September06Are Cosmetics Safe To Use During Pregnancy?
Submitted by Beauty Brains Blog
Yesenia’s yes or no: I‘m three months pregnant and I want to know If I can use the Bio Ionic treatment in my hair. I’m worried about what it could do to my baby.
The Left Brain writes back:
The Right Brain has blogged before about the Bio Ionic hair straightening system and there doesn’t seem to be anything unusually dangerous about it compared to a regular permanent wave type formula. But as the two of us have said many times, we can’t give you medical advice. Just to be safe you need to check with your doctor. (You might also want to read our post on 5 Facts About Pregnancy and Skin Care.)
If it’s any consolation to you, there’s a recent article at ScienceDaily, written by Katie Bird, that indicates not all scientists are buying into the hype about cosmetics being bad for your health. Specifically the article states that the risk of fragrance use for pregnant women has been unfairly exaggerated.
Fragrances and fetuses
The controversy was based on research conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, which focused on common disorders of the male reproductive systems. The media reported their findings and warned pregnant women to stop using cosmetics products and fragrances. But, according to the professor Richard Sharpe the scientist who led the research, this “scare story” does not accurately reflect the findings of his team.
Scary story
What Sharpe’s team DID find is that a male rat’s reproductive system may be affected if the rat fetus is exposed to enough hormones during a certain developmental period. However, Sharpe says that there is no evidence that this occurs in humans. Follow the link above to read the full story for yourself. To me this looks like another case of lazy reporting standards on the part of the media.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Only you and your doctor can make decisions about what is right for your baby. But try to get all the information and weigh facts instead of jumping to conclusions based on sloppy media reporting.
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September 12th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
My OB told me about a brand called Belli - she said they are the only brand in the world that screens for teratogens, and that even organic ingredients can be harmful to my unborb baby. I bought all of Belli’s daily use items, I just feel better knowing that i am doing everything I can do to keep my baby safe, and the rest is up to the universe.