Heavy Metals: The Notorious Daredevils of Daily Personal Care Products- Mini Review

Abstract

Personal care products and facial cosmetics are commonly used by millions of consumers on a daily basis. Direct application of cosmetics on human skin makes it vulnerable to a wide variety of ingredients. Despite the protecting role of skin against exogenous contaminants, some of the ingredients in cosmetic products are able to penetrate the skin and to produce systemic exposure. Consumers' knowledge of the potential risks of the frequent application of cosmetic products should be improved. While regulations exist in most of the high-income countries, in low income countries there is a lack of similar standards. In most countries for which these legal regulations have been identified, restrictions on the permissible level of heavy metals are strict. There is a need for enforcement of existing rules, and rigorous assessment of the effectiveness of these regulations. The occurrence of metals in cosmetic products is of concern for three principal reasons: (i) the use of cosmetic products could represent a possible source of population-wide exposure daily, and often long-term exposure to metals in cosmetic products (ii) metals can accumulate in the body over time, and (iii) a number of them are known to exhibit different chronic health effects, such as cancer, contact dermatitis, developmental, neurological and reproductive disorders, brittle hair and hair loss. Some metals are potent endocrine disruptors and respiratory toxins. Moreover, some metals, such as Cd, As, Pb, Hg and Sb, are exceptionally toxic with a wide variety of chronic health effects, whereas Cr, Ni and Co are well known skin sensitizers. Since the issue of heavy metals as deliberate cosmetic ingredients has been addressed, attention is turned to the presence of these substances as impurities.

Reviewing the Side-Effects of Cosmetics on Skin and Overall Health

“…In cosmetic products, such as lipstick, makeup, lip gloss, eye shadows and facial emulsions, metal pigments, consisting mainly of metal salts and oxides, are added [15]. Such cases are [16,17]: Cadmium sulfide (CdS), lead oxide (PbO), iron oxides (Fe2O3, FeO), oxide and hydroxide of trivalent chromium (CrO3), copper, gold, other heavy metals such as mercury compounds [18], zinc and titanium oxides [17]. The addition of metals to cosmetic products is subject to a concentration limit, according to legislation [17].…”

Toxic elements determination in selected cosmetic products: Health risk assessment

“…Personal care products (PCPs) and cosmetics are designed to clean, protect, and change the appearance of external parts of the human body, and they are commonly used by millions of consumers around the world, daily (Mohiuddin, 2019). The cosmetics industry has dramatically grown since the rst half of the 20th century, PCPs have become a large-scale industrial sector, and according to the data, the global cosmetic market was valued at USD 382.88 billion in 2021 and is estimated to be USD 643.…”

“…In the US men use PCPs that contain 85 different chemicals. Many of these products are applied directly on the skin, and a lot of them near the eyes, nose, and mouth where ingredients can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream (dermal absorption), or through ingestion or inhalation, which can cause localized skin problems, or even systematic effects (Mohiuddin, 2019; Skin Deep | Sustainability at Harvard).…”

“…Some studies have shown that it is a potential human carcinogen (Leaded Eye Cosmetics: A Cultural Cause of Elevated Lead Levels in Children -PubMed). It has been reported that the level of Pb in the blood of consumers who use eye cosmetics was threefold higher than that of non-consumers (Mohiuddin, 2019). The World Health Organization established a limit of 10 ppm (Sukender et al, 2012).…”