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Do You Use Chemicals on Your Face? I Hope So

Posted by on July 25, 2010 · 15 Comments 

Recent stories have circulated on the web about the average woman using more than 515 chemicals on her face daily implying that this was quite dangerous. This number sounded quite low to me so I thought I’d count what I use.

First thing in the morning I take a shower and wash my face with soap and water. Water is dihydrogen monoxide, the first chemical. My handcrafted vegetable oil soap will include the following oils that have been reacted with lye:
Palm oil
coconut oil
shea butter
olive oil
rice bran oil

These oils are made up of many triglycerides and their fatty acids. Fatty acids in palm oil include laurate, myristate, palmitatte, stearate, oleate, linoleate and linolinate. Coconut oil contains similar ones plus caprylic, capric, caproic and arachidic. Olive oil contains similar fatty acids plus many non fatty acid chemicals including squalene, a variety of sterols, esters of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, vitamin E (tocopherols), carotenoids and oleuropein. Besides the similar fatty acids listed above, shea butter also contains quite a few non fatty acid components collectively called unsaponifiables. According to wikipedia shea butter contains at least 10 phenolics including catechins. It also includes vitamins A and E. Rice bran oil again contains many phytoestrogens such as the gamma oryzanols. It also contains a unique fatty acid; behenic.

Typically I use lavender soap which contains lavender buds and lavender essential oil. According to Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical database, 76 different chemicals have been identified in lavender including nerol, linalol and limonene.

Adding all those up, I’ve applied over 107 chemicals to my face before even getting out of the shower.

What I put on my face after that can vary. But lets say I then use my parsley eye serum. The ingredient list is: organic macadamia nut oil, olive oil, meadowfoam oil, parsley extract, seabuckthorn oil and rosemary extract.

According to Dr. Dukes Phytochemical database, 204 chemicals have been identified in parsley including petroselinic acid and a mucilage (which identifies a class of chemicals rather than a specific chemical). Macadamia nut oil has many similar fatty acids as were already counted above but also contains palmitoleic acid as well as unique phenolics. Seabuckthorn oil has a wealth of chemicals including a variety of carotenoids. Some sites boast that sea buckthorn has over 30 different carotenoid types. Sea buckthorn also has vitamin K and a variety of phytosterols including beta sitosterol.

Dr. Duke’s database again helped me with rosemary showing that there are 240 identified chemicals in rosemary including cineole, betulin and carbone. Meadowfoam oil has a few fatty acids not found in the previous oils including brassic, erucic and gadoleic acids.

So this simple face treatments includes a conservative count of 581 to make a total of 688 chemicals just in the first 30 minutes of waking. I must so above average! Am I worried about applying these chemicals to my face? No. Some use the word ‘chemical’ to scare people implying that chemicals are bad. I however, know better. Yes, there are some chemicals that are toxic and should not be used.

You might notice that all of the ingredients I have put on my face are considered all natural by most people. All natural products contain more chemicals than any other products because they are so complex. If fact, the numbers stated above are much lower than they are in reality because all the chemicals found in plants have not been completely identified. Its not bad to use chemicals on your face although it may be bad to use toxic chemicals on your face.

Can you imagine using the precautionary principle and testing all the 240 chemicals found in rosemary? It could not be done. But I will not allow alarmist groups to scare me from using my skin care products and I have suffered no ill effects from this.

I’ll continue to take my chances and continue to use these safe and beneficial chemicals on my face. What about you??

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More about the author:  Cindy Jones is a formulator and microbiologist. After receiving a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati she worked in cancer research, later as a health/medical writer and now in cosmetic science. Read more from this author

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  • http://www.facebook.com/SoapyGuy Dennis Abbeduto

    Fantastic! Just can't wait to see all of those on the ingredient list thanks to SCA 2010!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VCN7KO7O4R55MKLL7WHUBJMQYE Karl

    Although I agree with Cindy about the fact that the word “chemicals” is abusively used by the ayatollas of the “natural”, the sentence in her penultimate paragraph that says “although it may be bad to use toxic chemicals on your face” defeats the whole article! The “safe cosmetics” campaign (and all the others) confuse “danger” with “risk”. Every product we put on the skin is TOXIC; the DL50 of water (dihydrogen monoxide, see the website http://www.dhmo.org/ ) is certainly high, but if you get a liter or two of it into your lungs, it will kill you. Almost any cream needs some sodium hydroxide to adjust the final pH. Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) is highly caustic (caustic soda, lye), but NOT at the concentrations and amounts put on the skin!
    So we should not simply say: “don't put toxic chemicals on your skin”, because this is how the detractors argue. Of course, many ingredients in “natural” (there is still no definition, and never will be!) are highly toxic, too, but they prefer to ignore that in their double-talk. It is entirely possible (albeit absurdly expensive or totally useless) to make a toxic raspberry extract (containing 4- (p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone and oxalic acid, both present naturally in small amounts) and a perfectly harmless belladonna extract (by eliminating the digitalis toxins contained in the plant with appropriate means). This absurd example just to illustrate that “toxic” does not necessarily mean “risky”!
    In defending rational ideas, we must be very careful in choosing our words, language, so as not to give further ammunition to those who abuse these words – and mislead the readers.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/ButterflyEffectSarasota Shayna Teicher

