Shine OnCosmetic companies pledge to remove controversial allergen from U.K. products
Dermatologists in the U.K. are calling for a ban on a preservative found in common cosmetic and household products due to its propensity to cause allergic reactions.
The chemical, methylisothiazolinone, is used to prolong shelf life in everything from face powder to baby wipes. It is notorious for causing allergic reactions such as rashes, lumps, blisters, itchy eyes and facial swelling, which is why the British Association of Dermatologists wants a full ban on the preservative.
"The frequency of reactions to [methylisothiazolinone] is unprecedented in my experience. We’ve never seen anything quite like it," London dermatologist Dr. Ian White tells the BBC. "Contact allergy to this permitted preservative is now of epidemic proportions. Immediate action needs to be taken by industry."
Due to its status as a common allergen and irritant, all products sold in Canada and the U.S., must not contain methylisothiazolinone in concentrations exceeding 0.01 per cent.
In response to the public's dissatisfaction with the use of the chemical in products, some cosmetic companies have voluntarily removed it from a few select products.
Cosmetic giant Johnson & Johnson recently announced its intention to remove the chemical from its best-selling Piz Buin sunblock by summer 2014 in the U.K., while Molton Brown also plans to remove it from their products this month, reports the Daily Mail.
While it seems to be a move in the right direction, some experts believe that banning the substance outright is too extreme because it will likely be replaced by another equally harmful chemical.
"When it's been done before, when they've tried to have preservatives changed or banned or whatever, some other preservative has come into the marketplace that's as bad or worse," American dermatologist Dr. Joe Fowler tells the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
"I think it's a bit of an extreme answer."
He says the rising number of people with allergic reactions is due to increased exposure to the substance, which is a normal occurrence when an allergen is used more liberally in products.
The North American Contact Dermatitis Research Group, which is composed of dermatitis experts from the U.S. and Canada, has only recently begun to test methylisothiazolinone, which was approved for use in Canada in 2005, and will present their data in years to come.
Should companies be forced to ban certain chemicals because of allergies? Or is it the consumers' responsibility to avoid products that they're allergic to? Tell us in the comments below.
