Healthy Beauty by Samuel S. Epstein

Author:Samuel S. Epstein
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: BenBella Books
Published: 2010-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

Just to be safe, however, one option to reduce risk is to mix lip gloss with zinc oxide, which has a protective effect, rather than use lip gloss alone.

While titanium oxide and zinc oxide are harmless and beneficial as topical sunblock agents, having those chemicals distributed more deeply throughout our bodies may create unknown health risks. A perceptive article about nanotechnology in The Economist magazine (November 22, 2007) summarized the health concerns associated with their use this way: “Research on animals suggests that nanoparticles can even evade some of the body’s natural defence systems and accumulate in the brain, cells, blood and nerves. Studies show there is the potential for such materials to reach the lung and cause inflammation; to move from the lungs to other organs; to have surprising biological toxicity; to move from within the skin to the lymphatic system; and possibly to move across cell membranes. Moreover, these effects vary when particles are engineered into different shapes.”

Studies by the DuPont Company have shown that injection of nanoparticles into the lungs of rats resulted in very high mortality. Other studies have found that small nanoparticles penetrate deeply into the lungs of rats, where they produce severe inflammation.14 They also rapidly diffuse into the blood, resulting in coagulation disorders. And at least one variety of nanoparticles used as penetration enhancers in sunscreens has the potential to cause neurological damage to humans, according to the results of a study in 2006 by a research laboratory at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While examining the effects of nanoparticles of titanium oxide on cultures of mice cells called microglia, which protect brain neurons, researchers found that the particles provoked these cells to go into dangerous overdrive, producing free radicals in an attempt to destroy the invading nanoparticles. This is a serious risk to health because free radicals don’t just attack the nanoparticles; they can also damage neighboring cells. The result is oxidative stress in the brain, which is theorized to be a cause of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.15

“The chemicals industry has blithely assumed that if large grains are safe, smaller ones will be too,” commented an article about the study in the science journal Nature. “But that assumption is coming under increasing scrutiny and is not necessarily always valid.” Previous studies had indicated that nanoparticles of titanium oxide might also be toxic to skin, bone, and liver cells.16

A July 2007 issue of Consumer Reports reported on the magazine’s test of nineteen sunscreen products. Of those nineteen products, eight contained nanoparticles, but only one disclosed their presence on the label. Not only that, but the magazine found no correlation between the presence of nanoparticle ingredients and increased product effectiveness.

Even with products marketed as containing only “natural” ingredients, you will need to read the labels carefully to detect nanoparticles, if they are identified on the label at all. Caribbean Blue Natural Basics, for example, is advertised as a “100% all-natural sunscreen formula” that contains “natural zinc oxide in a new patented transparent form” to prevent skin whitening.

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