A friend of mine is a consultant for a Swiss health and beauty line of products including everything from facial cleansers to protein powders. She offered me their flagship, multi-step skincare program to try for several days, and honestly this stuff worked. Lots of people noticed my brighter, healthier looking skin. These products are high quality and not inexpensive, so before making a purchase I did more research. What I found was an ingredient of dubious merit, retinyl palmitate.Retinyl palmitate is a skin conditioning ingredient found in products such as sunscreens and toners; it is made up of palmitic acid and retinol (Vitamin A). Vitamin A derivatives have become exceedingly popular in the fight against wrinkles, mainly due to their thinning effect on the skin. Unfortunately, when exposed to UV light, retinol compounds break down and produce free radicals that can damage DNA and cause gene mutations (which can lead to cancer).
One study by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) on hairless mice (which is as close to human flesh as possible in the lab) found that a cream application including retinyl palmitate produced more tumors on the skin of those mice than in the control group exhibited. The FDA has also raised concerns that even when applied at night, daily applications of vitamin A may lead to a level of toxic build up in the body unsafe for pregnant women. In Canada, this ingredient is on a list of prohibited and restrictive cosmetic ingredients.
Although retinyl palmitate is
one of the least effective vitamin A derivatives (for wrinkle reduction) it has
wound up in over 40% of all sunscreens of SPF 30 or higher, which tout “anti-aging
benefits.” The Environmental Working Group (EWG) rates this ingredient 8 out of
10, or a high hazard on their toxicity ratings scale. Components of that rating
include a low-moderate cancer risk, and high developmental and reproductive
toxicity. Personally, I would rather have wrinkles than carcinogens and toxins.
Sources: EWG, NTP
Sources: EWG, NTP
