Caveat emptor

Last month’s column concluded that you might as well call your shampoo “Toxic Tresses” because it, like most health and beauty products, contains a mélange of toxins, carcinogens and hormone disruptors.

There’s a history behind the insanity that allows corporations to sell “health” items laced with poisons and pollutants. Before the last century, Cleopatra maintained her legendary beauty by rubbing her skin with olive oil and outlining her eyes with kohl. Ancient ayurvedic beauty regimens include the use of sesame oil, ghee (clarified butter), chickpea powder and avocado—all natural substances.

Since the birth of advertising, however, consumers have been made to feel insecure about their bodies. We are bombarded with messages that we are not thin enough, pretty enough, young enough, sweet-smelling enough, and if we just use this or that product, our defects will be corrected and we will be forever happy and loved. So we buy lots of stuff, which never seems to be the magic potion promised, and the economic engines keep rolling along. According to National Geographic’s “Green Guide,” Americans spent about $50 billion on cosmetics and toiletries last year.

Skin, the largest organ of our bodies, absorbs everything we rub into it—the hair dyes, sprays, shampoos, conditioners, skin lotions and makeup. We often use these chemical concoctions immediately after a bath or shower, when our open pores enhance their absorption. Since we use these products daily, and sometimes more than once a day, from the cradle to the perhaps premature grave, the toxins accumulate in our systems and present a threat to our health. The FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, which is supposed to regulate the cosmetic industry, allows the use of almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient without requiring testing or approval.

Rule of thumb: If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the product label, don’t buy it. But there are alternatives.

Care2.com offers simple-to-mix recipes for everything from facial masks made with cornmeal and honey to ginger root and sesame oil dandruff shampoo. The site also includes extensive information on ayurvedic beauty regimens. Commercial skin exfoliators contain tiny granules of plastic that rinse right off your smooth face into our water supply, and eventually end up contaminating our oceans. Make a biodegradable skin exfoliator of Epsom salts mixed with water.

And beware: even items labeled “organic” may not be. Check out Dr. Bronner’s line of fair trade and organic products.

Did you ever read the back of the toothpaste tube? Right there in black and white is a warning that if you ingest more of the product than is used in brushing, you should contact a poison control center immediately. Hello?! Where am I using this stuff? In my mouth! The reason for the skull and crossbones is that most toothpastes contain highly toxic fluoride. In fact, before fluoride was promoted as a “cavity fighter,” it was used as insecticide and rat poison. In the 1930s, ALCOA, one of the country’s largest aluminum companies, funded “research” indicating that fluoride, a waste product of aluminum manufacturing, prevented tooth decay. A successful public relations campaign promulgated the news that adding fluoride to water supplies promoted healthy teeth. The problem of how to legally dispose of fluoride was solved.

What they didn’t tell you is that there is a link between fluoride and skeletal fluorosis, a disease with symptoms similar to arthritis, and dental fluorosis, which in its severe form is characterized by cracking and pitting of the teeth. There are also studies that link fluoride to bone cancer. Tom’s of Maine offers toothpaste without fluoride.

I’ve found so much information on this subject I could write a book. In the meantime, the Internet provides a wealth of data to help you make choices that will benefit your body and the environment.

- Marcia Nehemiah