Cosmetics and personal care products improve our appearance and well-being.
Amy Rand, Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology at Carleton University, shared how she started taking care of her face during the pandemic. I applied toner, serum and moisturizer.
But many of these products contain chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyls (PFASs), also known as “timeless chemicals.” They are used as ingredients that make products waterproof and long lasting, and help them spread smoothly over the skin.
European data shows that there are about 170 PFAS ingredients for use in cosmetics and personal care products. Each year, over 80,000 kg of PFAS can be released after product use to wastewater and solid waste streams, and is an important source of PFAS to the environment.
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PFAS are persistent environmental pollutants. The properties that make them commercially useful, in particular their stability, also mean that there is no mechanism in the environment for their degradation and therefore accumulation. PFAS is found throughout the world, including in remote regions such as the Arctic.
PFAS also accumulates in the body. The Canadian Health Procedures Study took blood samples from thousands of people and found multiple PFAS in all participants.
The main sources of human exposure to PFAS are food, drinking contaminated water, or eating foods such as fish or meat. Agricultural fields may contain PFAS from biosolids used as fertilizer that cannot be removed by sewage treatment plants.
Consequently, PFAS is transported through biosolids to crops and animals. Similarly, PFAS are added, applied, and then washed off into personal care products to enter wastewater treatment plants, contributing to a global environmental problem.
PFAS in personal care products
The researchers measured PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products purchased in Canada. Products included bronzers, concealers, foundations, shaving creams, sunscreens, and moisturizers.
PFAS was extracted from each product and measured using mass spectrometers. These tools identify individual PFASs present in foods in milligrams or less than a trillion grams.
Particularly high levels have been obtained from products containing the following ingredients: C6-16 perfluoroalkyl phosphate, perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane, and perfluorobutyl ethers.
The Canadian government has banned some PFAS products, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and any chemicals that degrade to form PFOA.
higher levels of PFAS
Epidemiological studies show that body levels of PFAS are associated with regular use of cosmetics and personal care products.
One study in the United States noted higher blood levels of PFAS in women who typically wear foundation. And a study out of Korea linked the use of cosmetics and personal care products to higher levels of PFAS in breast milk.
Another study illustrated this trend more directly. PFOA was intentionally added to sunscreen to determine if one person’s blood levels would rise after application. Within three weeks, PFOA from sunscreen application made up about 10% of the total PFOA in his body.
This suggests that daily use of sunscreen containing PFAS during the summer months, as well as frequent use of cosmetics and other personal care products containing PFAS, may lead to elevated blood levels.
And unlike other chemicals, some PFAS, like PFOA, are persistent. This means that human exposure to even small amounts of PFAS can accumulate over time.
Health impact
In Canada, PFAS, often measured in environments with adverse health effects, is banned. These include PFOA and PFOS, long chain PFCA and any compounds that break down to form them. This is a broader regulatory approach than other regions, including the United States, which restrict individual PFAS.
But other regions are taking a broader approach. The proposed EU ban would eliminate thousands of PFAS. California plans to effectively eliminate any PFAS ingredient used in cosmetics and clothing by 2025.
Environmental groups, managers and the industry must work together to phase out the use of PFAS in cosmetics and personal care products and instead use other ingredients that serve the same purpose.
Source: Science Alert
