As humans, we have only begun to seriously recognize the risks of endocrine disruptors in the last 20 years.
According to the Endocrine Society, our multiple endocrine (hormonal) systems, including those involved in fetal development, immune response, reproduction, metabolism, obesity, and brain development, may be targets of EDCs (endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs)." PEs have also been associated with epigenetic modification of DNA across generations , affecting children and even grandchildren of those exposed to the initial attack.
There are also times in our lives, such as pregnancy and puberty, when the body is more sensitive to hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (because EDCs mimic hormones).
How safe is a cosmetic product?
Cosmetic regulations around the world set product safety standards. The standards set by the EU and the UK are among the highest in the world. However, the regulated list of endocrine disrupting chemicals is still very short, while many suspect substances have not yet been listed. The process of getting a suspect ingredient on the official list takes years, if not decades.
That’s why at Skin Diligent, we went beyond the regulations. We diligently tested all of our skincare products for estrogen-type endocrine disruption, a test called EMCDDA. This is an innovative in vitro test on living cells, developed jointly by academia and French industry.
Only 16 chemical ingredients have been confirmed as endocrine disruptors by the EU (of which 14 are environmental disruptors and only 6 are human endocrine disruptors). But hundreds of ingredients (mostly synthetic) are on the list of suspect substances. We know from our own testing that there are natural ingredients that are not on the confirmed or suspected lists, but have been tested as endocrine disruptors.
In chemistry, the cocktail effect refers to the result of mixing ingredients.
The cocktail effect can create a situation where an ingredient is “triggered” by the chemistry of the ingredient mixture and becomes an endocrine disruptor. Thus, the absence of ingredients known to be endocrine disruptors is not a guarantee that the product is free of endocrine disruption. Only a test of the final formula can certify this.
That’s why one of Skin Diligent’s pillars is testing all finished skin care products for endocrine disruptors. Currently, the technology for testing skin care products on live cells is limited to estrogen-type disruptors, as these have been deemed the most dangerous, affecting human reproduction.