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Dr Odile Bagot (Gynecologist-obstetrician)
According to a BBC investigation, major brand cosmetic products also distributed in France contain pollutants called per and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS). Used since the 1950s, these substances are linked to the occurrence of cancer and fertility problems.
Do you really know what you apply to your face, your eyelids or your lips day after day when you put on makeup? According to a survey conducted by the BBC, some of these cosmetic products from major brands contain what are known as PFAS, i.e. per and polyfluoroalkyl pollutants, which according to ANSES (the National Agency for Food Safety, environment and labor) “cause an increase in cholesterol levels, can lead to cancer, cause effects on fertility and fetal development”.
Chemical substances adopted to make products last
Why do we persist in including these substances in these cosmetics used every day if they are suspected of being harmful to health? The British media specifies it:Historically, they have been added to products to make them last longer, improve the finish and preserve the color of eyeshadows and lipsticks.”.
PFAS are therefore not uncommon in our make-up products. But the BBC mainly targets mascaras, eyeshadows, foundations and lipsticks, from three big brands:
- Urban Decay by L’Oreal;
- Revolution ;
- Inglot.
A heresy? Not really. Despite the risks that weigh on their use, PFAS are not officially banned in Europe. Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have tabled a proposal to restrict their use. In France, an action plan concerning PFAS must be made public this month.
PFAS, so-called “eternal” pollutants
According to the ANSES website, the problem with PFAS comes mainly from their very low capacity for degradation, which has earned them the name “eternal chemicals” :”These stable chemical bonds make them very little degradable chemical compounds once in the environment.” However, if they do not degrade, this means that they also settle permanently in our environment.
“Some accumulate in living organisms and end up in the food chain.. Thus, PFAS are present in homes, buildings, in certain food products, but also in the water we drink.
“This effect of PFAS on the immune system has recently been highlighted by the European Food Safety Authority, which considers that the reduction in the response of the immune system to vaccination constitutes the most critical effect for human health.completes ANSES.
“We are constantly exposed to endocrine disruptors”
For Dr. Odile Bagot, gynecologist, member of our committee of experts and author of Endocrine disruptors: war is declared (2020), it is obvious that, by their compositions, these PFAS “are endocrine disruptors”.
“While the consequences in humans are real, it is however difficult to identify the effect of a single endocrine disruptor on a biological function, in particular fertility, because women are exposed to hundreds of endocrine disruptors in permanently and every day: paracetamol, parabens, fluorinated compounds, etc.”
However, the gynecologist reminds us “Be that as it may, even if it is difficult to isolate the effect of a single substance (here PFAS), the consequences on reproduction, on hormone-dependent cancers, or on metabolic functions are the actions to fear from all endocrine disruptors. Seeking to eliminate these PFAS would be a good thing, whether they are co-factors or sole factors of these disorders.”