"More than half of the make-up products in US and Canada contains chemicals risking low birth weight and causing the collapse of your baby's immune system."
I was so shocked to learn this fact after I read a report posted by the research team of the University of Notre Dame on 15th June 2021.
The research tells us that 52% of the make-up products out of over 200 make-up products sold and used in the US and Canada, such as concealers, foundations, eye make-up, and lip make-up, contained a high concentration of fluorine compounds (PFAS).
PFAS is known to be highly hazardous and is also called as "Forever Chemicals", because it consistently accumulates inside the human body and never degrades, causing various diseases such as thyroid disease, liver damage, cancers, and immune deficiencies, etc.
Among all those negative impacts of PFAS, what concerns me the MOST is that they may cause:
1. LOW BIRTH WEIGHT and
2. COLLAPSE OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM (immunotoxicity) of our coming babies.
These are crucial facts to know, especially for those who are now pregnant and directly impact our babies.
A study in 2019 from Örebro University, Sweden, evaluated that exposure to PFAS during pregnancy significantly affects the rate of low birth weight. Out of 1,533 mother-child pairs, the babies with higher exposure to PFAS in the womb had an average weight of 136 grams (approx.5 ounces) less than the lowest exposed quartile.
The University of Southern Denmark found out that a baby's exposure to PFAS inside the womb significantly increased fever infections among infants aged 1–4 years.
Other studies even showed that infants exposed to PFAS during pregnancy and early infancy might have less immunity to various infections and even reduce immune responses to vaccinations in the future.
After knowing all such terrible facts, I became very conscious about the materials that contact my body: clothes, foods, and cosmetics.
As with make-ups, although I started to reduce the frequency and amount of use every week, it turned out to be almost impossible to completely restrict myself from it – unless I could be brave enough to show up in meetings with no make-ups suddenly!
While struggling with this dilemma for a while, I recollected a useful product from the dermatology-based skincare brand I have interviewed before.
Geologist Herbal Claypack is a unique clay pack that applies a clay called montmorillonite, made from the volcanoes 65 million years ago that generates a nano-molecular shield of clay minerals. This clay's unique property enables the product's use in the daytime with your make-ups protecting you from their toxics.
It generates a "veil" like layer, protecting the skin from contaminations of the make-ups and also providing an intense moisturizing effect even while you have your make-ups on.
The product has 3 important functions:
The product is also made with dermatologically effective botanical ingredients such as Yuzu Ceramides and Snow Fungus Extract. It also minimizes the use of chemicals by processing the ingredients with an original fabrication method of infusing, chilling, and filtering (which is also the origin of the brand name) using natural fresh spring water collected from the fresh creeks.
If you're pregnant or have any concern about your make-up toxics getting in contact with your skin, this kind of natural protection approach is one of my best-recommended methods. After all, I am managing to have some light make-ups with this product when I go out, keeping my raw skin protected from any unexpected harmful ingredients.
Safety-proven with zero-irritation through dermatological testing, it's also suitable for both kinds of people who initially have or are now experiencing sensitive skin due to pregnancy.
Here's the link: