Nayak_Final Remediation

In this episode of the Beauty Insiders, the host discusses the potential harmful effects of ingredients in skincare, makeup, and hair products. Heavy metals and synthetic chemicals are found in skincare products, while heavy metals and coal tar dyes are present in makeup and hair dyes. These ingredients can have both cutaneous (skin-related) and systemic (internal) effects on the body, causing skin issues like contact dermatitis. It is important to be aware of the ingredients in the products we use and their potential health risks. What is up, you guys? It is yours truly, Kaya Nayak, and we are back with another episode of the Beauty Insiders. For my new listeners on Beauty Insiders, I'm giving you guys the inside scoop on all things beauty-related. So, before you take your next trip down to Sephora or Ulta, go ahead and give some of my other episodes a good listen. Alright, to begin this week's episode, we're taking a step back from the usual content of beauty tips and tricks to have an important conversation about the ingredients in our favorite cosmetics products. So, you know, grab your favorite skincare product and maybe a cup of tea or coffee if you're a coffee girl, and let's start talking. So, I'm sure all of my makeup lovers out there have heard some criticism for quote-unquote ruining their skin with makeup. I mean, I'm no makeup guru, but growing up as a girl who loved wearing makeup, my mom always nagged me. She'd claim that concealer and blush were clogging my pores. You know, I was just a 7th grader who, of course, wanted to grow up faster, so I always shrugged off my mother's comments about how unhealthy makeup was for my skin, and, of course, I, you know, kept wearing the makeup. But, you know, I resorted to an extensive skincare routine. You know, I bought the whole Ordinary Skincare line just to ensure that my skin was still in pristine condition. But, oh, the funny part is, even with all the skincare products in the world, I was still a tween. I was just 13. At the time, of course, I had puberty skin, acne and all. So, again, you know, with all that acne, with all that skin texture, I faced a lot of ridicule from my parents, from my sisters, from my peers for wearing makeup. They believed that makeup was the reason behind all my skin imperfections. Now, that being said, I obviously cannot confirm if they were right or wrong. I did not go to a dermatologist, unfortunately. I mean, maybe my skin broke out because of the makeup, but maybe it broke out because of the puberty. Maybe my skin broke out because of the combination of makeup and puberty. But, you know, as an 18-year-old girl now, my skin still breaks out. My skin still has texture. My skin still has redness and inflammation. So, I needed to see if my mother's warnings of makeup were accurate or not. So, of course, I recently looked into some of the effects that, you know, makeup, skincare, and, you know, even hair products have on the body. And, man, oh, man, was I shocked. So, to officially introduce this week's topic of Beauty Insiders, we are going to be talking about the effects of these cosmetic products on our health. Now, I'm sure some of you may be ready to click that pause button on this podcast. I mean, okay, valid. I mean, I was also nervous to read about what some of these products are doing to my body because, you know, I enjoy my daily makeup and skincare routines. I love doing my mascara in the mirror, and I love lining my lips with NYX lip liners, which, by the way, quick little Beauty Insider tip, the Ever NYX lip liner is one of the best shades hand down, and I definitely recommend you guys go ahead and grab that shade. But, you know, as a reminder, this isn't an episode telling you to throw out all of your cosmetics products. But, you know, it's an episode telling you that you should really keep an eye out for, you know, the ingredients of the products of what you're putting on to your skin and your body. So, you know what, let's just dive right into it, shall we? So, we all love a good skincare routine, right? I mean, I love my toners, I love my serums, I love my moisturizers, which, by the way, I hope you guys are applying to your skin in order of thinnest consistency to thickest consistency. That is the right order. But, you know, there's nothing better than washing my face after a long, hard day of school or work and, you know, just treating my skin right, pampering myself. But, but what if I told you that some of the ingredients in these skincare products may not be as innocent as they seem? I mean, can we really call these products skincare if they aren't truly caring for our skin? So, traces of heavy metals, synthetic substances, and harmful chemicals have been found in products commonly used on skin. I know that's a lot to take in, but I promise you, I'm telling the truth. Both inorganic and organic mercury lurk in skin lightening lotions. Not to mention that even in plant-based creams, there are heavy metals found. So, basically, the science behind this is that these industrial human activities contaminate the water and soil that plants rely on. So, when these plants are used in creams, the traces of heavy metals in those plants transfer to the products as well. Now, it is important to note that, you know, heavy metals in these skincare products is not just an issue in the American cosmetics market, but also in the global cosmetic industry. For example, in 2022, scientists found that local pharmacies in Iraq were selling skin creams in local pharmacies with, you know, these high concentrations of heavy metals