Alternatives to animal testing of cosmetic ingredients

12 days ago was the one-year anniversary of complete prohibition of animal testing for cosmetics in the EU.

A quick background summary:
2003 -  the Directive 2003/15/EC introduced provisions in relation into animal testing into the Cosmetic Directive 76/768/EEC
2004 - animal testing for cosmetic products was prohibited
2009 - animal testing for cosmetic ingredients was prohibited
2009 - marketing of cosmetic products containing ingredients which have been tested on animals was prohibited (testing was still allowed for repeated-dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics)
2013 - complete ban on marketing of finished cosmetic products & ingredients in cosmetic products which were tested in animals for cosmetics purposes (even if no alternative tests are available!)

How, then, do scientists assess the safety of chemicals without testing them on animals?
Check out this video by the EURL ECVAM (the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing).

Mercury in mascara

Is there mercury in your mascara?

16 days ago, the United Nations’ Minamata Convention for Mercury was signed by about 140 countries. Among other measures to reduce the use of mercury, this global treaty specifies that the production and import of some products containing mercury will be banned.

As reported by Scientific American, 

‘Under a new global treaty that limits the use of mercury, some light bulbs will be banned. Some batteries, thermometers and medical devices will be banned too. But mascara is exempt.’

The reason is then explained:

‘But mascara and other eye makeup is exempt because “no effective safe substitute alternatives are available” and “the intention is not to cover cosmetics, soaps or creams with trace contaminants,” the treaty says.’

Not surprisingly, this news has sparked quite an outrage. What? Do you mean we have been applying mercury around our eyes? How can this continue to be allowed?!

So… Why does mascara contain mercury?

Some mascara products (as well as other products such as eyedrops & vaccines) may contain mercury in the form of thiomersal, which is used as a preservative. Thiomersal is an organomercury compound which contains approximately 50% mercury by weight.

Chemical structure of thiomersal

The US FDA allows mercury in eye cosmetics at a limit of 65 parts per million (which is 0.0065%, in case anyone was wondering).

As a preservative, thiomersal inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi which can spoil the products and also lead to nasty eye infections.

What harm do mercury compounds cause?

The world became aware of the toxicity of methylmercury in the late 1950s, when the dumping of methylmercury into Minamata Bay, Japan by a local petrochemical and plastics company resulted in widespread consumption of mercury-contaminated fish and shellfish. The consequences were devastating. Methylmercury proved to be a neurotoxin (affecting the nerves and brain) and led to illness, foetal abnormalities and death.

Currently, the US Environmental Protection Agency has set a reference of 0.1 µg/kg/day as a guideline for safe exposure levels to methylmercury.

Much less is known about thiomersal, which is a derivative of ethyl mercury. An animal study by Magos et al. in 1985 directly compared the toxicity of ethyl- versus methylmercury in adult male and female rats. Ethylmercury was concluded to be less neurotoxic than methylmercury. Regardless, due to the lack of data, the FDA considers ethyl- and methyl-mercury to be equivalent in its risk evaluation.

Is it possible to avoid mascara and eye products containing mercury?

According to the article by Scientific American,

‘The FDA does not require ingredients that comprise less than 1 percent of a cosmetic product to be divulged on the label, so a lot more products may have thimerosal and consumers would never know, said Kristin Adams, chief executive officer of Afterglow Cosmetics, a natural and organic cosmetic company.’

This afternoon, I did a quick survey of the ingredient labels of a few mascara products at the drugstore. Some products contained phenoxyethanol and parabens (both are preservatives) as ingredients. Some other products did not specify any preservatives on their labels. Does this mean what I think it means? Clearly, all mascaras SHOULD contain preservatives (to prevent eye infections), but the preservatives are not necessarily listed on the label because their concentrations are very low. Kristin Adams was right.

To put things into perspective,

There are many other possible ways that we could be exposed to mercury. For example, eating contaminated fish (which is the most significant source of ingestion-related mercury exposure), taking some Traditional Chinese Medicine preparations, or even accidentally breaking a lab thermometer. With the signing of the Minamata Convention for Mercury treaty, we can hope to look forward to a reduction of mercury contamination in the environment.

Personally, I don’t put on makeup very often (much to the dissatisfaction of hubby), so I am not fearful for my health right now. However, I do believe (and hope) that the increased awareness among consumers will drive the cosmetic industry to use safer alternatives as preservatives for their products. 

References:
1. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-the-public-eye-mascara-exempt-from-mercury-treaty
2. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228

Alcohols in skincare products

Today’s topic was suggested by my lovely housemate, WL! J

Should we avoid skincare products containing alcohol? There are already many articles out there on the internet discussing and debating this issue. Many articles also talk about “good” alcohols and “bad” alcohols for the skin.

Before we explore this topic further, let’s do a short revision of some ‘A’-level organic chemistry:

Chemical structures of alcohols

In chemistry, the term “alcohol” refers to any of a class of organic compounds characterized by one or more hydroxyl (−OH) groups attached to a carbon atom of an alkyl group (hydrocarbon chain, represented as R in the drawing above). (Definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica.)

The alkyl group, R, can vary in length from short hydrocarbon chains (e.g. ethanol, isopropanol) to long hydrocarbon chains (e.g. stearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol).

Short chain alcohols

1.       Ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol. It is also the major ingredient in denatured alcohol or SD alcohol.) This is the alcohol that we drink!

  

2.       Isopropanol (also known as isopropyl alcohol)

Short chain alcohols are the alcohols which are commonly said to be “bad” for the skin as they can disrupt the skin’s protective barrier and dry up the skin. In my opinion, these are not necessarily bad ingredients as they can help to dissolve active ingredients in the product & also help increase the absorption of active ingredients by the skin. (See my previous post on skin penetration enhancers.) But if you have dry skin or eczema, then you may want to avoid products containing these alcohols which can worsen the dryness.

