Exposure to microplastics
Cosmetics are full of microplastics
Using a variety of cosmetics and personal care products is one of the most prominent ways our bodies are exposed to microplastics. Take lipsticks for example; often, lipsticks contain microplastics like Polyethylene or Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET). People are likely to ingest lipstick accidentally through consuming food or licking their lips while wearing it. What happens to the ingested plastic particles in our body?
Our tests show that every time you use anti-wrinkle cream, you put about 90,000 plastic particles on your face! Some plastic particles in this facial cream are smaller than the average diameter of a human hair (60-80 μm) — we found particles that were as small as 1,6 μm. If microplastics manage to enter our body, they have the potential to interfere with our organs.
Is my body at risk?
There is strong evidence that our bodies are at risk. Every day we are exposed to plastics and their additives in a variety of ways, including through the use of cosmetics. Plastic particles have detected in human faeces for example; but what does plastic do to our bodies?
Exposure to microplastics
This is alarming. We are exposed to all kinds of plastic and their additives, such as phthalates that are packed into our everyday cosmetics. Many of these additives are hormone disruptors which are shown to have harmful effects on life, especially when exposure occurs in developmental stages. Even more alarming is the fact that the vast majority of additives have not been tested at all!
What can microplastics do to our bodies? We deserve to know! Are you curious about what other types of plastic and their additives are lurking around you? Visit the Plastic Health Coalition website to find out more.
Plastic Test Lab
Do you want to know if there are plastics or dangerous plastic additives in cosmetics and personal care products? We sure do! That’s why we’re going to test a wide variety of products over the course of coming years with our sister campaign: Plastic Health. All these products and more will be tested in a lab by Vrije Universiteit (VU) of Amsterdam.
