Cosmetics Threaten Young Women’s Reproductive Health
Finding cosmetics that are free of hormone-disrupting chemicals often means paying more. An epidemiologist explains the risk, particularly for young women.
By Leslie Hart, Associate Professor of Public Health, College of Charleston
Walk through the personal care aisles of your local store and you’ll see dozens of products that promise to soften your skin, make you smell better, extend your lashes, decrease wrinkling, tame your curly hair, or even semi-permanently change the color of your lips, hair or skin.
Remember the adage “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”?
Many of product promises like these are based on chemicals that can also be hazardous to your health, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can interfere with fertility and reproduction, fetal growth and infant development.
That’s a big concern, because these products are heavily marketed to young women in the years before they might consider starting a family.
Recent studies have demonstrated that college-age women use cosmetic products at higher rates than other groups. Additionally, many of these young women are unaware of the health risks from…
