Phthalates in Our Daily Lives
Stacey Myers is a 34 year old mom of 6 children; her proudest accomplishment in life is being a mother to her kids, and she certainly is good at it. Her kids are all happy and energetic, ready to face each day anew. Her oldest, a 9-year-old named Kaitlin, went to the national spelling bee last year, but claims she will not be attempting to make it there again, “It was so intimidating… standing on stage in front of all those people and speaking.” She says bashfully. Interestingly enough, she also played Clara in her town’s production of The Nutcracker, which she found exhilarating and was not at all was shy about. However, not all the kids are as accomplished. Dylan, 5, has had hearing problems since he was 9 months old, and Jacqueline, 6, struggles with reading comprehension. “Each day is a new challenge with at least one of them when we face their schoolwork, but we work together to overcome every struggle we face.” Stacey tells me with a soft smile. And that is the most remarkable thing of all, Stacey, with her 6 kids in a three-bedroom household, homeschools all of them.
Every morning, Stacey begins her day with an extensive skincare routine. Her efforts show, she does not look a day over 29. She estimates she uses about 15 or so personal care products a day, not including the makeup she puts on when the family goes out. Stacey’s routine has been commonplace in her life for over 10 years, before she had her first child. She knows it led her to better looking skin and hair and gives her more confidence as she ages. What Stacey does not know though, is what potential dangers lurk in the jars and bottles that line her bathroom counter. While Stacey works hard to ensure her children avoid the unknown dangers of the outside world, she has no idea the potential toxins lurking within her own home.
“She knows it [her skincare routine] led her to better looking skin and hair… [but] what Stacey does not know though, is what potential dangers lurk in the jars and bottles that line her bathroom counter.”
These unknown toxins should be leading the paranoria movement of mothers, both current and expectant, everywhere. In a recent study done by the Environmental Working Group, the average adult uses 9 personal care products a day, totaling to an average of 126 different chemicals they could be exposed to (2002). These chemicals have the potential to harm human systems in drastic ways, the true limit of their effects is unknown. However, there are a few things we do know.
We know that personal care products like soap, lipsticks, moisturizers, nail polish, perfume, and shampoos are used by everyone today, likely due to a collective societal obsession with hygiene and cleanliness. Good hygiene marks the difference between a job offer or a letter of rejection, a second date or a quick goodbye, and our standards of hygiene are determined predominately by the products we use.
“The average adult uses 9 personal care products a day, totaling to an average of 126 different chemicals they could be exposed to.”
We know that chemicals, like phthalates, are prevalent in shampoos, soaps, nail polishes, and perfumes. They hold scent and color well, and they are cheap to produce, so they exist in a vast range of personal care products (Payne, 2011). Phthalates are a plasticizing chemical that is a known endocrine disruptor (Hannon & Flaws, 2015). Endocrine disruptors interfere with the production, transport, use, or removal of hormones in the body needed to perform many functions (Crisp et al., 1998). Hormones that endocrine disruptors inhibit control basic functions in the body, especially those responsible for fertility and development (Crisp et al., 1998). Disruptors like phthalates have correlating effects on fertility issues in both men and women and have causational effects on fertility in tested animals (Crisp et al., 1998). In addition to these fertility issues, they hold the potential to have detrimental effects on the development of fetuses and babies (Crisp et al., 1998).
A short video (2:55) explaining what endocrine disruptors are and how they affect our bodies
Several phthalates have been classified as toxic recently, and scientists know they disrupt hormone production in the animals they are tested on, but also there is also a heavy correlation between human hormone issues and the presence of phthalates (Hannon & Flaws, 2015). While most of the data on human effects is correlational as opposed to causational, the amount of phthalates human bodies filter out is enough to cause hormone issues in fish and marine organisms that exist in human treatment water, which is concerning to say the least (Vethaak et al., 2005).
