Very Bad News About Moisturizers

[Jingthing]

News reports now that MANY widely available skin moisturizers contain HIDDEN estrogen. In other words, you cannot identify whether your product contains it or not by reading the label. It is common for women to moisturize their entire body daily; it is less common for men (though I personally do as I have a dry skin condition). The estrogen in these products IS absorbed into your body and increases the risk of breast cancer in women AND men. so if you are moisturizing daily with one of these products, you are DOSING yourself with estrogen daily.

Hopefully, someday, the specific brands that contain the hidden estrogen will be published, along with the ones that do not contain it. For now, if you want to moisturize safely, you have to use natural oil products like safflower oil or olive oil (but with the olive oil you will smell like a salad).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,467531,00.html

Women without breast cancer are also at risk, she added. If they use estrogen-containing topical moisturizers, they may be dosing themselves daily with estrogen for extended periods, thereby boosting their risk of breast cancer.

In the tv report about this study. it was reported that the focus was on women because they use moisturizers much more than men, but that the health concerns raised by their research apply equally to the men who use these moisturizers daily.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Jingthing

[kat]

Thanks Jingthing. I do appreciate the warning, even if it is coming from FOX News, which I do not count as a real newsource or reliable source of information. However, they have named the breastcancer convention, and at least one doctor.

This is worrying because I am a moisturizing fanatic. I don't do anything else like makeup or dying hair, but I do love my lotions an potions. They will have to produce a list, and then the manufacturers will have to take out the estrogen. This will all work itself out. IN the meantime, dove soap and coconut oil are great, as are the natural Thai soaps and moisturizers using tumeric. In fact, those are much better than any other manufactured moisturizers I have ever used. I can't wait to go back to Thailand just for the natural tumeric soap, curcumin body scrubs, and natural tumeric moisturizer.

[Jingthing]

Sorry about the Fox News connection but it is all over the net as it is recent news from that breastlink organization in California, so it appears credible.

[kawikasudo]

News reports now that MANY widely available skin moisturizers contain HIDDEN estrogen. In other words, you cannot identify whether your product contains it or not by reading the label. It is common for women to moisturize their entire body daily; it is less common for men (though I personally do as I have a dry skin condition). The estrogen in these products IS absorbed into your body and increases the risk of breast cancer in women AND men. so if you are moisturizing daily with one of these products, you are DOSING yourself with estrogen daily.

Hopefully, someday, the specific brands that contain the hidden estrogen will be published, along with the ones that do not contain it. For now, if you want to moisturize safely, you have to use natural oil products like safflower oil or olive oil (but with the olive oil you will smell like a salad).

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,467531,00.html

Women without breast cancer are also at risk, she added. If they use estrogen-containing topical moisturizers, they may be dosing themselves daily with estrogen for extended periods, thereby boosting their risk of breast cancer.

In the tv report about this study. it was reported that the focus was on women because they use moisturizers much more than men, but that the health concerns raised by their research apply equally to the men who use these moisturizers daily.

As a safe alternative, I read in Prevention Magazine that men who are older should use Baby oil which is cheaper and lasts longer. You only have to put it on once daily. They now have Baby oil lite which works great and I bought it at the Emporium and at Tops.

[Jingthing]

Yes, Baby Oil is an alternative. It is basically mineral oil. I haven't tried it (for a while, ha ha). Maybe coconut oil also (not sure) but that would be expensive.

I can't wait to go back to Thailand just for the natural tumeric soap, curcumin body scrubs, and natural tumeric moisturizer.

Thanks for the ideas.

[edwardandtubs]

It's old news that cosmetics contain chemicals that mimic estrogen so I doubt it makes much of a difference if a few actually contain estrogen. Many natural substances and foods also mimic estrogen, including soy in food and lavender in cosmetics. I'd avoid rubbing that stuff into your nutsack or eating it every day but I don't think we should worry too much until there's solid evidence of its carcinogenic or gender-bending effect.

[Jingthing]

It's old news that cosmetics contain chemicals that mimic estrogen so I doubt it makes much of a difference if a few actually contain estrogen. Many natural substances and foods also mimic estrogen, including soy in food and lavender in cosmetics. I'd avoid rubbing that stuff into your nutsack or eating it every day but I don't think we should worry too much until there's solid evidence of its carcinogenic or gender-bending effect.

The issue is not gender bending at all. The issue is cancer. The news about this is that you cannot identify the specific ingredients to avoid by reading the label. That is unacceptable. What I don't understand is why the group issuing this warning did not publish the specific products that were OK and which were not OK. Maybe afraid of legal action.

You also presented another fallacy. What you put on your skin, anywhere on your skin, IS absorbed into your body. Your nutsack comment was just silly and misleading.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Jingthing

[Tolley]

Don't forget that suncreams are also very toxic to the liver and there has been a number of studies that have been done showing how toxic the chemicals in sun tan lotions are to the body.

