What are the dangers of whitening cosmetics? Will it be poisonous?

Cosmetics are a necessity in every woman's life. However, cosmetics are all chemical synthetic products. Although they have the function of protecting and beautifying the human body, they also emit various harmful substances and are detrimental to health. So what are the general hazards of cosmetics?

Whitening and freckle removal

In order to achieve the specific effect of whitening and removing freckles, whitening and removing freckles cosmetics often add some special functional ingredients, such as kojic acid, which can inhibit the activity of tyrosinase in the human body, thereby controlling the pigmentation of the skin. However, excessive dosage of kojic acid will cause white spots on the skin and accompanied by irritation, and the chemical properties of kojic acid itself are also unstable. The pyran in the kojic acid molecular formula is a directional compound like benzene, and theoretically it is as carcinogenic as benzene; the hydroxyl group in kojic acid can also cause the accumulation of free radicals in the human body, which is also carcinogenic. Therefore, the Japanese government banned the import and production of cosmetics containing kojic acid.

In addition, whitening and freckle-removing cosmetics contain lead, mercury, fruit acid, etc. These special ingredients are highly irritating and dangerous. In order to achieve better publicity effects, some unscrupulous businesses often add excessive amounts of heavy metals to cosmetics. For example, excessive amounts of metallic mercury can enhance the whitening and freckle-removing effects. In fact, the state stipulates that the mercury content of cosmetics shall not exceed 1 mg/kg, the arsenic content shall not exceed 10 mg/kg, and the lead content shall not be higher than 40 mg/kg. Exceeding the standard can easily cause poisoning and lead to symptoms such as neurasthenia, fatigue, insomnia, irritability (mercury), or pigmentation, pain (arsenic) and constipation, anemia (lead).

Makeup and makeup removal

Cosmetics contain a variety of chemicals, the most worrying of which are preservatives belonging to the hydroxybenzoic acid class. Statistics show that 99% of makeup products and 77% of makeup removers contain hydroxybenzoic acid. Hydroxybenzoic acid can disrupt hormones. Evidence suggests that they mimic the female hormone estrogen, which, if women are exposed to it over a lifetime, may increase their risk of breast cancer.

Most of the flavors and pigments contained in cosmetics are artificial synthetic products made from coal tar, some of which are carcinogenic. Some hormone cosmetics also seriously affect human health. For example, hormone skin care creams can make the skin appear temporarily white, tender and smooth, but once they are discontinued, symptoms of impotence will appear, and the skin will appear drier and older. Eyelid creams and face creams contain talc, whose molecules are very similar to asbestos. When used, it escapes into the air and enters the lungs with breathing, which can cause respiratory problems, asthma, and even lung cancer.

Another tricky chemical is the antibacterial and insecticide triclosan. It is widely used in toothpaste, soap, household cleaning products and body wash. Triclosan belongs to a class of chlorophenols that may cause cancer.

Hair Coloring

Long-term and frequent use of hair dye may cause permanent damage to the human body. Because in the hair dyeing process, a large amount of oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, reducing agents such as sodium hyposulfite, formaldehyde or sodium bisulfite are used, which will cause certain damage to the hair and scalp, causing scalp pityriasis (dandruff), scalp seborrheic dermatitis and contact dermatitis. Benzene chemicals and heavy metal salts in hair dyes can also be absorbed through the skin. After repeated exposure to these substances for a long time, these toxic substances accumulate in the body and damage the hematopoietic, liver, kidney and other systems, causing permanent damage to the human body.

Therefore, studies have found that common mutagenic substances contained in hair dye can be found in the urine of women who dye their hair, suggesting the possibility of hair dye causing cancer after being absorbed by the hair. The American Cancer Society recently conducted a survey of 13,000 women who dyed their hair and found that their risk of leukemia was 3.8 times that of women who did not dye their hair. Moreover, women who use hair dye have a 70% increased chance of developing lymphoma.

Perm

The principle of perming is to use strong alkaline perming agents to destroy the tissue bonds of the hair and form a new hairstyle. If you perm your hair when it is of poor quality, the chemicals will cause greater harm to your hair. The main ingredients of perm agents are thioglycolic acid and p-phenylenediamine. Thioglycolic acid substances can easily penetrate the body through the skin. They are highly irritating to the skin and mucous membranes, have a strong destructive effect on the surface of hair, and are mutagenic. Paraphenylenediamine is a toxic substance that is highly irritating, allergic and toxic to the human body. It can cause allergies, increased scalp and even hair loss. Long-term use can accumulate and cause greater harm to the human body, and can even cause skin cancer, leukemia, bladder cancer and other cancers.