Phthalates in personal care products are easily metabolized and integrated into human systems, such as the bloodstream or urinary system. The lack of restrictions that allow this to happen are due to the way chemicals like phthalates are tested and ultimately deemed safe enough to put into personal care products. The chemicals that are tested and determined as harmless enough to place in personal care products are based on their impact as a singular chemical in an isolated environment (Damstra et al., 2002). The potential harmful effects of combined chemical reactions are not tested or analyzed in the determination of chemicals as “safe”.
A large number of phthalates are short lived in organic systems and thus are considered pseudo present (Damstra et al., 2002). However, with consistent, daily exposure, these short-lived chemicals have essentially a constant presence in humans, as shown in various studies (Janjua, Frederiksen, Skakkebæk, Wulf, & Anderson, 2008). This is extremely relevant in the case of personal care products, which are used daily, and thus the dangerous chemicals in them, deemed safe in small doses, maintain a constant and damaging effect on human systems. This presents a larger issue, as long-term exposure to endocrine inhibiting chemicals displays adverse effects of fertility and developmental health of babies. Thus, with daily, cumulative exposure to chemicals like phthalates in personal care products negative health effects are going to present themselves, the largest issue of which will in fact be related to men and women’s ability to have a child, and for that child to have a healthy life.
While both men and women use personal care products, the ratio of products used by women in comparison to men is much more. 25% of all women use more than 15 personal care products a day, and one in every 24 women are exposed to chemicals in personal care products that are detrimental to their fertility and the developmental harm of children in the womb (Environmental Working Group, 2002). The effects on unborn children are the most concerning; they are the only party not consciously making the decision to use personal care products with these chemicals.
Fetuses share the same system with their mothers as they develop in the womb, specifically the same bloodstream; what mothers ingest and possess filters to the baby as nutrients through the placenta. Studies have shown that umbilical cord plasma and placenta tissue show measures of various phthalates, demonstrating their presence in the lives of infants before they are even born (Mose, Mortensen, Hedegaard, & Knudsen, 2007).
“Exposure [to phthalates] in the womb has been linked to declined sperm count in males later in life, and the steady decrease in male fertility as new generations age shows no decline.”
The effect of these phthalates on children in their developing stages is much more impactful than that on already grown adults. The health complications that can arise in phthalate exposure in the womb can extend to adulthood for many children (Mose, Mortensen, Hedegaard, & Knudsen, 2007). Exposure in the womb has been linked to declined sperm count in males later in life, and the steady decrease in male fertility as new generations age shows no decline (Mose, Mortensen, Hedegaard, & Knudsen, 2007).
So, we know that phthalates exist in our personal care products, and through daily cumulative use they exist in human systems at a constant rate, and this constant phthalate presence is transmitted to exposure of unborn children to phthalates in the womb. This exposure has the potential to damage the health of unborn children for the rest of their lives and can have negative generational impacts as well. Lastly, while the health effects are established in correlational studies in humans, as opposed to the causational ones in animal studies, the health defects noted in causational forms with animals should be applied to the correlational setting of humans, birth and fertility defects, and phthalates. But these bleak facts have the power to alienate. We need to make a personal connection with the dangers we face, which brings us back to Stacey… and her family. These chemicals and their constant, long-term effects not only have the potential to damage Stacey’s health, but also the health of her children; who knows the damage these phthalates may have already caused. She homeschools her kids to keep them safe, and protect them from the outside world, but the great unknown is what dangers are lurking inside her own home. As Kaitlin continues to thrive in her schoolwork, along with her ballet endeavors, the question must be posed of how damaging more and more years of this phthalate exposure, especially while kids like Dylan were still in the womb, must have caused.
With all this negative information overwhelming us, it can be difficult to determine what action to take. What can someone like Stacey, someone like all of us, do? How can we establish control in a world dominated by chemicals like these phthalates? The steps we can take are small but will lead us into the right direction. First, we need to become conscious consumers. Conscious consumers are aware of what they are buying. They do the research, and they know the facts. Though personal care products might not label themselves as “full of phthalates”, products without them will in fact say “phthalate free”. All personal care products are listed on the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database by the Environmental Working Group. The database lets you see the potentially harmful chemicals in personal care products that line the shelves of every store. Other options include scouting for items without fragrance or finding items that list all the fragrance ingredients.
