Aubrey Organics Article: Prenatal Cosmetics & Personal Care By C. Leigh Broadhurst, Ph.D.

What Every Pregnant Woman Needs to Know

Very recently, a very dear friend called. She was four-months pregnant. She'd had over a friend.

Unfortunately, this "friend" brought a lice infestation and infected her children and possibly her. Because she could not use the over-the-counter preparations due to an allergy problem, her doctor prescribed topical lindane for her use.

She called to ask our advice. Thank God she did.

That a doctor would've prescribed lindane to anyone—much less someone who is pregnant—is criminal. Lindane is a cancer-causing, neurotoxic pesticide.

It's a dinosaur—and a dangerous one—that has been banned for virtually all food uses throughout the industrialized nations, but, somehow, in spite of human and experimental evidence of carcinogenicity and birth defects, continues to be prescribed in the United States for head lice, with more than two-million prescriptions filled annually.

Fortunately, before she had used the prescription, we told our friend about a number of safe preparations for head lice that can be purchased from natural health retailers—and that generally rely on extremely safe, effective ingredients such as olive oil, safflower oil and blends of essential oils. The cosmetics and personal care product choices women make during pregnancy are important to both their health and that of their developing child. It is clear that some of the behavioral and health problems that we see in children and adults today are the result of prenatal exposure to chemical toxins. These effects may show up relatively quickly in the child's life in some cases (as with childhood cancer or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) but also may not be apparent until many years later when they enter adulthood (as with increasing rates of testicular and prostate cancer and cases of benign enlarged prostate).

If you're pregnant, about to become pregnant or know someone who is, this information is critical.

Xenoestrogens in Cosmetics

Most recently, medical researchers from Denmark, the United Kingdom and elsewhere have reported that some of the most common detergents, wetting agents and preservatives used in cosmetics and household cleaning products act much like the female hormone estrogen once in the human body; these chemicals, known as xenoestrogens, are strongly suspected of disrupting the normal hormonal processes of both sexes.

In young boys, who are exposed to these chemicals before puberty, they may cause a statistically marked increased risk for birth defects and reproductive abnormalities. There is also suspicion that these same feminizing chemicals ultimately may be related to the proliferation of mature men's sexual health problems, particularly enlarged prostate syndrome (benign prostatic hyperplasia), infertility, and testicular cancer. Although the Danish study was initially met with skepticism, researchers in France, Scotland, and Belgium have obtained similar results.

Meanwhile, one disturbing trend among young women is premature sexual development. Pediatricians are increasingly reporting appearance of secondary sexual characteristics in young female babies as young as two years of age, including growth of pubic hair and development of ovarian cysts; as well as onset of menarche (menstruation) at younger and younger ages; and breast development (thelarche) in girls younger than eight years of age without other signs of puberty. In fact, average age of menarche has declined from about 17 in the 18th century to 13 today. The implications of these findings are important. Greater estrogen exposures mean an increased lifetime risk for women of reproductive cancers, including those of the breast, ovaries and uterus.

Cosmetic and personal care products with xenoestrogens and that are used during pregnancy may be partial contributors to these increasingly disturbing reproductive abnormalities in both sexes. The most influential—that is, toxic—exposures to these chemicals are likely to occur prenatally when the developing children's cell growth is rapid and cells are extremely sensitive to even minute alterations of the hormonal environment. They can also become "imprinted,"—that is, hypersensitized to future estrogenic exposures.

In My Cosmetics?!

You might not suspect that such compounds are now routinely added to cosmetics. But they are. For example, commonly used preservatives called parabens (namely methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylparaben), which are listed on labels, have been identified as xenoestrogens. Researchers who've studied the estrogenicity of the parabens conclude that, "Given their use in a wide range of commercially available topical preparations, it is suggested that the safety in use of these chemicals should be reassessed..."

Another xenoestrogen pregnant women are likely to encounter in their cosmetics and personal care products is butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which is widely used as an antioxidant preservative in foundations and other types of cosmetics. A closely related antioxidant preservative, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), is less estrogenic than BHA, but far more widely used in a wide range of cosmetics and personal care products.

Effects on Developing Fetuses

In an experimental study on the effects of several different xenoestrogens during pregnancy, it was found that males showed an increase in adult prostate weight when levels were increased rom only 0.2 to 0.3 pg/ml during the last third of fetal life.

In another experimental study, researchers assessed whether exposure of males to estrogenic, environmental chemicals, during gestation or during the first 21 days of postnatal life, affected testicular size or sperm production in adulthood. Exposure resulted in a small (5-13%) but significant reduction in mean testicular size. None of the treatments had any adverse effect on structure of testicular tissue; nevertheless, both chemicals caused reductions of 10 to 21 percent in daily sperm production. This provides an indication of the subtle impact xenoestrogens of all types can have on boys' sexual development.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, where premature sexual development in young girls is commoner than normal, an investigation was designed by researchers at the University of Puerto Rico and San Juan City Hospital to identify pollutants in the serum of Puerto Rican girls with premature thelarche. Forty-one serum samples from thelarche patients and 35 control samples were analyzed. No pesticides or their metabolite residues were detected in the serum of the study or control subjects. However, significantly high levels of phthalates were identified in 28 (68 percent) samples from thelarche patients. Of the control samples analyzed, only one showed significant levels of phthalates. The researchers conclude, "This study suggests a possible association between plasticizers with known estrogenic and antiandrogenic activity and the cause of premature breast development in a human female population."

The phthalates found at significantly elevated levels in the blood serum of young Puerto Rican girls were dimethyl, diethyl, and dibutyl phthalates‹all widely used in cosmetic products as plasticizers, solvents, and perfume fixatives.

Permanent Hair Dyes, Mental Retardation & Cancer

Permanent and semipermanent hair coloring products appear to have a link with adverse pregnancy outcomes—even if used shortly prior to conception. In a study on mental retardation and parental occupation, researchers from the Department of Medical Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, found that exposure of the mother in late pregnancy to hair dyes markedly increased risk for mental retardation. These results need to be confirmed because of some doubt cast on their veracity by the researchers themselves, but a number of other studies have found adverse pregnancy outcomes. In fact, the risk of childhood cancer could be increased by as much as tenfold by women who use hair dyes shortly prior to conception or during pregnancy.

The Doctors' Prescription

During pregnancy avoid cosmetics containing parabens, BHA, BHT, methylmethacrylate, artificial fragrance or perfume. Do not use hair dyes with the following warning:

CAUTION: This product contains ingredients which may cause skin irritation on certain individuals and a preliminary test according to accompanying directions should first be made. This product must not be used for dyeing the eyelashes or eyebrows; to do so may cause blindness.

Many such products are among those identified as potentially causing adverse reproductive outcomes.

Prefer cosmetics that are from companies with a reputation for producing "clean" formulas. Brands without these suspect chemicals include Aubrey Organics, Dr. Hauschka, Logona and Weleda. Use also naturally derived fragrances such as those from Aubrey Organics, an example of a company that produces natural fragrances without use of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. What's more, the Aubrey line of cosmetics, including their facial make-up formulations, uses vitamins C and E as antioxidant preservatives which can help reduce formation of potentially carcinogenic nitrosamines, also found in some mainstream cosmetics.

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