Average Woman Absorbs 4.4 Pounds of Chemicals Every Year From Makeup

It takes cleanser, moisturizer, make-up and a favorite lipstick to ensure the average woman is ready to face the world. But a daily routine like this leaves her with more than a polished appearance. Biochemist Richard Bence, who spent three years studying the ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries, said: "There is a growing amount of research questioning the ingredients found in conventional beauty products. The average woman absorbs 4.4 pounds of chemicals every year from makeup reports industry magazine in-Cosmetics.

• On the average day, between face creams, base, lipstick, eye shadow, hair spray and everything else, a woman can apply as many as 175 chemical compounds to their skin and hair.

• The good news: In theory, all of those chemicals are actually safe. The bad news: That's not 100% guaranteed.

• There's a group of preservatives called parabens that are in about 99% of leave-on cosmetics and 77% of rise-off ones... and some experts think they're hormone disruptors.

• What that means: they can mimic estrogen... and, too much estrogen has been linked to a higher chance of breast cancer.

The researchers also found that the average woman inadvertently eats five lipstick tubes a year... which, over the course of her life, is the equivalent of about six pounds of pure lard. Also, many women use over 20 different products a day when you include soap, shampoo, shaving foam, toothpaste, bubble bath, perfume, and hair dyes.