Historically, people have gone to great, and sometimes painful, lengths to look good – think foot-binding and constrictive corsets. Some of today’s practices are really no better. In fact, some of them could even do you great harm. Here’s a look at what some people will do to feel beautiful, though in the long run these practices may not leave them feeling better.
Tanning to Death
In a study published in the April issue of JAMA Dermatol, startling statistics were released: The number of skin cancer cases attributable to indoor tanning was greater than the number of lung cancer cases caused by smoking. More than 419,000 cases of skin cancer in the United States alone were due to indoor tanning, and almost 6,200 of those cases were melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Indoor tanning – using ultraviolet radiation from devices to achieve that bronzed look – has been classified as a known human carcinogen by the World Health Organization.
This method of tanning is especially popular among the younger set: Fifty-five percent of college students and 19 percent of adolescents have admitted to indoor tanning. That’s not-so-great news given that the risk of skin cancer is greatest in those exposed at a younger age.
If you want to look good, indoor tanning, let alone tanning in general, may not be best. Not only does it “increase the chances of getting skin cancers of all types – basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma – but indoor tanning [also] causes uneven pigment with dark spots and white spots, wrinkles, thickening of the skin and broken blood vessels,” says Debra Jaliman, a New York City-based dermatologist and author of “Skin Rules.”
There are simply no safe levels of indoor tanning, Jaliman warns. “The safest alternative is to use a bronzing gel or a self-tanner.” This advice appears to be catching on: At the Victoria’s Secret fashion show earlier this month, 3.5 liters of faux tan were used on models to achieve the desired look.
Beware the Blowout
Some women may view their curly locks as a curse. Beauty salons have responded with what they tout as a cure: hair-smoothing treatments such as the Brazilian Blowout. In 2011, both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Food and Drug Administration warned the industry about this “miraculous” panacea for unruly hair. Both stylists and clients were being exposed to formaldehyde, a cancer-causing agent, at levels that surpassed OSHA’s limits.
A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in August 2013 found that the Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution – touted as the original Brazilian Blowout and one of several hair-smoothing products known to release formaldehyde – contained 12 percent formaldehyde despite recommendations that salons use products with no more than 0.1 percent.
When the product is used as instructed, formaldehyde, a colorless, strong-smelling gas, is typically inhaled. Reported reactions have included rashes, nose bleeds, irritation to the eyes and throat, blurred vision, headaches, dizziness, coughing, chest pain and vomiting – all this, in addition to the fact that formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Yet thousands of salons continue to use Brazilian Blowout products. Want straight hair? It might be best to invest in a flat iron.
Poison in a Jar
The perfect complexion – it’s an ideal many strive for and go to great lengths to get. For some that means using creams containing mercury, a toxic element, which claims to lighten skin, banish blemishes and age spots, fade freckles and treat acne.
In the last four years, some 60 people have been diagnosed with mercury poisoning from skin creams in California alone, prompting the California Department of Public Health to issue warnings about these so-called beauty products. After using said creams, these consumers reported experiencing irritability, forgetfulness, depression, insomnia, fatigue and numbness or tingling in the arms, fingers and hands. “Some of these symptoms haven’t been seen as a result of mercury poisoning since the first half of the 20th century,” the agency says.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
from U.S. News - Health http://ift.tt/1GflfjC
No comments:
Post a Comment