Read Online The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances by Julie Gabriel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julie Gabriel
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nitromusks, such as musk ambrette, musk xylene, and musk ketone. In clinical studies dating back to the 1980s, musk ambrette has caused eczema, jawline dermatitis, acute contact dermatitis, and chronic actinic dermatitis (Wojnarowska, Calnan 1986). The use of nitromusks in cosmetics has been banned, but synthetic musks are still found in musk-scented incense candles and may be lurking under the vague name “fragrance” in popular scented products.
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (also known as Lyral) is the most allergic fragrance chemical currently used. It caused contact dermatitis and eczema in 79 percent of participants in a recent study. Lyral irritated the skin of even healthy people who were not prone to allergies (Baxter et al. 2003). Lyral is currently listed as an allergen but is contained in many of the popular fragrances as well as every other deodorant on the drugstore shelf.
Benzyl alcohol, an aromatic substance naturally found in essential oils including jasmine, hyacinth, and ylang-ylang, may cause various toxic effects, such as respiratory failure, very low blood pressure, convulsions, and paralysis. However, to cause real damage, it has to be used in high concentrations. Benzyl alcohol was used up to 0.9 percent as a preservative in neonatal medications, but after sixteen newborns died of acute toxic poisoning in 1982, benzyl alcohol was banned for use as a preservative. In spite of this, as a fragrance ingredient, and possibly a preservative, it is currently used in popular moisturizers, facial cleansers, aftershaves, and baby wipes and lotions. For more information, check www.thegreenbeauty guide.com .
As I was writing this chapter, I could not help but feel a tiny bit smug. Perhaps I am not a very bad mom, I thought. I do not use fragrances at home. I am feeding my baby organic food and homemade purees; she drinks her organic formula from glass bottles and sleeps on organic cotton sheets. Her mattress is pure wool. There is no chance she would be exposed to such a horrible substance as benzyl alcohol. Yeah, right. Just as I finished writing this chapter, something clicked inside my head. I went to our nursery and picked up the pack of baby wipes. These award-winning wipes contained benzyl alcohol as the third ingredient, right after water and glycerin. I sent a letter to the manufacturer of these wipes giving them specific research on how dangerous these baby wipes can be. The manufacturer responded with a canned letter that defended their use of benzyl alcohol as a disinfectant but promised they would revise the formula someday soon. Needless to say, we abandoned all wipes made by this brand, and instead I brew a cupful of organic chamomile tea, pour it in a spray bottle, and use it with a plain cotton face towel to gently cleanse my daughter’s bum. Please note that some babies (and adults, too) are allergic to chamomile, so if you have a family history of allergies, always perform a patch test before using any herbal infusions, flower distillates, or essential oils.
Lesson learned: never assume anything. Just because a company makes chlorine-free, plastic-free, disposable diapers and packs them in smart bags with handwritten letters and cute baby faces, it does not mean that all of their products are safe for your baby. Do not assume that if a company makes a great moisturizer, you should buy the rest of their products.
Also, do not assume that people succeed in the cosmetic business while being led by only one aim: to make you healthier and help you live longer. Every enterprise is started with a business plan that involves some sort of profit gained at the end of the year. The manufacturer can save millions by replacing just one costly natural extract with some synthetic brew. So always check the ingredients; be vigilant and skeptical, even if it comes to organic beauty.
Back to synthetic aromatics. Benzyl acetate, a jasmine-flavored relative of benzyl alcohol, was generally
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (also known as Lyral) is the most allergic fragrance chemical currently used. It caused contact dermatitis and eczema in 79 percent of participants in a recent study. Lyral irritated the skin of even healthy people who were not prone to allergies (Baxter et al. 2003). Lyral is currently listed as an allergen but is contained in many of the popular fragrances as well as every other deodorant on the drugstore shelf.
Benzyl alcohol, an aromatic substance naturally found in essential oils including jasmine, hyacinth, and ylang-ylang, may cause various toxic effects, such as respiratory failure, very low blood pressure, convulsions, and paralysis. However, to cause real damage, it has to be used in high concentrations. Benzyl alcohol was used up to 0.9 percent as a preservative in neonatal medications, but after sixteen newborns died of acute toxic poisoning in 1982, benzyl alcohol was banned for use as a preservative. In spite of this, as a fragrance ingredient, and possibly a preservative, it is currently used in popular moisturizers, facial cleansers, aftershaves, and baby wipes and lotions. For more information, check www.thegreenbeauty guide.com .
As I was writing this chapter, I could not help but feel a tiny bit smug. Perhaps I am not a very bad mom, I thought. I do not use fragrances at home. I am feeding my baby organic food and homemade purees; she drinks her organic formula from glass bottles and sleeps on organic cotton sheets. Her mattress is pure wool. There is no chance she would be exposed to such a horrible substance as benzyl alcohol. Yeah, right. Just as I finished writing this chapter, something clicked inside my head. I went to our nursery and picked up the pack of baby wipes. These award-winning wipes contained benzyl alcohol as the third ingredient, right after water and glycerin. I sent a letter to the manufacturer of these wipes giving them specific research on how dangerous these baby wipes can be. The manufacturer responded with a canned letter that defended their use of benzyl alcohol as a disinfectant but promised they would revise the formula someday soon. Needless to say, we abandoned all wipes made by this brand, and instead I brew a cupful of organic chamomile tea, pour it in a spray bottle, and use it with a plain cotton face towel to gently cleanse my daughter’s bum. Please note that some babies (and adults, too) are allergic to chamomile, so if you have a family history of allergies, always perform a patch test before using any herbal infusions, flower distillates, or essential oils.
Lesson learned: never assume anything. Just because a company makes chlorine-free, plastic-free, disposable diapers and packs them in smart bags with handwritten letters and cute baby faces, it does not mean that all of their products are safe for your baby. Do not assume that if a company makes a great moisturizer, you should buy the rest of their products.
Also, do not assume that people succeed in the cosmetic business while being led by only one aim: to make you healthier and help you live longer. Every enterprise is started with a business plan that involves some sort of profit gained at the end of the year. The manufacturer can save millions by replacing just one costly natural extract with some synthetic brew. So always check the ingredients; be vigilant and skeptical, even if it comes to organic beauty.
Back to synthetic aromatics. Benzyl acetate, a jasmine-flavored relative of benzyl alcohol, was generally
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