To think cosmetic companies should stop using cancerous ingredients?

[HelenHen]

It seems most people still aren't aware of the potential link between talc and cancer. Talc is the main ingredient in many make-up products.

Asbestos has been banned in construction for decades. Yet it's OK for women to put it on their faces?

I've been reading about this for years now and can't believe it's still a thing.

This is well worth a read if you didn't already know about this

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/10/is-there-asbestos-in-your-makeup-why-women-with-cancer-are-suing-big-beauty-brands

The ingredient in talc that was causing the problem hasn't been used in it for years. I it was banned in the UK long before they banned it in usa

I buy organic, minimal ingredient products for this exact reason.

As the Cancer Research UK says (14th and 15th paras in the Guardian article) there is no good evidence for a link between talc and cancer.

I’m married to a scientist. He has said for decades how all the excessive products we use now compared to say when we were children, some will prove to be bad. I’m allergic to a lot of things but it does mean this house has to be free of all perfumed products and I have hardly ever worn make up.

There is now research that burning scented candles is bad and stuff like plug in air fresheners can make asthma worse but it’s early stages. My friends toddler has multiple serious allergies to food, enough for him to need an epi pen and also asthma and sensitive skin but she continues to have squirty air fresheners in her house that pump out stuff every half an hour or so as she likes the smell. I have told her to consider not using them but she ‘likes the smell’. Your kid has asthma, look at the ingredients list.

Isn't the issue not talc in itself, but talc that has been sourced from mines that also contain asbestos making its way into products? I mean, if J&J can play fast and loose with it then so can any company putting talc in its products!

I think there is a huge amount of cognitive dissonance between some consumers and their use of weird and wonderful "ingredients", waving away the potential risks because they love the product / smell / packaging / feel on their skin / effect on how they look etc.

Many people can't accept that some commonly used ingredients could be potentially dangerous. I think some commonly used ingredients will at some point be shown to be damaging in a similar way as UPF are starting to be shown as (which has taken decades to get to this stage).

Anti-perspirant is a case in point. You will still get some people claiming there is no correlation to breast cancer, even though studies like the below one have recently come to light (published in the Lancet).

https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2352-3964(17)30233-5/fulltext

"Previous studies regarding breast cancer (BC) risk and underarm cosmetic products (UCPs) with aluminum salts have shown conflicting results. Here we provide comprehensive information about the use of UCPs and aluminum measurements in breast cancer patients and healthy individuals. The findings suggest that the frequent use of UCPs lead to an accumulation of aluminum in breast tissue. We observed an increased risk for BC in women who reported to use UCPs more than once daily starting at an age < 30 years. We recommend that particularly women at younger ages should be careful using UCPs and avoid its excessive use."

How many other supposedly "safe" ingredients will come to light as potentially dangerous / cancer causing? I believe people should show special caution when considering which products to use, even if they are touted as "safe" in small quantities etc.

Let's also face up to the fact that cosmetics manufacturers and so on want to sell their product, make a profit and are not necessarily 100% ethical. In the same way as multinational food corporations and producers of UPF are not ethical and market their products in an underhanded way.

Did you read the article?

Asbestos is the ingredient causing problems. They can test for it but it occurs randomly, and they get to choose whether to use the very accurate test or the less accurate test.

When there is money to be made, companies will lie to consumers.

The article is from the guardian... this week. So no, it has nor been resolved. Please have a read. It explains everything much better than I could

So I've been trying to find alternatives that are talc free, but they're expensive and a bit of risk without access to testers. Ideally I would do without but I have to wear factor 50 and my face is a shiny glow without some powder. I've looked at the ones listed in the article but not sure my budget can extend to these esp when it will be largely trial and error with shades and will no doubt get it wrong. My local boots only seems to sell the talc ones which I've been using for decades. I'd just splurged not long ago on mac products inc powder, eyeshadow and blusher too but unfortunately these also contain talc.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Back in the reel world, that isn't going to happen as far too much emphasis is put on youth and beauty and women are still valued on those assets 👯

Are women suffering more such cancers than men? If not, I’d say the risk must be marginal given the extent of different behaviour.

In the real world, if women on a large scale stopped using such cosmetics, there would be less emphasis on it. The only way to fight this sort of objectification of women is to stop engaging in this sort of 'beauty practice'. If you wear makeup, you are one more woman who is showing that she can't go out with her natural face in a space a man can; if you don't, you are showing that you as a woman are the equal of a man in that space and there on equal terms.

Nothing changes on its own, but people make it change.

I try to focus on my skin so that I don’t need make up. I use a clean skincare brand with no nasty ingredients in it. I also get my lashes and brows tinted so that I don’t need to wear eye make up.

Sorry I haven’t rtft but mica is now commonly used as a safe alternative to talc in makeup, so look out for that

There are now aluminium free deodorants that actually work, in the form of sticks, creams etc.

I'd also be very worried if I had a tattoo given the new research about the increased risk of blood cancers.

I’m just reviving this thread after doing quite a lot of hunting on the internet. I used to be very careful about what I used on my skin but succumbed to the beauty advent calendars a couple of years ago and since then have gone off track. My skin is not feeling or looking better for all these products, most of which I don’t think I need. I am horrified at what is still put in everyday products and how toxic much of it is.
I’ve discovered an app called Yuka which will scan the barcodes of products and tell you what is in on them and how toxic the product is. Most of what I have is going in the bin. It’s really eye opening if you actually look up what is contained in so many products and what the effects are.
Im going back to natural products as far as possible, but am having trouble finding a chemical free sunscreen, or one as close to that as possible. I don’t like the consistency of Green People. Gloop claims to be free of toxic chemicals but obviously is a US brand.

I knew all this years ago and read a lot about it but have slipped away from the reality of what is going on. Tack is just the beginning.

Which brand?

Bump

I don’t wear make up, and use solid deodorant so I’m not inhaling the spray.