The college of pharmacy at the University of Baghdad has organized an electronic workshop entitled “Toxic chemicals in beauty products” delivered by the lecturer Shaimaa Luay Abdul Hadi from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Branch via Zoom platform. The workshop witnessed discussions on how to prepare cosmetics, which are a group of chemical compounds, whether natural or industrial and have attracted the interest of some health authorities as a result of some of negative observations recorded through their application to some, especially in the most sensitive areas such as the face and their effect on skin or the nervous system in a subtle way.
Also another important matters were addressed such as the most toxic mineral ingredients in cosmetics, including lead, where it accumulates on the skin and then absorbs it to develop lead poisoning, leading to poor memory and some muscle pain, etc., in addition to quicksilver which often present into the making of mascara, where its accumulation in the body leads to a damage to the brain, heart and lung alike, while aluminum and potassium often enter in the composition of antiperspirants leading to blocked underarm pores, stating that many physicians regard such products as the main cause of breast cancer for these preparations specifically cadmium and that the most toxic organic ingredients in cosmetics are toluene, benzophenone and paraben derivatives. At the conclusion of the workshop, the lecturer talked about how to avoid the harms of these products, focusing on the history of manufacture and expiration, the nature of the ingredients to investigate whether they are suitable for the skin or not, avoiding products containing skin lightening materials for their subsequent bad effects, in addition to avoiding powder makeup as they block skin pores directly, other anonymous products or hair dyes as much as possible for they cause cancer later.
