BHT?
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free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:20 pm

So I was looking at the ingredients in Fresh's Rice Dry Oil (wondering if I could make something similar, as it's 48 bucks for 3.4 oz).
Jojoba Oil (Buxus Chinensis), Borage Seed Oil (Borago Officinalis), Grape Seed Oil (Vitis Vinifera), Rice Bran Oil (Oryza Sativa), Ginseng Extract (Panax Ginseng), Passionflower Extract (Passiflora Incarnata), Arnica Extract (Arnica Montana), Camellia Extract (Camellia Oleifera), Orange Oil (Citrus Aurantium Dulcis), Grapefruit Oil (Citrus Grandis), Bourgeon de Cassis (Ribes Nigrum), Spearmint Oil (Mentha Viridis), BHT.

And I wondered what BHT was...so I googled it.

(butylated hydroxytoluene) this poorly tested preservative is implicated by some scientists as a cause of liver damage, metabolic stress, fetal abnormalities and serum cholesterol increase.

AND
Synthetic preservative. Cancer causing agent used in preserving dog food.

AND
BHT is the common abbreviation for butylated hydroxytoluene, a fat-soluble compound used as an antioxidant food additive, and as an antioxidant in rubber and petroleum products. It is also an ingredient of embalming fluid.

Apparently it is banned in food use in Japan and Australia, but not in the US. I wonder if it has harmful effects even on the skin? OY!
Could this be the same stuff?!?!?!?
I'm alarmed that this is in a skincare product...or that poor doggies get fed this!

Am I being silly???

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:29 pm

Looks like good detective work to me and it has me wondering if this has anything to do with the brand being discontinued in the UK market...

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 4:36 pm

Hi,
Here is an abstract from the International Journal of Toxicology

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12396675&dopt=Abstract

"BHT is the recognized name in the cosmetics industry for butylated hydroxytoluene. BHT is used in a wide range of cosmetic formulations as an antioxidant at concentrations from 0.0002% to 0.5%. BHT does penetrate the skin, but the relatively low amount absorbed remains primarily in the skin. Oral studies demonstrate that BHT is metabolized. The major metabolites appear as the carboxylic acid of BHT and its glucuronide in urine. At acute doses of 0.5 to 1.0 g/kg, some renal and hepatic damage was seen in male rats. Short-term repeated exposure to comparable doses produced hepatic toxic effects in male and female rats. Subchronic feeding and intraperitoneal studies in rats with BHT at lower doses produced increased liver weight, and decreased activity of several hepatic enzymes. In addition to liver and kidney effects, BHT applied to the skin was associated with toxic effects in lung tissue. BHT was not a reproductive or developmental toxin in animals. BHT has been found to enhance and to inhibit the humoral immune response in animals. BHT itself was not generally considered genotoxic, although it did modify the genotoxicity of other agents. BHT has been associated with hepatocellular and pulmonary adenomas in animals, but was not considered carcinogenic and actually was associated with a decreased incidence of neoplasms. BHT has been shown to have tumor promotion effects, to be anticarcinogenic, and to have no effect on other carcinogenic agents, depending on the target organ, exposure parameters, the carcinogen, and the animal tested. Various mechanism studies suggested that BHT toxicity is related to an electrophillic metabolite. In a predictive clinical test, 100% BHT was a mild irritant and a moderate sensitizer. In provocative skin tests, BHT (in the 1% to 2% concentration range) produced positive reactions in a small number of patients. Clinical testing did not find any depigmentation associated with dermal exposure to BHT, although a few case reports of depigmentation were found. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel recognized that oral exposure to BHT was associated with toxic effects in some studies and was negative in others. BHT applied to the skin, however, appears to remain in the skin or pass through only slowly and does not produce systemic exposures to BHT or its metabolites seen with oral exposures. Although there were only limited studies that evaluated the effect of BHT on the skin, the available studies, along with the case literature, demonstrate no significant irritation, sensitization, or photosensitization. Recognizing the low concentration at which this ingredient is currently used in cosmetic formulations, it was concluded that BHT is safe as used in cosmetic formulations."

So it sounds like it can do nasty things if ingested but slowly gets through the skin. The concentrations used for their antioxidant activity are too "low" to cause safety concerns. I am paranoid enough, though, that I think that I would rather avoid anything with BHT in it.

The entire paper is 77 pages...but I can email the PDF of it to you if you want to see the whole thing for yourself.

priscilla

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:01 pm

Priscilla...thanks so much for this. I'm not sure I'd understand anymore (so many scientific terms and such...there's a reason I'm a graduate student in Humanities Laughing

) but thanks sooo much for finding this.

I think it makes me realize how much more I need to be "label aware." I do believe I will be avoiding the Dry Rice oil.
FYI...these other products (which I've used from Fresh) have it as well!!!

Fresh Rice Sake bath (I bet this means my Memoirs of a Geisha Sake bath does too? I used this as a LIP BALM!!!)
Milk Formula Bath Foam AND the body lotion
Sugar Bath shower gel
Sugar Shea Butter (does the chocolate-orange one have it too?)
Sugar Lychee body lotion

Looks like most of their body moisturizers do.

My Rice body cream does NOT have it.

And this is just ONE line!!!

EDIT: Their super popular Soy Cleanser has BHT too! And the Fresh Sugar Deodorant which I have used...I mean, I sometimes cut myself when shaving my underarms, then put this on...NO MORE!!!
AND their Sugar LIP treatment! I can't believe I almost bought that!!!

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 6:29 pm

Paris, good research work. And thanks for letting us all know about it.

I don't think for a minute you're being silly about your BHT concerns. Even though those papers say it only penetrates into the skin in small doses, you are young and what would happen over a lifetime of use of these products? I myself am not willing to find out!

Thanks for the info.

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:31 pm

It's just scary to think, I mean, it's been banned for food use in Australia and Japan, like I mentioned, yet Fresh uses it in their LIP treatment...obviously you can't help but ingest what goes on your lips.

I'm SO glad I didn't end up purchasing that...I've been lemming for it for so long, and that has all since ceased since reading this. I'm so tempted to go back and add this new-found info to some of my reviews on MUA I've done with Fresh products that have BHT in it.
But I don't want to scare people.

Embarassed

free skin care · Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:45 pm

ParisTroika wrote:

... I'm so tempted to go back and add this new-found info to some of my reviews on MUA I've done with Fresh products that have BHT in it.
But I don't want to scare people.

Embarassed

You'd be doing them a service by providing the information - its their choice to be scared or not and to either use or repurchase the product or not. Think of it that way! Smile

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