“We need to become conscious consumers. Conscious consumers are aware of what they are buying. They do the research, and they know the facts.”
When suggesting these options to Stacey, a problem arises. “That sounds great for families that can afford it, but what about families like ours?” she says as she shifts Adam1, her youngest child, only 9 months old, higher onto her hip. The question is a tough one. Safer products are not cheaper ones. There are more immediate health concerns for Stacey and her family, like having food on the table. And really, it is not fair that the change to less phthalates should fall on Stacey. But the practicality of the matter is this: small changes in your personal care product line will not break the bank, and you will thank yourself for it years down the line… and so will your children. You can buy healthier shampoos and soaps in bulk, and cosmetics that are better for you are similar in price to drugstore brands. In fact, many of these healthier options can be picked up in your local grocery or drugstore, you do not need to find a health food store to find them. And picking up smarter products at the store will reduce your concentration of phthalates and live a healthier life, not just for you, but also for your future children. And this direction towards the future is more important than anything else, we must make sure that we world we foster for our youth is one we would be proud to live in.
References
Anway, M. D., Cupp, A. S., Uzumcu, M., & Skinner, M. K. (2005). Epigenetic transgenerational actions of endocrine disruptors and male fertility. science, 308(5727), 1466–1469.
Crisp, T. M., Clegg, E. D., Cooper, R. L., Wood, W. P., Anderson, D. G., Baetcke, K. P., … & Touart, L. W. (1998). Environmental endocrine disruption: an effects assessment and analysis. Environmental health perspectives, 106(Suppl 1), 11.
Damstra, T., Barlow, S., Bergman, A., Kavlock, R., & Van Der Kraak, G. (2002). Global assessment of the state-of-the-science of endocrine disruptors. Geneva: World Health Organization, 11–32.
Environmental Working Group (EWG), Healthcare Without Harm, and Womens Voices for the Earth (Houlihan, Brody, and Schwan) (2002). Not Too Pretty. Phthalates, beauty products, and the FDA. Available online at http://www.ewg.org/issues/cosmetics
Hannon, P. R., & Flaws, J. A. (2015). The effects of phthalates on the ovary. Frontiers in endocrinology, 6, 8.
HGTV, (2015). Decluttering the Bathroom. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/clean-and-organize/decluttering-the-bathroom
Janjua, N. R., Frederiksen, H., Skakkebæk, N. E., Wulf, H. C., & Andersson, A. M. (2008). Urinary excretion of phthalates and paraben after repeated whole‐body topical application in humans. International journal of andrology, 31(2), 118–130.
Lin, L., Zheng, L. X., Gu, Y. P., Wang, J. Y., Zhang, Y. H., & Song, W. M. (2008). Levels of environmental endocrine disruptors in umbilical cord blood and maternal blood of low-birth-weight infants. Zhonghua yu fang yi xue za zhi [Chinese journal of preventive medicine], 42(3), 177–180.
Mose, T., Mortensen, G. K., Hedegaard, M., & Knudsen, L. E. (2007). Phthalate monoesters in perfusate from a dual placenta perfusion system, the placenta tissue and umbilical cord blood. Reproductive Toxicology, 23(1), 83–91.
Payne, S., (2011). What are Phthalates and Where Are They Found? Retrieved April 10, 2018, from http://www.justluxe.com/fine-living/health/feature-1591519.php
Thibaut, R., & Porte, C. (2004). Effects of endocrine disrupters on sex steroid synthesis and metabolism pathways in fish. The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology, 92(5), 485–494.
Vethaak, A. D., Lahr, J., Schrap, S. M., Belfroid, A. C., Rijs, G. B., Gerritsen, A., … & Legler, J. (2005). An integrated assessment of estrogenic contamination and biological effects in the aquatic environment of The Netherlands. Chemosphere, 59(4), 511–524.
