Personal Care Products: Perfume, Hairspray, Aftershave, Deodorant

Chemicals found in personal care products
Preventing problems from personal care products
Things you can do on a personal level
Artificial Nails

Chemicals Found in Personal Care Products

Personal care products and their contribution to indoor air quality is a topic that is both personal and political. These types of products can trigger allergic reactions and asthma attacks in many people as well as being very detrimental to those who are chemically sensitive. But since not everybody reacts the same to these chemicals, sometimes complaints about fragrances or other personal care products are dismissed by managers as being just a point of friction between two individuals rather than a legitimate indoor air quality concern. Because more and more people are reacting to scented products and persons, such complaints should be properly investigated.

About 4000 chemicals are used to make fragrances and several hundred can be used in just a single product!¹ That is why perfumes, with their low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can contribute to indoor air pollution. Chemicals that may be used as bases for perfumes include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, hexane, and limonene. Other cosmetics use other solvents such as ethanol, formaldehyde, and methanol. The solvent that is used in nail polish remover, acetone, is strong enough to dissolve furniture finish and some plastics. Since solvents evaporate quickly, they also get into the air easily. This is especially true if the solvent is sprayed or misted on like with aerosol cans of hairspray. These vapors and mists can hang in the air and be easily breathed deep into the lungs.

Another solvent found in personal care products is benzene. More than 3,000 excess leukemia cases each year can be linked to benzene. One often-overlooked source of benzene is in perfume. Industry statistics show that, on average, people in just Britain alone go through about 14 bottles a year. As a result, rare chemicals in perfumes, such as benzene vapors, are released.²

Preventing Problems from Personal Care Products

More and more manufacturers are making personal care products that are unscented. There is a difference between unscented and scent-free. Some products that are advertised as being "scent-free " may have more VOCs in them than unscented products. That is because these VOCs are used to mask the smells.¹ Because of some people's increased sensitivity to scents, some places are moving to become fragrance-free. For example, there are some women's concerts that set-aside a separate section that is designated as "chemical-free" so that those who are bothered by things such as personal fragrances can enjoy the show.

The Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia implemented a "Scent-free" workplace policy in 1991. They ask their staff, as well as patients, to not wear perfume, scented hairspray, cologne, scented deodorant, aftershave, or other scented products. Before researching this policy, they found that almost 15 percent to 20 percent of North Americans have some breathing problems that are made worse by strong odors from scented products such as perfume or aftershaves. They also found that strongly scented products could trigger migraine headaches.¹ Now all fragrances in Halifax, Nova Scotia have been banned in hospitals, schools and on public transportation.³

There are things that you can do on a personal level:

• Don't wear perfume or aftershave.

• Don't use hairspray; go with a hair style that doesn't need it or uses a style mousse or gel.

• Use non-aerosol deodorants and antiperspirants such as solid, cream or roll-ons.

• Try baking soda as a powder.

• For shaving use shaving soap and a lather brush rather than foam products in aerosol containers. Aerosols use propellant gases like butane.

• Know what chemicals are in the products you are using. In December 2000, the Environmental Working Group released a report warning women of childbearing age to avoid products containing dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is a common ingredient in nail polish and other cosmetics. That is because this chemical may be responsible for an increase in birth defects in the sexual organs of boys. DBP has been used in a variety of consumer products since the 1930s and is found in about a third of all nail polishes, glosses, enamels, and hardeners in order to give the coating flexibility. It is also used in shampoos and suncreens.⁴
  
  For more than 20 years, studies have shown that elevated levels of the DBP can cause birth defects in the male sex organs of laboratory animals, as well as low sperm counts and testicular atrophy. However, there was no published research on human exposure to DBP until September 2000, when CDC released a study that found some levels of the chemical in all 289 men and women they tested. Levels of the chemical were especially high in women ages 20 to 45, which the CDC researchers said was probably due to their use of cosmetics.⁵

• Only go to hair salons that are well ventilated. There can be many indoor air hazards there such as ammonia, formaldehyde (required in some states to sanitize brushes and combs), and many other chemicals.

• Fingernail polish contains many solvents. If you use nail polish, apply it in a well-ventilated room.

If you are having artificial nails applied, most people (including most nail stylists) are not aware of all the hazards associated with these nails. The table at which they work should have a local exhaust system to suck away the vapors from the adhesives used to apply the nails as well as the dust from filing down the nails. The nail stylist should also wear a dust mask and eye protection while doing that. This is because artificial nail products are made from many chemicals. The main one in most of these products is ethyl methacrylate (EMA). In 1974, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration outlawed a similar chemical, methyl methacrylate (MMA), for use in fingernail products though some salons continue to use MMA because it is cheaper. MMA and EMA can cause skin rashes and sensitization, asthma, and allergies. They can also make the eyes and nose sting, become red, and swell up. If a nail stylist is not taking any precautions to protect themselves, then you should leave since you are at risk also.

References

1. Marsh B. No scents is good sense. OHS Canada. Jan/Feb 1998; 26-27.

2. O'Connell A. "Unseen perils are lurking in your home." The Times (London). April 11, 2000.

3. DelCour J. Get a whiff of this: Perfume politics have arrived. Tulsa World. September 3, 2000.

4. Lowy J. Nail polish ingredient linked to birth defects in boys. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 5, 2000; page F1.

5. Kohn MC, Parham F, Masten SA, Portier CJ, Shelby MD, Brock JW, Needham LL. Human exposure estimates for phthalates. Environ Health Perspect. 2000;108(10):A440-A442