Teens and Toxins
Why does it matter? Teens + Toxins?
Tests show that our teens are contaminated with chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and body care products. Studies have linked these chemicals to health concerns including cancer and hormone disruption (carcinogens and endocrine disruptors). Teens use more products than any other age group and are more susceptible to the negative impact of many of the common ingredients.
There is a wide and growing concern about environmental toxins and human health, focused on when exposure happens. Let’s look at the endocrine disruptors in particular, because exposures to EDCs will cause different effects depending on the age and developmental phase of occurrence.
Puberty is the key time in a child’s life where exposure to environmental toxins can take the biggest toll. When the normal function of the endocrine system is disrupted or malfunctions, significant abnormalities in growth and development result which may appear across the life span.
Are my products safe?
Unfortunately, probably not. A few years ago the Environmental Working Group (EWG) detected 16 chemicals from 4 chemical families - phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks - in blood and urine samples from 20 teen girls aged 14-19. These tests feature first-ever exposure data for parabens in teens, and indicate that young women are widely exposed to this common class of cosmetic preservatives, with 2 parabens, methylparaben and propylparaben, detected in every single girl tested. Read more about the data here.
Body care products provide an appalling example of the inadequacy of current chemical regulations in the U.S. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the law governing cosmetics safety, does not require companies to test products for safety before they are sold. The Toxic Substances Control Act, the law that regulates all industrial chemicals in the United States, was created over 3 decades ago, and assumes chemicals in everyday products are innocent until proven guilty. The products we and our children use each day can contain thousands of ingredients that have never been tested for safety.
What to switch?
We pay close attention to the products we use most often. Our core products. Teens average 17 products/day, while adults only average 12. Teens seem to LOVE fragrance and want everything to smell. Avoid fragrance. Avoid parabens. Avoid triclosan. Avoid BPA and PFAS.
To reduce the exposure and impact of toxins in my teenage daughters, we pay close attention to food, water, and personal care products.
These are some steps we are taking at home:
Shop safer skincare. Beautycounter is my preferred brand and they have a couple of great options for teen skin and cosmetics. Shop my site.
Choose a natural deodorant with safer scents.
Choose safer nail polishes. No nail polish is safe, but avoiding some of the worse toxins is important. Check out FOR TMRW, Cote, and Zoya.
Limiting the amount of pesticides in foods by buying as much organic food as financially possible (buying especially organic with foods that contain fat: meats, milk, cheese as fat holds onto endocrine disruptors)
Filtering tap water with a high quality carbon or reverse osmosis filter. A Brita doesn’t cut it.
Eating loads of fruits and vegetables to support the body’s detox pathways.
Avoid fragrance in body care, hand soaps, lotions, bath bombs, candles, air fresheners, detergents, dryer sheets and household cleaners.
Grab my list of resources for safer options in all of these categories here.
Do you find it confusing or time consuming to read labels? Skincare is like the Wild West when it comes to truth in labeling. If you'd like a simple cheat sheet so that you know you are avoiding the worst toxins, grab it here. Get the Cheat Sheet