In a perfect world, we could easily maintain the smooth, even skin tone we're born with. But in real life, doing that is a huge challenge. Some females wear makeup to cover up acne and some just put it on to darken or lighten their features and think that they’re making their face look flawless. But what if the chemicals in the cosmetics that you’re spending your money on, is the reason you’re breaking out and gaining red marks? The question is: “What am I slathering on my face?” and the answer to that is petrochemicals. They’re chemical products that are made from petroleum (crude oil), which are made up of hydrocarbon molecules. Petrochemicals are in products such as moisturizers, shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes, lipstick, perfumes and soaps that are really hard to stay away from if you maintain personal hygiene daily. On average, women use approximately twelve beauty products with one hundred sixty-eight different ingredients daily, some of which may cause cancer, interfere with normal reproduction, or change hormonal chemistry. Compared to men's average daily use, six products with eighty-five different ingredients, women are more at risk for health effects from cosmetics. From the "soft, healthy-feeling" hair or skin, we support items that mostly impact our long-term health poorly. The ingredients can increase circulation of certain hormones by mimicking their activity in the body, or they can reduce the level of sex hormones in the body or block their activity. This can impact fertility, lead to early menopause and influence things like timing of menopause and mood.
Girls often start experimenting with beauty products, e.g. at birthday parties, slumber parties, or sleepovers, at a very young age, which increases lifetime exposure. Some toxic chemicals found in cosmetics, such as phthalates, can cause a wide range of health problems including liver, kidney, and lung damage. They can also affect the reproductive system and