Betty C. Jung
Hair and skin care products expose kids to hormone disrupting chemicals, study finds A new study links recent use of personal care products like lotions, ointments & hair conditioners to higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals called #phthalates in young children. www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Hair and skin care products ex...
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May 25 at 4:38pmWeb
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Phthalates are a group of chemicals added to plastics to make them more flexible and durable. They are also used as ingredients in some personal care products.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
These chemicals are endocrine disruptors – which means they can mimic, block or interfere with the body's own hormones. And when it comes to children, the concern is that they might cause disruptions during key developmental moments.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Prior studies have linked regular exposure to phthalates during pregnancy and early childhood to negative impacts on children – including impaired brain development and behavioral problems, as well as other health concerns.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Researchers raised concerns widespread presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates in environment may be contributing to girls getting their first menstrual period at an earlier age. Phthalates don't stay in the body for very long, but worry about cumulative effects of exposures.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Several different skin care products was associated with higher urinary concentrations of several different types of phthalates," Bloom says. That isn't new: He notes that prior studies have found similar results in infants and pregnant women, though not in young kids in this 4-8 age range.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Dr. Lynn Goldman: Until now, concerns about phthalate exposure focused on diet, since the chemicals can leach into food from plastic packaging, as well as food handling equipment such as tubing and conveyor belts. Much more concerned these [chemicals] in cosmetics & personal care products,
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
They found strong associations between use of hair oils & elevated phthalate levels in Hispanic, Asian & Pacific Islander children. Body lotion was associated with the kinds of phthalates used as ingredients in personal care products among white children but not among Black and Hispanic children.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Overall, Black children had the highest levels of phthalates in their urine. Other studies have found that many beauty products targeted at communities of color have high levels of these chemicals.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
As social media helps fuel a craze for skin care among tweens and teens, Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah says the findings are an important reminder that some of these products could potentially be exposing kids to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
Download a free app called YUKA. yuka.io/en/ Shoppers can simply scan the barcode of a product while in the store, and the app will flag potential health concerns linked to ingredients. I just did. This is a good app. It will tell you about ingredients, good and bad.

Yuka - The Mobile App That Sca...
Yuka - The Mobile App That Scans Your Products

Yuka is an 100% independent app that scans food and cosmetic products in order to know their impact on your health.

Yuka
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
She notes you can also look up products in the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database. www.ewg.org/skindeep/ This is good. I've used it before.

ewg.org/skindeep
EWG Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database

EWG’s Skin Deep® database gives you practical solutions to protect yourself and your family from everyday exposures to chemicals in personal care products.

EWG
Show threadBetty C. Jung2d ago
"I don't think that it's really up to parents to be policing the ingredients in these products. I think it's a job for the FDA. It's a job for the EPA." This is probably true, but I don't think I can trust the FDA at this point, with what they are doing with the COVID-19 vaccines.