    Yes, everything has a chemical composition, I get it, but there’s quite a difference between dihydrogen monoxide (and it’s reactivity with the skin and its effects on the human body and it NECESSITY for LIFE) and, say, polyquaternium-18. I appreciate that it may have been simply to prove a point, but putting ingredients like water and plant oils (when they’re naturally extracted and in they’re unadulterated form) in the same category as ingredients that must be chemicaly altered or extracted seems like simply propoganda on the other side of the chemical fence. It’s entirely possible (likely even) that if you isolated the individual chemical components of parsley and used it alone and/or in excess, negative reactions could results, but that’s not what you’re talking about here. Additionally, if a company chooses to use a particular chemical component of a natural ingredient like, let’s say limonene (found as one of hundreds of components in many essential oils), it’s just not the same beast as using the whole oil, with all the component occurring in their naturally balanced proportions, in which case it should require testing. It’s just a different beast altogether.

  • Anonymous

    Shayna, thanks for the comment. You are absolutely right! The purpose of this post was to show that all matter is chemical. There are those who like to think that ‘chemicals’ are bad and that just isn’t correct. There are healthy chemicals and there are toxic chemicals and to lump them together is just not right. I can’t tell you how many skin care companies promote their products as ‘chemical free’! What? You put nothing in your product?? And yes, there is a difference between using limonene straight and limonene as a component of an essential oil. The trouble with that comes with the wording of the Safe Cosmetics Act which allows no level of any toxin. Small companies like myself and others here are trying to protect our small, natural cosmetic companies from over regulation that is wanted by people who don’t understand that difference like you do. Thanks for understanding.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for the comment Karl. Good point.

  • Anonymous

    I have to say that it is articles such as this that has changed my mind about the Safe Cosmetics Act. I want only to use and provide safe ingredients for my customers (any my family), but now I understand that the proposed law has gone to far. I will continue to promote what I believe as quality ingredients, however, I will do so without spreading fear. Though I do believe something should be put in place for consumer protection, this is not the one; I can no longer get behind this bill. Thank you for writing this article as one more piece in the puzzle.

    • http://www.cactusandivy.com Lisa M. Rodgers

      Lisa -

      Thanks so much for your comments. We all want safe cosmetics and you are right, this proposed bill has gone too far. Together, we can spread the truth and fight this legislation.

      Fear is such a powerful emotion and I hope more people will take a look at the articles here and educate themselves on the truth that is backed by science and not fear.

  • Kerrie9

    Cindy TRUTH: I do believe the reports where speaking of chemicals
    that are man made in a lab. Not of the one’s that are made from nature.

    Truth: Soap containing the chemical BHT chemical made in a lab. is a
    known human immune system toxicant.

    Truth: There are no nature made chemicals in coconut oil
    that have any identified concerns. Which sounds better to
    you man made or nature made?

    Please nobody start in on dose; because nobody can answer what
    the tipping point would be; meaning how much BHT it would take
    to be toxic to the immune system. Furthermore what happens if
    I overdose not in a lethal way but more than the recommended
    dose. It could happen then what my immune system is for
    ever compromised all cause I wanted to wash my face.
    That is not acceptable for me.

    The truth is all we have so know the truth!!!

  • Simona

    Wow, I really want to put those chemicals in the parsley eye serum on my face! As soon as I get home, i will be making some:)

    Thanks for this post, I wish all my friends who are scared of “chemicals” will read it :)

    • http://personalcaretruth.com Lisa M. Rodgers

      Thanks for your comments, Simona! We hope your friends will join us as well.

  • http://twitter.com/alheeley Alan

    i welcome all debunking of chemical fears, theres a lot of negativity around chemicals due to ignorance and poor journalism. 

    • http://personalcaretruth.com Lisa M. Rodgers

      Thank you for your comments, Alan! We welcome you to the site and look forward to more of your contributions to the dialogue!