Can Your Skin Care be the Culprit to Your Hormone Imbalances?

This may be a surprise to you, but did you know that 60% of substances you put onto your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream? I never believed that soap would cause very much harm. I always thought soap was always a good thing. I mean it’s meant to clear dirt and oil on my skin. A little over a year ago I wanted to make a lifestyle change. I suffered from severe menstrual cramps every month along with headaches, fatigue, and sore muscles. After realizing I was dealing with this for over 10 years, I knew I needed to change my diet, my sleeping habits, and my stress level. I made it my personal goal to live a healthy lifestyle and all that seemed to work, but I was still experiencing cramps each month.

I spent hours researching ways to prepare for those horrible four days every month. I tried everything I could get my hands on. One day, I was shopping around Fresh and Easy and found an all-organic, natural soap bar on sale for a dollar. I mean a dollar! Who can beat that? I tried it and loved it, but didn’t think much about it. I finished the soap bar and went on to use my normal body wash. That next month, I was tired, breaking out, and couldn’t get out of bed. That’s when I knew that something was wrong. All of the work I put in to change my lifestyle wasn’t working. I researched for hours and finally found that my soap could potentially be causing me to experience all this. I started to research why this was happening and found so much information about the dangers of these chemicals being absorbed into your bloodstream.

The chemicals in skin care is absorbed into your bloodstream and mimic your natural hormones. This is also called an endocrine disruption. You’re ultimately absorbing unnecessary hormones into your body when you’re using skin care products. These added hormones are known as xenoestrogens, which causes an overabundance of estrogen in the body. Don’t get me wrong, we need estrogen, but too much of one thing can cause issues. The high levels of estrogen in women can cause early menstruation in young girls, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, PCOS, irregular menstrual cycles, and low progesterone levels. For men, hormonal imbalances can result in low sperm count and poor sperm health. 

Not sure if your hormones are balanced? Here are a couple of signs of hormone imbalances you may be experiencing:

1. Constant Fatigue or lack of energy

2. Mood swings

3. Anxiety, irritability, and depression

4. Not sleeping well at night, insomnia, or poor sleep patterns

5. Hot flashes, night sweating

6. Gas, bloating and other digestive problems

7. Persistent cystic acne

8. Persistent weight gain

U.S. researchers report that one in eight of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal care products are industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, and hormone disruptors. Here are 5 toxic chemicals to look out for in your skin care:

1. Parabens

Look for ingredients that have “paraben” in their names. Parabens are used as a preservatives in cosmetics and fragrance ingredients. Parabens are also known as xenoestrogens. Parabens mimic your estrogen and is readily stored into your body fat. Parabens easily penetrate your skin and is suspected to interfere with your hormone function.

2. Phthalates

Phthalates are used to make plastic bottles to store your skin care products in.  This chemical is mainly in your liquid body care products like lotion, liquid soap, and hair products. Phthalates is linked to birth defects in men and is an endocrine disruptor. According to the Environmental Working Group, three quarters of 72 products they tested contained phthalates, even though that ingredient wasn’t listed. Phthalates used as plasticizers are banned in the EU and California in children’s toys. But, this ingredient is unregulated in perfumes, deodorants, and lotions.

3. 4-Methylbenzylidene

This long name is most likely unfamiliar to you, but it’s also known as 4-MBC. Still doesn’t sound familiar? This ingredient is mainly used in your sunscreen to help protect your body from UVB rays. Even though this ingredient does its job in protecting you from the sun, it’s also is an endocrine disruptor that acts as an xenoestrogen. We spend so much money protecting our skin only to realize that there may be more harm than good in using sunscreen.

4. Lead

You know that lipstick you’re wearing? It probably has lead in it. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that 61 percent of name brand lipsticks contained lead in 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million. This seems relatively low, but if you’re wearing lipstick everyday, you’re accumulating unsafe amounts of lead overtime. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics also noted that one-third of lipsticks contain more lead than what the USDA allows for candy. That lipstick you’re using is being absorbed into your skin. Lead has shown to cause infertility and developmental problems in the fetus.

5. Triclosan

If you look at the back of your antibacterial soap, you’ll see this active ingredient - triclosan. This ingredient is used as an antibacterial agent to prevent the growth of bacteria. It’s also found in any antibacterial product and deodorants. It’s also proven to be an endocrine disruptor that causes hormonal imbalances and decreased gene activity. Triclosan can be absorbed and stored into your fat. It’s been found in human breast milk. Research has also shown that it impacts thyroid hormones.

Conclusion

Switching your skin care products to something more organic can be hard. I know how attached I can be with my personal care. But the benefits of using something that is much more natural can do wonders for your health. I know that after using Bare Soaps my skin looks and feels great! Try it! What are other ingredients you know of that can be causing hormonal imbalances?

Resources

"Elevated Estrogen Levels Linked to Toxins in Body Care Products" Web.

"20 toxic ingredients to avoid when buying body care products and cosmetics" Web

"Parabens" Web