considering that everything mentioned above is made by Proctor & Gamble and Nēstle --- umbrella corporations.

No. If I was extremely satisfied with the product that I was using, I would not. I can think of many other things that cause more problematic issues and extensive DNA damage.

 

For instance; drinking water from contaminated aquifers is rumored to cause both lung and skin cancer, as well as, Hemangiosarcoma. Nickels and dimes are rumored to cause lung and nose cancer.

 

My point is the hexavalent chromium compounds in pigments and preservatives in terms of cosmetics is so low that more than likely anyone who uses makeup will never get cancer because of it.

No. Make-up is expensive as it is already. For me it's an investment.

If reasonable studies proved that just WEARING certain eye shadows caused cancer then sure I would toss them. But if it is anything like the things mentioned above where animals were forced in inhale talc air for a certain amount of hours every day for months then I would keep my makeup. It seems pretty common sense that sitting around inhaling talc is probably not good for people/animals. It is misleading to see titles that say things like, "Studies show makeup containing talc can cause cancer" and then the details say that they really mean breathing it in for hours can cause cancer as opposed to simply wearing it. Personally I feel like these titles should really say something like, "Inhaling talc from makeup for hours like a drug addict may cause cancer".

No. It's something I don't worry about.

I already have gotten rid of tons of my makeup and beauty products because of this! There are other brands out there like Red Apple Lipstick, Alima Pure and plenty of others along with the option of using raw, natural skin care items like honey, coconut oil, cucumbers that I just don't see the point in buying products that are a hazard to my health. I could spend 20$ on products that cause cancer or the same or less for products that don't.

Same here - I gradually replaced a bunch of my stuff with the natural brands, and I went heavy on Alima. I don't really think using other brands will absolutely cause cancer, but I figure, it can't hurt to be cautious.  I gradually started using a lot of natural-based brands a few years back, and I do like them better.  So I figured it couldn't hurt to go as natural as I can with as much as I can.

I can see the benefits of natural based products.

Unfortunately on film sets (yeah I know a small minority in the grand scheme of things) most MUA's, not all all mind you, don't carry them due to potential food allergies, since most of the ingredients are plant and nut based.

I know when we do a personal shop with an A-lister, some may request certain brands or products that are all natural or vegan based, so there is that.