such as zinc, iron, and lead. So, you know, obviously, a lot of the people who are going to be purchasing these products in these areas aren't going to know that they're full of heavy metals. But, I mean, aside from heavy metals, our skincare products are also full of lab-made chemicals. And, you know, you guys might be familiar with some of them. Butylated hydroxyl anisole, it's also commonly referred to as BHA, as well as butylated hydroxylcholine, commonly referred to as BHT, are frequently used as preservatives in oils, moisturizers, and facial cleansers. So, I mean, to go back to BHA, I'm sure many of you have used the BHA face mask by The Ordinary. It went viral on TikTok a while ago. So, that's just a really thing you guys really need to be careful about. You know, all these TikTok videos that are promoting all of these products are really full of a lot of lab-made chemicals and harmful ingredients that you should really do your research on before, you know, just going with the herd. So, just another piece of advice. You know, some of the moisturizers that we find so soft to the touch even contain silicone in the form of siloxane, which is yet another synthetic lab-made chemical. Now, like I was talking about TikTok, I don't know if you guys are on skincare TikTok, but for the past year, there has also been a ton of videos recommending retinol as a part of skin cycling. However, retinol and other chemical peeling agents may be doing more harm than good for our bodies. So, again, just be aware of the things that you guys are watching on TikTok, on Instagram, on social media. Take everything with a grain of salt. Just do your research and decide for yourself. Don't just go with the herd. All right. So, that was skincare. Now, makeup enthusiasts, you thought you guys were good? No, brace yourselves because it is your turn to hear some of the ingredients in your lipsticks, eyeshadows, and more. So, like skincare, heavy metals such as copper, zinc, iron, and chromium are added to makeup to improve quality, despite potential health risks. And, you know, your eyeshadow palettes, like the Morphe one, I really love that one, they have such a variety of color and shimmer, but that's because of supplements like mineral pigments, dyes, and glitters that actually contain aluminum, zinc, silicon, titanium, and lead. So, this is all very important stuff to keep in mind, you guys, before using these types of skincare and makeup products because this is going directly on our skin. We're really just putting a ton of heavy metals on our skin when we use these types of products. So, keep that in mind. But let's move on to hair products, huh? Let's talk about hair dyes. So, hair dyes pose a greater risk of exposure to chemicals through both the skin and inhalation. So, have you guys ever wondered what gives your hair dyes that perfect color, that perfect shade of purple or that perfect shade of black? Well, the answer is coal tar dyes like P, oh, this is a tongue twister, phenyladenamine are the coloring agents in your hair dye that contain trace amounts of heavy metals and other toxic preservatives. So, just to put this into perspective for you guys, as we continue to reapply our hair dyes, so let's say we're reapplying, you know, our root touch-ups for our grays or the purple in your hair faded out and you're reapplying the purple, these large amounts of heavy metals like lead and zinc are collecting in your hair as you continue to reapply the dye. And this can really damage your hair quality. So, keep this in mind when you guys are using hair dyes. You really want to check the ingredients, make sure there are no heavy metals, make sure there's no aluminum. Just really be careful, you guys. So, now that I've gone through a couple of the ingredients in our skincare, makeup, hair dyes, you guys are probably like, all right, Kai, like you told us all the ingredients, like now what? Like why does it matter? Great question. I'm going to tell you guys what the effects of these ingredients are and hopefully you'll understand by the end of this why it is important, you know, to read these labels. So, you know, well, before I continue, I'm just going to explain some of the terms I'm going to be using. So, cosmetics can have cutaneous and systemic effects on our bodies. So, cutaneous effects are more surface level. So, this means that they are focused on the skin and its appearance. And systemic effects are deeper, so they can impact our body's central systems. So, to make it a little easier, I want you guys to think of cutaneous effects as, you know, external and systemic effects as internal. So, for right now, I'm going to focus on the cutaneous effects of these products. Ingredients in these cosmetics products have been found to cause skin issues, specifically contact dermatitis, which is a form of eczema. So, for example, when heavy metals come in contact with the skin, they can trigger redness or swollen rashes. And similarly, chemical peeling agents like retinol, which has, like I said, been largely promoted on TikTok, can also trigger contact dermatitis. And another thing that can trigger contact dermatitis is actually those coal tar dyes. So, you've got to be careful when you're applying those dyes that they can cause rashes on your scalp. So, that's another thing to be wary of. So, discoloration is another adverse cutaneous effect that the body can undergo from these harmful chemicals in these products. And it's kind of funny because even though you might be using skin lightening creams to brighten your skin, get a better complexion, the mercury