Make-up chemicals linked to early puberty
Girls found to be affected by exposure to beauty ingredients in the womb and during childhood
CHEMICALS found in lipstick, nail varnish and deodorant could be causing early puberty in girls, a study of mothers and their daughters suggests.
The research found a linear relationship between exposure of phthalates, parabens and phenols and the onset of puberty in girls, although there was no similar observation in boys.
The link, published in the journal Human Reproduction, was there both when a daughter had been exposed to the chemicals in the womb, and while growing up.
Phthalates are found in perfumes, deodorants, soaps, shampoo, nail polish and cosmetics, while parabens are often used as preservatives in cosmetics and other personal care products.
Phenols are mostly found in soap, toothpaste, lipsticks, hairsprays, shampoos and skin lotion to increase the durability of the products, although British companies have stopped using them so often in recent years.
Dr Kim Harley, associate professor in public health at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study, said: “We found evidence that some chemicals widely used in personal care products are associated with earlier puberty in girls.
“Specifically, we found that mothers who had higher levels of two chemicals in their bodies during pregnancy – diethyl phthalate, which is used in fragrance, and triclosan, which is an antibacterial agent in certain soaps and toothpaste – had daughters who entered puberty earlier.
“We also found that girls with higher levels of parabens in their bodies at the age of nine entered puberty earlier.”
In Europe, girls are reaching maturity earlier than ever, with the average age dropping from 11 to 10 in the last 15 years. In the Twenties it was 14.6 years.
Early puberty is of concern because it increases the risk of mental health problems and risk-taking behaviour as teenagers and increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. “We already suspect that certain chemicals that are widely used in personal care products are endocrine disrupters,” said Dr Harley. “This means that they mimic, block or otherwise interfere with natural hormones in our bodies, such as oestrogen.”
Researchers followed 338 children whose mothers enrolled in a health study in the Nineties, measuring concentrations of phthalates, parabens and phenols during pregnancy and following up into puberty. For every doubling in the concentrations of a phthalate indicator called monoethyl phthalate in the mothers’ urine, puberty shifted 1.3 months earlier in girls.
For every doubling of the phenol triclosan, the girls’ first menstrual period shifted earlier by just under a month.
Dr Ali Abbara, clinical senior lecturer in endocrinology at Imperial College London, said: “This type of research could be important from a public health perspective, to inform appropriate restrictions on the amounts of chemicals that are likely to be safe in commonly used cosmetic products.”