Are
Antiperspirants Safe?
By Rachael Flynn, MPH
A widely
circulating e-mail article claims that antiperspirant use causes breast
cancer. The e-mail states that since antiperspirants prevent your body
from sweating out toxins, toxins build up in the lymph nodes and result
in breast cancer. Some versions of the e mail attempt to legitimize
these claims by providing details, such as names of fictitious experts.
However, antiperspirants have never been linked with breast cancer.
Even though
the e-mail’s allegations are unfounded, there is a valid health concern
regarding antiperspirants and deodorants. Antiperspirants and deodorants
are on a long list of ordinary consumer products which may contain an
environmental toxin, phthalates. 1
Phthalates are used in many beauty and self care products for their
plastic softening properties. The law greatly restricts these chemicals
in the environment, and even a small release into the atmosphere must
be reported to the authorities. 1
Although they are recognized environmental pollutants, phthalates are
not regulated in beauty or self care products. According to the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), "neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic
ingredients are reviewed or approved by FDA before they are sold to
the public." 2
Phthalate
exposure could potentially contribute to several health problems, such
as birth defects, premature female breast development (thelarche), and
reproductive tract abnormalities in males. 1,3,4 Women of childbearing
age are estimated to be at 20 times greater risk for phthalate exposure,
due to their increased use of cosmetics and beauty products. Therefore,
a mother’s exposure could put her fetus at risk for harmful developmental
effects and chronic health problems.
Perhaps
most disturbing is that no one really knows how phthalates affect humans
since it has not been fully investigated. For instance, one common phthalate,
dibutyl phthalate, has safety standards based on a 1953 study which
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers weak and flawed. 5
Historically, the difficulty in testing people for phthalate exposure
has created a false sense of security that it was not a problem. When
an accurate testing method was recently developed by the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC), a newly published study found phthalates in every
subject tested, some at surprisingly high levels. 6
The CDC is now conducting research on the effects of phthalate exposure,
particularly for infants and pregnant women. 7
In conclusion,
the safety of antiperspirants and deodorants, as well as the wide range
of other consumer products containing phthalates, is unknown. It is
important to remember that ingredients in consumer products change over
time and that not all antiperspirants or deodorants contain phthalates
(see Table 1). However, a lack of research should not be considered
proof of safety. Until future research provides more answers about the
effects of phthalates on humans, it is reasonable to question their
long-term safety. This is especially true for pregnant women and children.
This table is from Beauty Secrets.1
Table
1. Major corporations hold patents that proposed to use the
toxic plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in a broad range of consumer
products.
Company
Holding Patent
|
|
Products
for which DBP is proposed
as an essential or possible additive
|
Procter
& Gamble (Cincinnati, OH)
|
|
lotion, hairspray, mousse, gel, lotion,
cream, pomade, hair spray, conditioner, spritz, hair tonic, facial
moisturizers, foundations, lipsticks, mascaras, nail polishes,
oral pharmaceuticals, hair loss treatments
|
L'Oréal (Bureau D. A. Casalonga-Josse)
|
|
hair and nail products
|
Lever Brothers Company (New York,
NY)
|
|
deodorant, skin and hair cleansers
|
Maybelline Cosmetics Corporation
(Wilmington, DE)
|
|
nail enamel
|
Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated
(St. Louis, MO)
|
|
gelled antiperspirant
|
Chesebrough-Pond's USA Co., Division
of Conopco, Inc. (Greenwich, CT)
|
|
product to treat or prevent baldness
|
Colgate Palmolive Company
(New York, NY)
|
|
antiperspirant and deodorant gels
|
Eastman Chemical Company
(Kingsport, TN)
|
|
nail products
|
Elizabeth Arden Co., Division of
Conopco, Inc. (New York, NY)
|
|
skin products
|
Kraft General Foods, Inc. (Northfield,
IL)
|
|
sunscreen
|
Revlon Consumer Products (NY, NY)
|
|
nail enamel
|
Rhodia Chimie (Courbevoie, FR)
|
|
hair and skin care products (sprays,
tonic lotions, gels, mousses)
|
Rhone-Poulenc Chimie
(Courbevoie Cedex, FR)
|
|
nail varnishes
|
Unilever Patent Holding B.V.
(Vlaardingen, NL)
|
|
skin and hair care products, antiperspirants
|
For
more information about Phthalates on the Web:
References:
1 Houlihan J and Wiles R. 2000. Beauty Secrets.
Does a Common Chemical in Nail Polish Pose Risks to Human Health?
Environmental Working Group. Washington, DC. November 2000.
2
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Office of Cosmetics Fact Sheet.
February 3, 1995. Available online at http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html
3
Colon I, Cao D, Bourdony CJ, and Rosario O. Identification of Phthalate
Esters in the Serum of Young Puerto Rican Girls with Premature Breast
Development. Environmental Health Perspectives 108 (2000):895-900.
4
Our Stolen Future. "About Phthalates." Available online at http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/phthalates/phthalates.htm
5
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 1990. Integrated Risk Information
System. Dibutyl phthalate, CASRN 84-74-2. October 1990. Available online
at http://www.epa.gov/ngispgm3/iris/
6
Blount, BC, MJ Silva, SP Caudill, LL Needham, JL Pirkle, EJ Sampson,
GW Lucier, RJ Jackson, JW Brock. 2000. Levels of Seven Urinary Phthalate
Metabolites in a Human Reference Population. Environmental Health Perspectives
108 (2000):979-982.
7
Center for Disease Control (CDC). 2000. Study Demonstrates Exposure
of People to Phthalates. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r2k0901.htm.
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