Study: New Cosmetic Dangers

By Colette Bouchez

If you’ve ever developed a red itchy rash – or even a case of hives – after using a skin cream, body lotion, a shower gel or even a foundation, then you’ve already come in contact with "Contact Dermatitis" – a type of allergic skin reaction that often develops in response to chemical preservatives used to keep these products fresh on the shelf.

Now a new medical review out of Denmark claims so many manufacturers are now overloading their products with these questionable chemicals, the risk of getting a reaction grows more likely every day.

" Allergy to preservatives is one of the main reasons for contact eczema caused by cosmetics. As development and elicitation of contact allergy is dose dependent, the over preservation of cosmetics potentially leads to increased incidences of contact allergy, " says study author Michael Dyrgaard Lundov, a researcher from the Department of Dermatology, National Allergy Research Centre, Gentofte University Hospital in Denmark. His research was just published in the journal Contact Dermatitis.

Preservatives are necessary to control the growth of bacteria in any product that contains water. Among the most harmful of those bugs are pathogenic micro-organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Both can lead to serious, even life threatening infections, and both are frequently found in contaminated cosmetics.

But while there are some 50 approved preservatives available to help keep these and other harmful pathogens under control, the new review also found the market is dominated by a just a few: parabens, formaldehyde, formaldehyde releasers, metylchloroisothiazolinone, and methylisothiazolinone.

Overuse of these chemicals may be especially bad since studies show they are also among the most irritating chemical preservatives in use today.

"Approximately 6% of the general population has a cosmetic-related contact allergy mainly caused by preservatives and fragrances," says Lundov.

Moreover, in the US, the patch tested prevalence of allergies to formaldehyde is as high as 9%, according to Lundovs' research paper.

Cosmetic s & Chemicals: More Problems on the Horizon?

As irritating as contact dermatitis can be experts like Vassar’s Dr. Janet Gray say they are less concerned about skin rashes and localized allergies then they are about the potential of long term health consequences linked to overdosing – including an increased risk of cancer.

Indeed, at least some of these chemical preservatives have already been identified by the World Health Organization, the CDC as others as carcinogens, while at least one study found parabens had been collected and stored in what turned out to be malignant breast tissue. And while there is no clear indication that the parabens either caused, or even exacerbated a malignancy, it's an association that has a number of researchers worried.

Click here to learn why - and find out how to protect yourself and still wear the make up you love!   Or visit www.RedDressDiary.com - for the latest in health and beauty news and advice!