[edwardandtubs]

It's old news that cosmetics contain chemicals that mimic estrogen so I doubt it makes much of a difference if a few actually contain estrogen. Many natural substances and foods also mimic estrogen, including soy in food and lavender in cosmetics. I'd avoid rubbing that stuff into your nutsack or eating it every day but I don't think we should worry too much until there's solid evidence of its carcinogenic or gender-bending effect.

The issue is not gender bending at all. The issue is cancer. The news about this is that you cannot identify the specific ingredients to avoid by reading the label. That is unacceptable. What I don't understand is why the group issuing this warning did not publish the specific products that were OK and which were not OK. Maybe afraid of legal action.

You also presented another fallacy. What you put on your skin, anywhere on your skin, IS absorbed into your body. Your nutsack comment was just silly and misleading.

You may have misunderstood my post. The gender-bending issue and the cancer issue are two sides of the same coin. Products that contain or mimic estrogen will have a gender-bending effect on males but a carcinogenic effect on females (and maybe males too).

It's unlikely that the manufacturers would have specifically included estrogen in the product. It's more likely to be a by-product of the manufacturing process or something similar.

Of course what you put on your skin is absorbed into the body and if you put it on the SKIN of your nutsack it will be absorbed and head straight for your testicles - not a good idea if what you're rubbing into the skin contains gender-benders. Not a fallacy and nothing silly or misleading about that.

Edited December 24, 2008 by edwardandtubs

[Jingthing]

The people who released this study specifically addressed the gender bending estrogen issue for males. They claimed it was a non-issue, that males have enough testosterone to counteract that aspect of it. But they also claimed males could get breast cancer from these moisturizers. I can't vouch for the thoroughness of their science, just reporting what they said. You will have to take my word for that as the part of the impact on males does not appear on online links as far as I can tell. The truth remains, men have breasts and some men do get breast cancer.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

OK, I have been experimenting with some new moisturizers and will share my results (and may save some people some money):

-- sunflower oil, this takes a bit of time to soak into the skin, I find it intolerably too smelly after its been on for awhile and it stinks up clothes it comes off into (washable though)

-- safflower oil, I think a more neutral smell, as an experiment I mixed it with a small amount of wonderful smelling Aromatherapy oil. Like the sunflower oil, this takes a bit of time to soak into the skin. In the long run, almost as smelly after its been on for awhile and it stinks up clothes it comes off into (washable though).

The safflower oil mixed with aromatherapy oil may work for people with very little BODY hair who are willing to wait a long time in the nud_e for the oils to fully soak in. For people with body hair, I think it just sticks on the hair and is not absorbed, probably a big factor in the later smell factor.

Both of the above moisturize very well but I can't tolerate the smell issues. So now I have a year's supply of cooking oil!

-- Turmeric Body Lotion, a Thai made product consisting mostly of turmeric extract and mineral oil. It is not sold as a moisturizer but so far I think it does indeed act as a moisturizer. Absorbs into the skin much quicker than the pure oil, and a pleasant very subtle smell. So far, this is a winner for me.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Jingthing

[maxjay]

Aloe Vera plants grow very well here in Thailand. There is a wealth of information on Aloe out there. This is a quote from one article:

Long time known benefits mostly have resulted from aloe vera used externally. Aloe soothes and helps repair skin that has been damaged or that is suffering from a skin condition like eczema. Many cosmetics contain aloe because of its moisturizing benefits.

http://www.aloe-vera-studies.org/aloe-vera-benefits.php

[Jingthing]

Indeed aloe vera is great stuff. I have been using it for years as a gentle healer for problem areas and also of course it is good for mild sunburns.

About the OP, I don't know if the moisturizer I was using is a risky one or not, but trying out using different soaps and moisturizers has had the added benefit of helping my skin condition. I have some kind of allergic/ eczema related dry, flaky skin and doctors have only told me to use non-soaps like Eucerin and any moisturizer. Well, they were wrong. It wasn't really getting better. Spurred on by this news report, I have discovered some new options that have really improved my skin. I think it needed mild exfoliation. I found this Thai soap called Mathong Tumeric/Tamarind with an oil base, it has been great. I am still experimenting with moisturizers. Tried coconut oil but bought a bottle and it was rancid (Thai stores often don't store this properly). Thanks for the tip for Mild non-greasy baby oil. That stuff is amazing. The bottle says adults should use on rough areas like elbows but trying entire body, what's the harm? It almost works to well for comfort. There is something a bit odd about being a mature grown man with skin as smooth as a baby butt, but oh well, there are worse problems in the world.

Edited January 4, 2009 by Jingthing

[Enjibenji]

i use garnier moisturiser for my face every night... does anyone know if that product contains hidden estrogen?

[Jingthing]

i use garnier moisturiser for my face every night... does anyone know if that product contains hidden estrogen?

The people doing the study didn't publish the product names. I think the best people can do now is contact the manufacturers of their favorite products and say you will stop buying until they label their products as estrogen free. If enough people did that for the popular products they are sure to get the message.