Most women apply – on average – 500 different chemicals to their skin every day, from approximately 12 different products. Preservatives, fragrances, surfactants, solvents, colors as well as fillers and emollients are all used in skin and body care products to produce soft, smooth, nice-smelling lotions and potions. Some women use more, some use less, but any woman using conventional skin care products is exposing herself to dangerous compounds. If you are wondering why this is the case, read on.
Many of the chemicals that are produced today, to make anything from plastic containers where we store our food, to special machine lubricants, as well as additives in skin and body care products, are now being recognized as potential hormone disruptors, also called endocrine disruption chemicals (EDCs) or obesogens. These man made chemicals are unfortunately capable of disturbing your very sensitive and important hormone production center, otherwise known as the endocrine system.
Your master hormone system
The endocrine system is a complex and carefully coordinated set of glands that governs the production of all your hormones and influences your reproductive system, your nervous system and your brain. Anything that interferes with this specialized network, will interfere with your long-term physical and mental health.
These EDCs/obesogens, are found in most conventional skin and body care products. They can mimic or interfere with how natural hormones are produced and function in your body. Estrogen is one of the most powerful hormones, which has a multitude of functions within the body, and brain, especially in females, and EDCs interfere with how it works.
Falling sperm counts, harsh menopausal symptoms, increased rates of both testicular and breast cancer, as well as premature breast development, are all examples of how synthetic chemicals are interfering with hormone production and function.
Body fat cells produce and store estrogen, and when EDCs mimic estrogen, or block its production, which they have been found to do, fat cells become confused. These toxic compounds may therefore be hampering your ability to lose weight permanently. In fact, they could very well be ‘fat-magnets.’
We need to look at the basic structure of cell membranes, and fat cells to understand how skin and body care products can encourage weight gain.
Let’s look at your cells and their membranes first
If all the cell membranes in the human body were opened up, and laid end-to-end, they would cover the area of about ten football fields. They are capable of influencing growth, development, ageing, energy levels, mental well-being, immunity, inflammatory responses, heart health, hormones, metabolic rate, as well as the quality of hair, skin and nails because they help every one of the approximately 60 trillion cells that you have, to work optimally.
Every single cell is covered in a thin layer of fat and protein, called a membrane. Cell membranes are very complex structures, supporting both the internal working of the cell, and how it works within the tissue, organ or gland where it is found. Anything that affects the cell membrane will affect how the cell performs its functions and how it communicates with other cells.
Most of the chemicals used in skin and body care products have to contain fats and oils, which make them easy to apply and which therefore enable them to make your skin soft. If they were water-soluble they’d simply drip off your skin. They are therefore absorbed into your skin cells, and then into your blood stream, where they find their way into your fatty cell membranes and finally into your cells. These EDCs interfere with basic cell functioning.
Electrochemical impulses that occur between cells, especially in high energy organs like the brain, heart, reproductive organs and adrenal glands are also less effective when toxins are present in the cells and their membranes. This interferes with the production of energy within cells and their communication capabilities.
What about your metabolism and fat cells?
These EDCs or obesogens affect your metabolism by encouraging your body to store fat instead of burning it as energy. The hormone leptin, which, interestingly is derived from the Greek word ‘leptos’ which means ‘thin,’ is the hormone responsible for telling your brain to burn fat for energy. Leptin is also responsible for lowering hunger signals, ie it decreases hunger. Anything interfering with this process will lead to weight challenges.
This happens in a number of different ways:
• Obesogens cause leptin to be released excessively from the fat cell, causing leptin resistance. This means that cells become incapable of responding to the presence of glucose properly and don’t use it as energy, storing it as fat instead.
• Your hypothalamus is the part of your brain registers satiation, and tells you to stop eating. Specific chemicals called cytokines are released when obesogens are present in cell membranes and inside cells. Cytokines damage the leptin receptors in the hypothalamus, causing leptin to be less effective at telling you that you are full. So, your brain doesn’t register that you are full, so you keep on eating.
• When your body is exposed to these toxic compounds, being fat soluble, they are easily stored in fat cells. In fact, researchers believe that the body actually creates more fat cells to store the toxins in, which is a protective mechanism. In this way, the toxins do not roam freely in the body. If they could be processed and eliminated from the body, then the body wouldn’t have to create extra fat cells to store them in.
• Researchers also believe that obesogens encourage fat cells to grow larger than they would under normal circumstances. In other words, something goes wrong with the growth signal in the presence of these chemicals, causing fat cells to get very large. Fat cells get fatter, ironically.