Long chain alcohols

Due to their long hydrocarbon chains, long chain alcohols tend to be greasy/waxy and make good moisturisers. Hence, many articles call them the “good” alcohols.

1.       Cetyl Alcohol 

2.       Stearyl alcohol 

3.       Cetearyl alcohol (which is a mixture of long chain alcohols, mainly cetyl and stearyl alcohols)

4.       Lanolin Alcohol (also known as wool alcohol, produced from lanolin or “wool fat”)

A word of caution though: some people may be allergic to lanolin.

Some other alcohols…

Besides short-chain and long-chain alcohols, some other ingredients also contain “ol” or “alcohol” in their names. Here’s just a few examples:

1.       Glycols (propylene glycol, butylene glycol), glycerol (also known as glycerin)

 

Chemical structures of propylene glycol and glycerol

I suppose most people wouldn’t think of these ingredients as alcohols, but I shall include them here anyway since they are commonly found in skincare products too. LOL. Glycols have 2 –OH groups in their chemical structure, while glycerol has 3. These compounds are humectants, which bind water and help moisturise the skin.

2.       Phenoxyethanol

3.       Dichlorobenzyl alcohol (also used as an antiseptic in Strepsils lozenges!)

 

Chemical structures of phenoxyethanol and dichlorobenzyl alcohol

Both phenoxyethanol and dichlorobenzyl alcohol possess antibacterial activity, so they are sometimes used as preservatives in skincare products.

4.       Vitamins such as retinol (vitamin A), calcitriol (vitamin D), α-tocopherol (vitamin E)

From the different examples mentioned above, we can see that “alcohols” describes huge class of compounds, and different alcohols can have very different effects on our skin. I hope that this blog post has given you a better idea of some of the different types and functions of alcohols used in skincare products. J

Parabens: Cause for concern?

Increasingly, cosmetics and skincare products are being advertised to be “paraben-free”. Today, I took a quick look at the ingredients in my shampoo, conditioner, body wash and some skin care products – no parabens in them, even though I haven’t been actively looking out for paraben-free products. But what are parabens, and why the concern over their use?

A simple Google search yielded many useful articles about parabens, and among them is an article from the FDA containing information to answer enquiries about the safety of parabens used in cosmetics.

To summarize, parabens are esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and they are widely used as preservatives in cosmetics as well as in food and drugs. Methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben are the most commonly used.

Chemical structure of parabens

So, why the health scare over parabens? All the websites I’ve visited quoted the famous 2004 study by Darbre, and here I quote from the FDA article:

“A study published in 2004 (Darbre, in the Journal of Applied Toxicology) detected parabens in breast tumors. The study also discussed this information in the context of the weak estrogen-like properties of parabens and the influence of estrogen on breast cancer. However, the study left several questions unanswered. For example, the study did not show that parabens cause cancer, or that they are harmful in any way, and the study did not look at possible paraben levels in normal tissue.”

But, the FDA also assures consumers that the estrogen-like activity of parabens (which could potentially be linked to cancers) is very, very low. Furthermore, parabens are used in very low levels in cosmetics. Presently, the FDA believes that there is no cause for concern over cosmetics containing parabens.

Well, the article by FDA was written in October, 2007. Almost six years have passed now, so let’s take a look at the current perspective on parabens.

Parabens and breast cancer

After the 2004 study by Darbre, no other significant studies have tried to link parabens to breast cancer. A 2010 literature review concluded that there is no link between parabens and breast cancer.^[2]

Effect of parabens in men

Due to concerns about the estrogen-like activity of parabens, the effect of parabens on the male reproductive system has also been studied. However, animal studies in mice and rats have shown conflicting results on the reproductive effects of parabens. In humans, a study in men with fertility problems showed no correlation between sperm count/motility and paraben levels.^[3]

Paraben allergy

Though uncommon (in 0.5 to 3.5% of the population), parabens can cause allergies in some people. The allergic reaction usually appears as an eczema-like rash. Compared to other preservatives, the rates of paraben allergy are among the lowest.^[3]

The move away from paraben-containing products has led to the emergence of a wide range of alternative cosmetic products that paraben-allergic patients can turn to. However, replacing parabens with other preservatives may well lead to the placing on the market of products whose toxicity and allergenicity are not as well-documented.[4]

Current Government and Regulatory Control of Parabens^[3]

·       In the European Union (EU):  Parabens can be safely used in cosmetic products at concentrations of 0.4% for any individual paraben and 0.8% for total paraben concentrations.

·       In Denmark: In 2011, the use of parabens was banned in personal care products intended for children younger than 3 years of age.

·       In the United States: the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) has recommended the same maximum paraben concentrations as legislated by the EU. However, the CIR recommendations are only guidelines, not laws.

·       In Canada: Likewise, Health Canada agrees with the FDA and the CIR in regards to the safety of parabens and the adoption of maximum concentration guidelines. However, these are also recommendations, not laws.

Conclusion

From the current data available, it appears that parabens are still considered safe for use within the recommended limits. However, as a marketing strategy, many cosmetic and skincare companies are moving away from parabens and into more "natural" alternatives. With "natural" alternatives, there may be a higher risk of microbial contamination (germs!) and greater care must be taken to adhere to expiration dates. 

References:

1.      http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productandingredientsafety/selectedcosmeticingredients/ucm128042.htm

2.   Witorsch & Thomas. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2010 Nov;40 Suppl 3:1-30.

3.       Kirchhof & de Gannes. Skin Therapy Lett. 2013 Feb;18(2):5-7.

4.       Castelain & Castelain. Eur J Dermatol. 2012 Nov-Dec;22(6):723-7