Introduction
One study has found that men in their 60’s in the US in 2004 had 17% less testosterone than that of a 60-year-old in 1987 [1]. Another study with danish men found a similar result.
Nearly everything you’re using or consuming could be reducing your testosterone and increasing your oestrogen. Specifically, your skincare products.
Bad Ingredients
There are two chemicals I’d like to talk through today which are Phthalates and Parabens. These are both considered Xenoestrogens which are chemicals that imitate oestrogen in the body throwing our hormonal balance off.
So where do we find these ingredients in our skincare products. Well over 75% of skincare products available contain parabens as these have been used for over 80 years as a preservative this gives products a longer shelf life and is used in products like shampoos, deodorants and moisturisers. Parabens can usually be found by looking for any ingredients with words ending in paraben.
Whereas Phthalates are a lot more difficult to find in products as technically a lot of these are contained within the fragrance term. But these again can disrupt our hormones and are used in products like moisturisers, shampoo, hairsprays etc.
Now in the US the FDA has considered both parabens and phthalates to be safe in cosmetic uses however the EU which I would consider generally speaking are much more thorough in restricting use of harmful substances than the FDA and they actually banned 6 types of phthalates in children’s toys in 1999 because of their suspected effects on hormones.
What’s The Problem?
What kind of side effects can we see with an increase in oestrogen and reduction in testosterone? Well in women a raised oestrogen level can exacerbate specific types of breast cancer and in men it can cause reduced fertility, an increase in gynecomastia which is breast tissue growth, a lack of facial and body hair and also a lack of muscle tone.
How Do You Avoid These?
You’re probably asking well how do I avoid these if they are so common in so many products, well I’ll admit it’s very difficult to avoid these completely but simply having an awareness will help you avoid your exposure massively.
But firstly, I would say you shouldn’t be using any perfumed products and if you need a nice smell it should be done with small quantities of essential oils or natural extracts. This will help you avoid Phthalates. Secondly you should read the ingredients list to avoid any parabens. Thirdly it’s better to avoid plastic if you can but specifically, I would avoid any flexible plastics, as plastics like toothpaste tubes are packed with Phthalates.
But overall to make this even easier and to avoid many other harmful ingredients it may be more suitable to just use natural products where you can, hence why we have formulated Aqneeq’s products to be as natural as they can be.
If you want to avoid these problematic ingredients then Aqneeq’s products are a great choice!