found in these creams can induce hyperpigmentation on the skin. So, constantly applying these cosmetic skin lighteners can cause the pigmentation of soft tissues on the skin. So, you've got to be careful. And discoloration is also possible as products with heavy metals deposit these metal particles onto the skin's surface, and they can alter the skin's pigmentation. So, these are just a few of the, you know, external cutaneous effects that some of these products cause. But remember, though, that these ingredients don't just affect the surface level. They can pose threats to our bodily functions and systems. So, to get into some of the systemic effects, I want to first talk about our endocrine system. Cosmetics can disrupt our endocrine system, which for those of you who don't know, is the bodily system that regulates our hormones. So, heavy metals and preservatives found in cosmetics are endocrine disruptors, which means they either activate or inhibit hormone receptors and enzymes. To make matters worse, exposure to these endocrine disruptors can go so far as to cause infertility, diabetes, and obesity. Studies have shown that preservatives, primarily in the form of parabens in these cosmetic products, alter the estrogen hormone levels, increasing the risk of breast cancer and reproductive impairment. So, you know, it's important to note that a lot of these products can really alter our hormone levels, which isn't good for the body's homeostasis, and, you know, maintaining stable hormone levels. So, you know, these impacts really go beyond just the surface level. Like, we're talking about whole bodily systems here, and it doesn't even end there. Preservatives in skin care can also alter the bacteria in our body. So, when you apply products with harmful preservatives, they can alter the balance of the skin microbiota, which are the bacteria that resides on our skin. An unbalanced microbiota can compromise the safety of bodily cavities that protect these vital organs. So, when you really think about it, like these products that are affecting, you know, for example, the microbiota are really affecting the safety of our organs. So, this is a major issue here. And not only that, but preservatives can change the composition of this bacteria, which really hinders bacterial diversity. So, again, I want you guys to think back on this as these products are really going beyond just skin rashes. Like, this is, we're talking about, like, the inside of our bodies and the meticulous functions that our bodies have. And another serious effect of these ingredients, like heavy metals, is cancer. And humans can ingest heavy metals not only through dermal exposure. So, for example, if I'm using a cream, not only can I have a heavy metal in my body through just applying the cream, but also through hand-to-mouth contact. So, if I were to, you know, touch my mouth after that, or if I were to apply this cream near my mouth, I would be exposed to these heavy metals. And scientists have actually identified heavy metals as biomarkers of cancer. So, the science behind it is that these heavy metals form compounds inside the body that cause the modification and malfunction of cells. And I know this is a lot to process, but thinking back to cancer. Cancer is basically when cells are malfunctioning and rapidly growing abnormally. And like I said, these compounds that are formed by heavy metals cause the malfunctions of these cells, cause these rapid growths. So, you know, in other words, they are helping, you know, speed up the process of cancer. So, it is imperative that we become more aware of the products that we use because heavy metals can enter the circulation of vital organ systems and soft tissues, thus increasing the risk of cancer. Now, before you all start panicking about your beauty cabinet, remember that knowledge is power. We need to be informed consumers. So, read those labels, understand the ingredients, and make conscious choices. But here's the thing. This is not just a matter of personal choices for you and me regarding the products we use. Corporate transparency must become a standard. It is the responsibility of large brands in the cosmetics industry to be honest and open about the ingredients inside their products. Cosmetics companies must promote safer and healthier options for the good of their large and vast consumer base. So, to wrap up, makeup, skincare, and hair products have been popular since the beginning of time. They can be traced back all the way to ancient Egypt. The cosmetics market now has generated billions of dollars. But despite this large scope of the cosmetics industry and its vast history, it is full of secrets that we must collectively reveal for the good of people around the world. Because so many people use makeup, skincare, hair products, you know? And I want to keep along with this theme of, you know, uncovering these secrets in next week's episode. I'm planning on discussing how the price of makeup can affect the quality of the product as well as the safety of its ingredients. So, you know, what I really want to find out is, do cheaper products have higher levels of heavy metals and preservatives? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We'll find that out next week on Beauty Insiders. And that's going to be a wrap for this week's episode. Thank you all for joining me in my investigation of the back labels of our personal care products. Remember that beauty is more than skin deep and I hope we continue to navigate the cosmetics world with awareness. Until next time, stay beautiful inside and out. Bye, guys!