Do you know what you rub? Pay attention to what you put on your body

We all pay close attention now to the list of ingredients of the foods we buy. We know everything, or almost everything, about pesticides, preservatives, additives, seasonings and this is good because it helps us choose the best, most natural and least harmful foods for our body.

But who ever thinks about cosmetics ? Do we know that everything that is spread on the skin sooner or later arrives in the body through the bloodstream ? For this it is essential to pay absolute attention to what you put on the body, to avoid the risk of nullifying our healthy diet with inadequate body creams.

Do you know what you rub? Pay attention to what you put on your body. These (better than) no

From our summary accounts, there could be about 170 chemicals that every woman smears on herself every day . Are we sure we know them all? And are they all harmless?

Without excessive alarmism, we try to find out which are the main categories of substances that it would be better not to find in our cosmetics, and why:

> The parabens, used as preservatives. Present as metyl-, ethyl-, butyl-, propyl-paraben . Studies have shown that they tend to accumulate in body tissues and in the long run may even have carcinogenic effects given their chemical structure similar to that of estrogens, the female hormones.

We underline that the Italian association for cancer research (AIRC) states, however, that there are currently no significant studies to confirm the carcinogenic action. It has also emerged from other studies that they could interact with UV rays accelerating the aging processes of the skin.

In sensitive subjects, parabens can trigger contact dermatitis .

> Petrolates, or products that derive from oil refining. The list includes paraffinum liquidum, propylene glycol, silicones, vaseline.

If they are completely refined, they should be inert and free of the carcinogenic compounds present instead in the less refined petroleum products (obviously not used in cosmetics).

Due to their film-forming power they can be occlusive or they could "close the pores", with the possible development of folliculitis.

> Silicones: there are different types. Siloxanes are the most common ones in cosmetics. These are non-biodegradable products, therefore potentially harmful to the environment .

For our body, on the other hand, they are inert molecules : on our skin they create a protective film that prevents skin exchange, so they should not be used in excess or for long periods of time.

> Triclosan type disinfectants : according to the Italian Association of Dermatology and Cosmetology, the continued use of triclosan in cosmetics "although it has no direct harmful effects on the health of consumers from a toxicological point of view, does not definitively avoid the potential danger of contributing to the development of bacterial strains resistant to triclosan itself and to other antibiotics ".

Its use should be limited to actual situations in which it is necessary to disinfect .

> The substances methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone : they are skin sensitizers, now only allowed in rinsing products.

> Butylphenyl methylpropional : recently considered generally unsafe in cosmetic products; is a substance already included in the list of allergenic fragrances .

Do you know what you rub? Pay attention to what you put on your body. These yes

We have seen that some chemicals can be harmful, others at least are inert (why use them then?). Let's consider then which are the ingredients that we would like to find in our cosmetics, which have positive effects for our skin and little or no toxicity for our body.

In any case, it is advisable to pay attention to plants or other natural substances present in cosmetics as they can give allergies to sensitive individuals, despite being completely natural.

What are the substances we want to spread on our body? Here are some of the main ones:

> The vitamin A : used for the treatment of acne, eczema, pathologies of the melanocytes and prevention of skin aging;

> vitamin C : an antioxidant used to promote collagen synthesis, to reduce hyperpigmentation, to protect the skin from inflammation;

> vitamin E : acts in synergy with vitamin C as an antioxidant and anti-aging;

> the c eramids : they are used to restore and maintain the cutaneous barrier which, with age, loses its consistency;

> vegetable butters and vegetable oils, rich in vitamins and emollients, protective soothing for skin and hair. For example: cocoa butter, shea butter, almond oil, jojoba oil (which contains ceramides), borage oil;

> Essential oils, with various healing properties such as Tea Tree oil, natural sanitizer, degreasing hair oils (the essential oil of lemon or sage)

Last warning: to be more calm about the absence of traces of contaminants, it is better to choose the certified products, tested in vitro and in vivo (on volunteers, not on animals) and coming from organic farming.