Many of the researchers/ scientists/ toxicologists that I have been interviewing over the past few weeks have talked about absorption. They have described how various chemicals in our beauty products affect our bodies. Surely the only way they can affect us is if they are absorbed, right? As I've already discussed, nanotechnology reduces substances into tiny particles to allow them to penetrate our skin but how many of the regular sized chemicals are absorbed?
The skin is the body's largest organ. In the average adult, it covers about two square metres whilst being less than 2mm think in most places. It is made up of several layers and most doctors and scientists describe it as an impressive physical barrier designed to protect us from the world around us. So are our insides really under threat from the ingredients of our cosmetics?
Well, apparently, the surface layer of our skin, the epidermis, which completely renews itself in 45-75 days, is made up of about 15 layers of flat dead cells. This can be penetrated quite well by some oils and alcohols which are often used in skin products to help carry the active ingredients into the deeper layers. So, most of our exposure to the chemicals in cosmetics is via the skin.
Absorption begins once the cosmetic product has been applied. Of course, we are only briefly exposed to the chemicals in products which we wash straight off like soaps but we have a far greater exposure to products that are designed to be left on such as moisturisers. In an experiment conducted with hairdye under actual-use conditions, 43 micrograms of para-phenylenediamine aka PPD (see my article on PPD on my website) was detected in the user's urine after only 30 minutes!
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