Is your skincare harming you?

Fairfax Media

LOTIONS AND POTIONS: Many of the toxins in ordinary beauty products are hidden amid a long list of unpronounceable ingredients - if they are listed at all.

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Like every obsessed woman, the mirror is not my friend.

Some days, all I notice are flaws - blackheads, pimples, whiteheads, uneven skin tone, enlarged pores, fine lines, the list grows exponentially with age.

Along with half the female population, I view beauty and skincare products as sacred miracle potions. Johnson's Clean & Clear was a must in my teen years, when I was so worried about my oily T-Zone that I even secretly washed my face during the lunch break at school.

As I got older and pocket money gave way to a salary, I frittered away a good portion on cosmetics, hoping to find the skin of a Hollywood actress, without any knowledge of their true cost to myself or the environment.

While researching this story, I learnt many unpleasant truths about my beauty products. But what came as more of a shock was that even cosmetics that claimed to be natural were not necessarily so. The beauty industry in New Zealand is not regulated and products with the label "natural" could contain as little as just 1 percent natural ingredients.

Many of the toxins in ordinary beauty products are hidden amid a long list of unpronounceable ingredients - if they are listed at all.

This is what most angers British author Dawn Mellowship, who wrote Toxic Beauty, about the beauty industry.

"Some products, like fragrances, can have up to 200 different synthetic ingredients but because they have trade secret status, they don't have to list all the ingredients," she says. "A lot of cosmetics can also get contaminated during production. It's good to do some research and at least avoid the more well-known toxins - such as aluminium in anti-perspirants, parabens and PEG (polyethylene glycol), a petroleum derived compound used to retain moisture but that's also a known carcinogen."

Mellowship suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, debilitiating disorders which causes her skin to react strongly against generic beauty brands.

"I had already changed my diet to an organic vegan diet and changed other areas of my lifestyle. Then I started looking at the back of my shower gels and shampoos and thinking, 'what are these ingredients?' When I started reading about it, I was shocked and quite angry about what I found. Consumers are hoodwinked because they don't really understand what's going into the products, all they see are the advertising and marketing."

The toxins she refers to in the book are those easily found in common supermarket products that you might throw in along with the weekly grocery shop. Ingredients such as DEA (diethanolamine) -which can be found in anything from bubble bath to hair dyes, shaving cream and liquid hand soap - has proven to be toxic when tested on the skin of rats and mice.

Another dubious ingredient are "parabens", which refer to a group of chemicals used as preservatives. In the book, Mellowship cites a study by senior oncology lecturer Dr Phillipa Darbre from the University of Reading, who found intact concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. And in a Danish study where male volunteers applied cosmetics containing parabens, the substances were found in their bloodstream within the hour.

Mellowship advises that the best way to avoid synthetic ingredients are to make your own home beauty products, or failing that, shop for products with as few ingredients as possible.

"Don't fall for marketing claims because they never work. Be a bit sceptical about everything. And even if you visit a health food store, don't rely on the sales assistants to know all the ingredients. You have to be savvy about it."

She says part of her aim in writing the book was to call for a change.

"I don't think the book will change the industry, but if people start to boycott products or change their purchasing habits, then it'll be forced to change. A lot of people don't associate an illness or allergy with cosmetics, so I'm putting the link there for them."

Why do beauty companies risk using synthetic ingredients if there is even a shadow of doubt that they are harmful to humans? Mellowship says it's because they are a lot cheaper and available year-round, whereas organic raw materials are more expensive and seasonal.

"The industry wouldn't acknowledge that synthetic ingredients are toxic anyway, because to do so would be to admit what they were using before were dangerous."

But if you don't have the time to create your own oatmeal cleanser or honey face mask at home, there are a few socially conscious beauty companies out there with products made from 100% natural ingredients.

One of the more prominent is international beauty house Dr Hauschka, whose products are paraben-free, without synthetic fragrances or colour and who get all their ingredients from biodynamic, organic or wild harvested sources.

But New Zealand is no slouch, with a growing stable of natural and organic companies. Antipodes and Living Nature are successful examples both here and overseas, and Wellington- based brand Trilogy, started by two sisters, has a best- seller in the UK in its organic Everything Balm product.

Sarah Cowan, from New Zealand all-natural skincare company, The Herb Farm, says it's unfair to consumers when companies "greenwash" their products to make them seem more natural.

"We feel quite passionate about educating people on ingredients lists and do hands-on workshops, where people can come in groups and make their own products and learn about the ingredients that go in them."

Cowan warns that most supermarket shelf brands contain hidden "nasties".

"After having used natural products for so long, I now find the smell of synthetic products overwhelming. With our products, people say it's beautiful when it goes on but doesn't stink all day, and you can put other things on top of it. Natural products are incredibly effective and people should think about their long-term health before putting these horrible synthetic chemicals on their body."

FACE FACTS

* The average woman spends 450 days applying her make-up in a lifetime.

* Do the sniff test - if the smell lingers or is overwhelming, it usually means a synthetic fragrance is being used. Natural products have a more subtle perfume and the scent will dissipate after a short time.

* Look for long, scientific names. If it's got an ingredient you can't read or don't understand, it's most probably synthetic.

* PEG is also used in oven cleaners. Would you rub that on your skin?

* Every year, 1000 new chemicals come on to the market. It's up to you to keep yourself informed about them.