Did you know that by the time you left your home this morning, the average woman would have exposed herself to over 200 chemicals and a man to around 100. This may be surprising to you but only 80% of the ingredients in your personal care products have been assessed for their impact on human health.

The demand for fake tan products has grown significantly in the past decade due to skin cancer increasing, however, there is large amounts of research questioning the adverse health effects associated with many of the ingredients in fake tan products. This is particularly focusing on its impact on women of reproductive age and pregnant woman.

Unfortunately the cosmetic industry is largely self regulated which means little or no regulation at all. For example, when a product says Organic on a label, it actually has nothing to do with it being pesticide free but actually referring to the fact that it contains an atom carbon. The great majority of these types of ingredients that are unregulated are derived from petrochemicals, and several are known carcinogens however “they are are present in acceptable limits”.

For example, many of the phthalates group have been banned by the European Union but are still continued to be present in many many products sold in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

A 2012 UN report on hormone disrupting chemicals has uncovered the infiltration of our homes with over 800+ chemicals and raises concerns about their link to breast, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancers.

So what exactly does this have to do with fake tan?

Fake tans contain chemicals in the group of endocrine disrupters or xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are a type of chemical that can alter the normal function of hormones in our bodies. When these chemicals make their way in to our bodies, they have the ability to mimic our natural hormones and block or bind hormone receptors, which can have a big impact on hormone-sensitive organs.

The specific types of ingredients of highest concern include:
Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate — this masquerades as a ‘natural preservative’ and also been found to contain formaldehyde (added during processing) and may break down into formaldehyde once it has permeated the skin.

Parabens & Pthlalates (methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben commonly used as a preservative)

Oxybenzone (benzophene-3) - Linked with respiratory issues

Padimate-O - Linked with decreased sperm health

Phenylenediamine - Linked specifically with skin and eye irritation and asthma.

Tricloan - Linked specifically with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)

Artificial fragrances to name just a few of a long list of hormone disrupting chemicals - Check out my blog here on artificial fragrances

Explaining further - endocrine disrupters mimic, block or change the way in which a specific hormone in the body is expressed. Unlike other toxins, endocrine disrupters exert their effect at levels far below what is considered to be harmful. It is the timing and duration of exposure and not the dose that determines what impact these chemicals have on the body. Consequently the authorities way of regulating these chemicals by providing acceptable limits in our food, personal and household products is futile. This is a major concern when you consider that animal studies have indicated that the production of testosterone in an unborn male foetus can be significantly altered at only two weeks of pregnancy – the time when most women don’t even know they are pregnant!

As a result of their research on phthalates in 2006, the Danish government launched a campaign to warn pregnant women not to use cosmetics and personal care products. There is mounting evidence to suggest that exposure to these chemicals may cause reproductive changes (early puberty, low sperm count, undescended testes, infertility), behavioural problems and various cancers (breast, cervical and prostate cancer). There is mounting evidence to suggest that the introduction of hormone disrupting chemicals in our foods and household products over the past 60 years maybe responsible for the decline in the age of puberty, doubling in the incidence of breast and testicular cancer, infertility, obesity, diabetes and ADHD.

Subsequent research supported the idea that inhaling spray-on tanning chemicals could potentially raise your risk for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Please see below for references to the above studies. While there is not many studies completed on specific types of fake tans - all of the above ingredients in the fake tans are tested and studied in the below articles.

Remember also that when these chemicals are all bunched together in 1 product they can become even more toxic.