The SCARY words of Bath and Beauty Products- Part 2: Phthalates

When last we chatted- I promised to start telling you about all the 'dirty' words in Bathing and Beauty products. the words I'm referring to are the Big Uglies like Phthlates, Parabens, Dyes, Sulphates, etc.

Commercial manufactured bath care and beauty products claiming to be "all that and a bag of chips" -will claim to be 'lower' in these components or be free of some but probably not all of them.  Here is why you need to steer clear of them!

 Ok- let's just jump right in.

PHTHALATES

Which is scarier - the duck or the bath product?  BOTH!

Even the word looks scary- doesn't it?  
According to the Enviroblog: Phthlates cheat sheet http://www.enviroblog.org/ , 
"...Phthalates are a common industrial chemical used in PVC plastics, solvents, and synthetic fragrances. They've been around since the 1930's, and now they're pretty ubiquitous (constantly encountered : widespread); when they tested 289 people in 2000, the CDC found phthalates in all of the subjects' blood at surprisingly high levels." 

"What are the possible health effects?"

"...Phthalates are endocrine disruptors linked to problems of the reproductive system, including decreased sperm motility and concentration in men and genital abnormalities in baby boys. (Oh, and did you know that average sperm counts have decreased significantly since the 1940's?) More recently they've also been linked to asthma and allergies."

How can I minimize my exposure?   We've highlighted the biggie that concerns bathing and beauty care products in Purple!

Avoid these, and you'll also be avoiding phthalates:

1. Nail polish: Dibutyl phthalate is often used to make nail polish chip-resistant. Look for it on the ingredients list, where it may be shortened to DBP.
2. Plastics in the kitchen: Take a critical eye to your cupboards. Phthalates may be more likely to leach out of plastic when it's heated, so avoid cooking or microwaving in plastic. 
3. Vinyl toys: Phthalates are what make vinyl (PVC) toys soft, so don't give them to children. Opt instead for wooden and other phthalate-free toys, especially during that age when they put everything in their mouths!
4. Paint: Paints and other hobby products may contain phthalates as solvents, so be sure to use them in a well-ventilated space. 
5. Fragrance: Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is often used as part of the "fragrance" in some products. Since DEP won't be listed separately, you're better off choosing personal care products, detergents, and cleansers that don't have the word "fragrance" on the ingredients list.
6. Vinyl: Vinyl shows up in a lot of different products; lawn furniture, garden hoses, building materials, and items of clothing (like some raincoats) are often sources. Aside from carefully choosing materials when you're making purchases, there is one easy change you can make: switch to a non-vinyl shower curtain. That "new shower curtain" smell (you know the one) is a result of chemical off-gassing, and it means your shower curtain is a source of phthalates in your home.
7. Air Fresheners: Just like fragrances in personal care products, most air fresheners contain phthalates.

 This is why Magic Moon SoapWorks is so persistent in educating people about Phthlates and make sure that we not only minimize the use of Fragrance oil completely when we can - but use phthalate free fragrance oils - when we can't get around it in our formulating of a recipe.

Fragrance oils containing DEP are so prevalent and common-place that we had to search high and low to find PHTHALATE FREE.  Most often - the few distributors of Phthalate Free products - also don't condone the performance of Animal Testing.  So- We Phthalate-free companies are indirect working together to provide a more natural product!  Yay!!!

LeapingBunny.Org

Then - when we were attempting to get our Certification from Leaping Bunny as a Cruelty-Free manufacturer - this was one of the components of interest in our Certification.  Why?  Because most distributors of Fragrance Oils that contain DEP - get them from manufacturers who either do Animal Testing themselves or get the components to make the Fragrance oils from vendors who perform Animal Testing.  We had to provide a list of manufacturers and vendors that we get our raw materials from - and those supplies vendors had to provide their lists to Leaping Bunny as Cruelty Free too.

I know this was probably some really DRY reading for a Monday - but we felt you needed to know.  Now that you know a bit more about Phthalates - hopefully you'll be a lot more picky about letting those products into your home.

Parabens are hiding everywhere!

This is why we do what we do!!!  Have a great couple of days - I'll be writing next on Parabens!  EEEWWWHHHH!