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Anti Aging / Find a Med Spa / Facials

 

 

The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer on Jan. 1, when Minnesota bans mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams.

 

The state apparently is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetics. When the law takes effect, Minnesota will have a tougher standard than the federal government, which allows small amounts of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup.

 

Retailers who knowingly sell mercury-containing cosmetics could face fines of as much as $700. Penalties could reach $10,000 for manufacturers who fail to disclose mercury on product labels, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

 

“Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities,” said Sen. John Marty, the Democrat from Roseville who sponsored the ban. “Every source of mercury adds to it. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t here.”

 

The cosmetics provision is part of a larger ban targeting better-known sources of mercury, such as thermostats, barometers, industrial switches and medical devices. The law also covers toiletries, fragrances and over-the-counter drugs such as eye drops, nasal sprays, hemorrhoid treatments and antiseptics.

 

State pollution regulators said they don’t know how many beauty products containing mercury are sold in Minnesota.

 

The new law is intended as a warning to cosmetics manufacturers not to use mercury, said John Gilkeson, with the state Pollution Control Agency’s toxics reduction program. Enforcement will happen mainly when consumers complain.

 

“We clearly don’t need this or want this,” Gilkeson said.

 

No other state has specifically gone after mercury in cosmetics, said Stacy Malkan with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in Berkeley, Calif. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Louisiana ban products containing more than low levels of mercury, with some exceptions. New York and Illinois prohibit consumer products with mercury, such as figurines, toys and jewelry.

 

“Personal care products contain many problematic chemicals,” Malkan said. “Many ingredients aren’t listed on the labels.”

 

Most makeup manufacturers have phased out the use of mercury, but it’s still added legally to some eye products as a preservative and germ-killer, said John Bailey, chief scientist with the Personal Care Products Association in Washington. That group doesn’t track mercury in beauty products and favors a national approach to regulating cosmetics, instead of laws that vary from state to state.

 

Federal law allows eye products to contain up to 65 parts per million of mercury. The exposure a person would get from a product used in small quantities around the eyes would not cause a problem, Bailey said.

 

“It’s added at very low levels, and for good reason,” he said.

 

Using eye makeup with mercury is unlikely to cause immediate health problems, but mercury accumulates in the body so consumers should avoid exposure whenever possible, said Carl Herbrandson, a toxicologist with the state Health Department.

 

“Mercury is bad, basically in all forms that get into the body,” Herbrandson said.

 

Mercury can retard brain development in children and fetuses, who are most vulnerable to the metal’s toxic effects. But mercury can also cause neurological symptoms in adults.

 

Mercury fumes can collect inside a jar of skin cream or a tube of mascara, and a person could inhale them when the container is opened, Herbrandson said.

 

Imported skin-lightening creams and soaps with high levels of mercury have been found in other states; they are illegal under federal law. Herbrandson said skin products with mercury are more dangerous than mercury-containing eye makeup because people apply larger quantities to their bodies.

 

Thimerosal is a light-colored crystalline powder (trade name Merthiolate) that is primarily used as a surgical antiseptic. It is a mercury based compound which can also be found in your personal care products, make up, and childhood vaccines. Because this is found in childhood vaccines, doctors have recommended that autistic children and their siblings not get vaccinated because Thimerosal can yield bad reactions. Yet, with Thimerosal also being found in numerous personal care products that you find in your local stores, you must stop to wonder what is this product doing to adults? First, it is important to understand that Thimerosal’s only role within these products is to serve as a preservative. Your child also has contact with these products. For this reason, parents of children who have Autistm, AD(H)D or any other disability, really need to know more information about Thimerosal and I plan on sharing with you all that I know.

 

Thimerosal is known widely as a first-aid product available for home use. It is also used as a preservative in cosmetics, including makeup removers, eye moisturizers, and mascaras. Some other places in which Thimerosal may be found include: soap-free cleansers; nose, eye, and ear drops; eye ointments; topical medications; and antiseptic sprays. It is also found in cleaning fluids that are used for contact lenses. Thimerosal is also used widely as a preservative in vaccines, antitoxins, tuberculin tests, and desensitization solutions.

 

Since Thimerosal is commonly found in cosmetics, eye, ear, nose preparations; and topical medications, it is important to use only ingredient-labeled products that do not list Thimerosal or any of its synonyms on the label. You also need to inform your healthcare providers that you’re allergic to Thimerosal so that they can provide you with preparations that do not contain Thimerosal. Some such vaccines include the influenza vaccine, and many heat-killed or recombinant vaccines. If you really must get such a vaccine, you should take it in your muscle since patients generally will not react to thimerosal when it is given in this way. However, you are still risking dermatitis (inflammation of the skin) which is not life threatening, so you may wish to discuss with your physician the risks versus benefits of being vaccinated with Thimerosal-containing vaccines for which there are no alternatives. Of course these are only some general guidelines for avoiding this particular allergen in your daily activities. You really should discuss this issue with your physician.

Thimerosal is also known by these synonyms: Mercurochrome? Merzonin; Merthiolate? Mertorgan; Sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate Ethyl (2-mercaptobenzoato-S) mercury

sodium salt; Mercurothiolate Merfamin; Thiomersalate Thiomersal; and Thiomersalan [(o-carboxyphenyl)thio] Ethylmercury sodium salt.

While this is not a comprehensive list, you can find Thimerosal in many products including: Antibiotics for the Eye; Cortisporin? Ophthalmic Suspension; Neosporin? Ophthalmic Solution; Nasal Preparations; Nasal Moist? AF Neo-Synephrine? Pediatric Formula, Mild Formula,

Regular Strength, and Extra Strength Nasal Spray; Ear Preparations; Coly-mycin? S Otic Cortisporin? Otic Suspension; Pediotic? Suspension; Cosmetics; Stagelight? Mascara; Vaccines; Hep-B-Gammagee? Recombivax HB?; Hyper-Tet? Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids; Influenza (live virus vaccines) may or may not contain Thimerosal.

 

Now, if you react to Thimerosal, you should know that you may also react to these other substances: Other organic mercury compounds (ie metallic mercury, as in dental fillings) and Piroxicam (Feldene?)

 

Anti Aging / Find a Med Spa / Facials