Nanoparticles

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Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry Stacy Malkan See book keywords and concepts

However, nanoparticles, being so tiny, have the potential to penetrate unusually deeply into the skin and organs, causing exotic physical effects. Animal studies show that some nanoparticles can penetrate cells and tissues, move through the body and brain and cause biochemical damage.25 As one example, carbon fullerenes — also called buckyballs, and currendy being used in some moisturizers — can cause brain damage in fish, and even low levels of exposure can be toxic to human liver cells.

The group filed the first-ever legal challenge on the potential health impacts of nanotechnology in a 2006 petition to the FDA, demanding that the agency monitor and regulate nanoparticles in cosmetics. Hundreds of personal care products already contain nano-sized ingredients, and thousands more contain ingredients that are available in nano form but don't include information about particle size on the labels, according to a Skin Deep analysis. Since nano-sized ingredients are absorbed differendy into the body, they require separate safety studies.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said the agency has no evidence that nanoparticles in products pose hazards. Revlon and L'Oreal did not respond to the reporter's calls seeking comment. Estee Lauder spokeswoman Janet Bartucci said the company would review the Friends of the Earth report, and gave assurances that "consumer safety has always been a top priority at the Estee Lauder Companies.

Lisa Archer from Friends of the Earth said she thinks corporations should "stop treating their customers like guinea pigs" by putting nanoparticles into personal care products before the materials are proven safe. In the absence of federal regulations, some cities are trying to get a handle on the situation. Berkeley, California became the first city to regulate nanotechnology in December 2006, and other cities may follow suit.

Under the Berkeley law, companies and research labs that make or use nanoparticles must disclose that fact to the city government and provide information about known health or safety risks. What Should I Buy? "Just tell me which ingredients to avoid." It's the most common reaction people have upon hearing about the toxic cosmetics problem. Naturally, everyone wants the quick fix, the easy shopping list. But unfortunately, it doesn't exist.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

As it turns out, under real-world conditions, normal handling of carbon nanotube-based materials doesn't result in dangerous levels of nanoparticles. And researchers are finding ways to reduce the toxicity of the most dangerous nanotubes dramatically: a recent minor modification reduced the cytotoxicity (the dose at which 50 percent of affected cells die within forty-eight hours) by more than 10,000 times, making the modified nanotube essentially nontoxic.

Colloidal Minerals and Trace Elements: How to Restore the Body's Natural Vitality Marie-France Muller, M.D., N.D., Ph.D. See book keywords and concepts

At the present time this technology stands alone in its capability to produce nanoparticles without using electrochemical procedures and to boost zeolite potential to a level never previously attained in the domain of living things.

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