Connecting the chemicals in cosmetics to obesity

For the sake of our health and our weight, we’re used to carefully considering what we put in our mouths. What we aren’t so used to is choosing natural, organic cosmetics. We don’t give a thought to the products that we slather onto our skin, nails, and hair – products whose ingredients can be absorbed by, and accumulate in, our bodies.

Concern has been growing over the past few years about the link between chemicals in shampoo, body lotion, household cleaning products, and the bottles that they come in – and rising obesity. Studies such as those by Paula Baillie-Hamilton at Stirling University suggest that some of these chemicals can suppress the body’s production of adrenaline and dopamine, hormones that aid metabolism and weight loss.*  As these chemicals accumulate in our bodies, they can affect the hormonal balance, impairing the body’s ability to naturally monitor and maintain its own ideal weight.

Research has also been done at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York into some of these chemicals, specifically phthalates and Bisphenol-A (BPA). Studies on animals have shown these chemicals to depress testosterone levels, and to act in a similar way to oestrogen – both factors that have shown to be linked to weight gain in humans.**  Professor Philip Landrigan, who heads up this study, says that phthalates can be found in up to 70% of cosmetics. (You can read more about the dangers of phthalates in cosmetics on the Suvarna website here: http://www.suvarna.co.uk/phthalates-in-cosmetics.html)

More work in this area is accumulating, prompting calls for companies and legislation to limit what can be put in the products that are being absorbed into our bodies on a daily basis. In the meantime, we can all make sure that as well as eating healthy food, we take the time to choose cosmetics that do not endanger the health of our bodies, by going for natural, phthalate- and BPA-free, organic cosmetics.


* Laura Tuffrey, 12/01/12, ‘The Mother Who Exposed the Links Between Obesity and Common Chemicals’, in The Ecologist http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1191047/the_mother_who_exposed_the_links_between_obesity_and_common_chemicals.html

** Peta Bee, 11/07/2011, ‘Is your shampoo making you fat? The truth about “chemical calories” in beauty products’, in The Daily Mail 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2013283/Is-shampoo-making-FAT-The-truth-chemical-calories-beauty-products.html

Fragrance - natural or artificial effects our health and lifestyle

Fragrance is an important part of our experience of living.  Our sense of smell is connected with emotion.  A smell can create a mood or evoke significant memories of a person, time or place which means something to us.


Inhaling artificial fragrance from our personal care products or cleaning products could be masking our natural sense of smell and affect our natural experience of the world.

A single word “Fragrance” denotes a load of chemicals
The single word "fragrance" on a cosmetic ingredients list - be it skin care  product, makeup,  or perfume  can mean a formula that comprises hundreds of chemicals many of which can get absorbed through your skin and get inside your body and cause health problems and allergies. Manufacturers are not legally bound to disclose the full ingredients of a fragrance because it is a secret brand formula.  So the consumer will never know what is in their product.

To avoid synthetic fragrance choose an organic natural brand.  Having a certification such as Soil Association, BDIH or Ecocert will ensure that it doesnt have synthetic fragrance.  At suvarna, of course, we don’t sell any products with synthetic fragrance, only natural fragrance from plant extracts and essential oils.

I feel it's absolutely unnecessary to create synthetic scent given the wealth of lovely fragrance available from nature from pure essential plant oils. Essential oils are more expensive than chemical fragrance which is a motivation to the profit driven chemical cosmetic manufacturers.

Unscented can mean extra chemicals added
Some petrochemical cosmetic products which are marketed as unscented can mean that they use a lot of chemical fragrance to mask the natural (or unnatural) scent of the other chemicals.  It may be advertised as a simple, gentle product but it is actually complicated to make something with no smell.

When natural organic cosmetics brands state unscented, on the other hand, this usually means it is without essential oils.

Perfume from essential oils creates a holistic effect
Since aromatherapy has become more mainstream many of us are aware that essential oils applied to the skin are absorbed in to the body and have powerful therapeutic properties. And we know how they can create a mood - relaxing, de-stressing. healing or stimulating effect.  Natural cosmetics with essential oils therefore give us more than superficial beauty and healthy skin but have a holistic therapeutic effect on the whole body, mind and emotions.

At Suvarna we sell totally natural organic perfumes and eau de toilettes from Farfalla, Lavera and Florascent.

www.suvarna.co.uk