Could Natural Personal Products Reduce Your Risk of Cancer?

Though we tend to worry more about what we put in our bodies, research has shown that we should also worry about what we put on our bodies. Cosmetic products, like soap, shampoo, deodorant and makeup, contain chemical ingredients that have been shown to affect the endocrine system and the hormones it produces. That could increase your risk of some diseases, and even of some cancers, like breast cancer. . . .

A new study has tested the idea that using cosmetic products that are free of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals could be better for the body. They gave one-hundred teenage girls a three day supply of lotion, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, makeup, and soaps that were labeled free of the commonly used phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and benzophenone-3 (BP-3).

When the researchers tested the girls after only three days, they found mono-ethyl phthalates had decreased by 27.4%, the most commonly detected parabens had decreased by 43.9-45.4%, triclosan had gone down by 35.7% and BP-3 by 36%.

Three days is not very long. So, this study shows that buying natural personal care products that are free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, like phthalates, parabens, triclosan and BP-3 could have a beneficial effect on our health.

Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.1510514

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