Make-up

A week before I started chemo I bought new foundation for my skin. I got the same brand online, Nars, that I've been using for 3 years now. I bought a new bottle because I read that when going through chemo you don't want bacteria from old make-up (pre-chemo) being put on your skin. You can risk infection which is not worth it. I got the new bottle but same brand not thinking about chemical ingredients until I visited my local Sephora store a few days before chemo.

At the store I could not believe how many chemicals were in make-up. This made me do a search on my phone for ones that kept popping up: paraben, talc, fragrance. After two hours I came to the conclusion I couldn't buy anything from that store. Parabens have been linked to not only breast cancer tumors but to endocrine disruption which leads to hormone imbalance, other cancers, and nervous system impact. Fragrance contains the following listed ingredients that are also linked to cancer:

• DMDM hydantoin,
• Diazolidinyl urea,
• Imidazolidinyl urea,
• Ceteareth,
• Polyethylene glycol and PEG

I then spent my spare hours of that weekend studying makeup ingredients. I decided I needed to find make-up products that do not contain these wicked items. My mom says that I should not worry about ingredients and just get the make-up I'm used to because it looks good on me. I told her I'm not worried -- I'm just informed. Incidentally, I'm the one with a heterogeneous cancer type (a mutt from more than one source) that not only includes an endocrine disruption (estrogen positive hormone) but is on a 9/9 scale of ugly (aggressive) and invasive and now I'm going through chemo. Why would I even want to chance putting something on my skin that is known to cause cancer? That to me is the take-home message. It's a known. It's in my face -- do I want to put it on my face given the facts?

I decided to throw away all my old make-up that contain toxins. Sure, it sucks to do so because it's costly. But -- it sucks more to have cancer which is more costly. Starting fresh with new eyes and new information was the solution that made the most sense to me. So, I went shopping to a local Mother's Health market which contains a make-up counter with many healthy make-up options. I ended up going with Gabriel Cosmetics. Not only great options, but on sale! Here's their list of ingredients. Below are pictures of my field trip.

pictures of make-up counter products. These are all safe in case you are interested in looking at these as options:

These are some of the references I went through on my make-up mission. If you were limited on time, I would definitely read the first one (it's a pamphlet you can carry with just key points; the next two links are awesome, too.:

Pamphlet guide: (a one page cut-out you can carry in your wallet)
http://static.ewg.org/skindeep/pdf/EWG_cosmeticsguide.pdf

More details about the ingredients presented in an easy to read fashion:
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/top-tips-for-safer-products/#buyerbeware

The environmental working group database which collects data and performs research:
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/


More on paraben (so if a word on your ingredients contains the suffix '-paraben', it's the same thing)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraben#section_5

More on Endocrine disruptor. Nasty -- especially for premenopausal women.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor

More on Fragrance:
http://www.breastcanceroptions.org/cosmetics_and_fragrances_pose_high_risks_0.aspx

Original search starting point:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cancer+friendly+makeup&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

Paraben free cosmetics
http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/community/forums/complementary-therapies/paraben-etc-free-cosmetics

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/reduce-your-risk/tips/choose-safe-cosmetics/

http://bcaction.org/our-take-on-breast-cancer/environment/safe-cosmetics/paraben-free-cosmetics/

http://m.cancer.org/treatment/supportprogramsservices/look-good-feel-better

http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org/

http://forums.vogue.com.au/showthread.php?t=63735

http://www.specktra.net/t/104316/nars-powder-foundation-ingredients

http://thebeautybrains.com/2010/06/05/is-nars-makeup-worth-the-price-2/

http://m.sephora.com/sheer-glow-foundation-P247355

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2008/11/06/earth-friendly-makeup-how_n_139270.html

http://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/makeup-and-beauty-tips-for-breast-cancer-patients-staying-beautiful-inside-and-out-product-reviews-bath-tartes-sweet-dreams-lipstick/

http://doctornalini.com/cancer-causing-cosmetics-poisions-in-your-bathroom/