It’s something that most women don’t think twice about, but a worrying new study suggests that wearing make-up could have some unexpected side effects.
Researchers have discovered that chemicals found in make-up can affect women’s hormone levels.
In the study, a team from George Mason University looked at the link between chemicals widely used in cosmetic products and changes in reproductive hormones.
Dr Anna Pollack, who led the study, said: “This study is the first to examine mixtures of chemicals that are widely used in personal care products in relation to hormones in healthy, reproductive-age women, using multiple measures of exposure across the menstrual cycle, which improved upon research that relied on one or two measures of chemicals.”
The team analysed 509 urine samples from 143 women aged 18 to 44, who didn’t have any chronic health conditions, and didn’t take birth control.
The analysis revealed that urine samples contained chemicals including parabens and benzophenones.
These chemicals are associated with decreased reproductive hormones when women are exposed to them together.
However, other combinations of chemicals were associated with increases in reproductive hormones – underscoring the complexities of these chemicals.
Dr Pollack added: “What we should take away from this study is that we may need to be careful about the chemicals in the beauty and personal care products we use.
“We have early indicators that chemicals such as parabens may increase oestrogen levels.
“If this finding is confirmed by additional research, it could have implications for oestrogen dependent diseases such as breast cancer .”
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