• An important hormone called MSH (Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone) is produced in the hypothalamus by leptin. MSH is involved in a number of important tasks, such as nerve, cytokine, hormone, skin and mucous membrane defenses, as well as the production of melatonin and endorphins. When leptin is not produced efficiently, MSH production will suffer, and a cascade of ill health will ensue.
Some of the worst obesogenic chemicals in skin care products
Keep in mind that this list is not an exhaustive list of all the toxins in skin and body care products that cause damage to the body and brain. They are simply the ones that are clearly linked to weight gain, and therefore called EDC’s/obesogens:
Heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium are part of life on this planet, and are found in our soils naturally. Some heavy metals find their way into skin and body care products by accident, due to being in the ingredients, such as in cottonseed oil or rice, and are then seen as being contaminants. Lead is often a contaminant in lipstick. However, some heavy metals like chromium and aluminum are used in products intentionally, as colorants. Apart from being an obesogen, Lead is also a severe neurotoxin that generates abnormal brain and nerve function, due to its accumulation in the brain, as well as bones, blood, kidneys and thyroid.
Parabens or any item ending in paraben, like methylparaben, ethylparaben, etc, are one of the most commonly used preservatives in skin and body care products, with an estimated 75 – 90% of cosmetics containing them such as hair care, makeup, lotions and deodorant products.
Pesticides are used constantly to keep production of soil-grown foods up and bugs down. These compounds work by disrupting the functioning of the brain and nervous systems by interfering in the transmission of nerve impulses in insects – as well as humans and animals. They also interfere in the reproductive cycle of insects, which in turn influences our hormones. Pesticides, being fat soluble too, also accumulate in your fatty cell membranes and fat cells, continuing their destructive work long after you have been exposed to them.
Phthalates, (pronounced thal-ates) are used extensively in the plastic industry, as well as the lining of metallic food containers. They can also be found in cosmetics, such as shampoos, gels, hair sprays and sunscreen, perfume and powder. When used in this way, they help the product to cling to the skin, and help fragrances to last longer. Phthalates may be listed as any one the ten commonly used ones, such as DBT, DEP, DEHP, DIDP, DMP, DINP, BBP, BBT, DnOP and Bis (2-methoxyethyl) phthalate, but if they are a component of fragrances then they won’t be listed as there’s no legal requirement to list individual components.
Siloxanes are used in many of skin and body care products to soften, smooth and moisten skin. Look for ingredients that end in ‘siloxane’or ‘methicone.’ These additives are suspected obesogens, or EDCs (cyclotetrasiloxane)
Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial ingredient used in deodorants, soaps, toothpastes well as other cosmetics. Can cause allergic dermatitis, and has been registered as a pesticide by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) which means it is contains risks for both human and environmental health. It is similar to PCB’s and dioxins in molecular structure, which are toxic to humans. It also affects endocrine function.
Conclusion:
Appetite, metabolism, hunger and satiation are influenced by a number of hormones within the endocrine system and are complex and sophisticated in their functioning. The addition of toxic chemicals like EDCs/obesogens, cause changes to occur within this intricate network, leading to weight gain, among other things. Exercise, which causes perspiration, as well as using saunas and steam rooms, is a good idea to start the process of getting rid of these fat-soluble toxins, because sweating encourages their removal. Unfortunately, this won’t happen overnight.
You also need to become very fussy about what kind of skin and body care products you use, ensuring there are no EDCs/obesogens present in them. Avoiding them will ensure that your endocrine system starts functioning optimally again, allowing it to control your appetite and metabolism, as well as allowing your fat cells to function as nature intended. Who could have thought that changing your skin and body care products could help you lose weight?
Nutritional Neuroscience Researcher
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References:
Toxic substances and cell membrane function. Pritchard JB. Fed Proc. 1979 Jul;38(8):2220-5.
Obesogens. Grün F. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2010 Oct;17(5):453-9.
The obesogen hypothesis: a shift of focus from the periphery to the hypothalamus. Decherf S, Demeneix BA. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2011;14(5-7):423-48.
Environmental endocrine disruptors and obesity. Karoutsou E, Polymeris A. Endocr Regul. 2012 Jan;46(1):37-46.
Obesogens, stem cells and the developmental programming of obesity. Janesick A, Blumberg B. Int J Androl. 2012 Jun;35(3):437-48.
Environmental toxins, obesity, and diabetes: an emerging risk factor. Hyman MA. Altern Ther Health Med. 2010 Mar-Apr;16(2):56-8.