Hidden Everyday Toxins (3): Under Attack by “Transdermal Toxins”

What are Transdermal Toxins?

It literally refers to toxins gaining access into the body through the skin. For example, household cleaning agents such as detergent, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and cosmetics, are composed of many different synthetic chemicals, some of which can be absorbed through the skin. And this is what we call transdermal toxins.

Other than accumulating in the skin’s subcutaneous tissue, these chemical toxins may slowly leak into the surrounding blood capillaries and lymphatic vessels and be transported to other organ systems via the circulatory system, inflicting damage on the organ cells and tissues. Though our liver possesses detox capability, it cannot handle a toxic chemical load that keeps building up through daily use of man-made household cleaning agents. What’s more, this may lead to cross-contamination whereby different chemicals react to form new toxic substances.

These transdermal chemical toxins tend to dissolve readily in oil-based solvents, hence they usually accumulate in fatty tissues. These include

• Subcutaneous tissue in skin

The chemical toxins will be recognised by immune cells as allergens that cause a myriad of skin allergies

• Brain tissue

The neurons may be inflicted with irreversible cellular damage that triggers the onset of neuro-degenerative diseases like dementia, Parkinson’s disease. Certain chemical compounds are similar in molecular structure to neurotransmitters and hormones so they act as environmental hormones that disrupt the normal transmission of nervous signals and may cause mental conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and abnormal social behaviour

• Sex organs

These hormone-like chemical compounds destabilise the hormonal balance in females, leading to gynaecological diseases such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids and infertility problems in males too

What’s even more terrifying is the likelihood of having a malformed foetus should a pregnant mom-to-be comes into contact with many transdermal toxins every day. If not, it is also highly probable that a baby may absorb these harmful chemicals while developing inside the mother’s womb. These toxins may cause the baby’s immune system to malfunction, giving rise to allergic conditions such as autism and ADHD.

How Do Transdermal Toxins Get Into the Body?

Our skin is structured similarly to a leaf. Just like how a leaf surface has a waxy layer that acts as a protective barrier to the external environment, our skin epidermis is made up of the stratum corneum (outermost skin layer) covered by oils secreted from the sebaceous glands (sebum film) which defends our body against the constant attack of environmental threats. This protective layer is commonly known as the skin barrier. Unfortunately, when we keep using any form of chemical agents to clean and wash, our skin barrier’s protective function will be severely compromised. The reason being the main ingredients of most cleaning products consist of organic solvents and synthetic surfactants. As these ingredients work together to dissolve and remove oils or greases from the household items we wash, this chemical cleaning action similarly works on our stratum corneum that strips away the sebum film and induces the skin cell membranes to become more permeable such that harmful chemical toxins are easily absorbed into the body.

Moreover, current trends in the manufacturing of household cleansing products emphasise on cleaning efficacy which favours the use of chemical components micro in molecular size as well as being soluble in both water and oil. This means such chemical components can act as carrier molecules that dissolves and transports other harmful synthetic toxins while they penetrate easily into the body.  If warm water is used during the cleaning process, the higher the surface skin temperature, the easier chemical toxins are absorbed into the body.

Is The Absorption Rate of Transdermal Toxins the Same For All Body Parts?

The fact is that each body part absorbs transdermal toxins differently due to the variable thickness of the stratum corneum across the body surface. The thinner the epidermal skin layer, the higher the absorption rate with the most transdermal toxins being absorbed by the sex organs. In addition, body parts such as the mouth and anus are only lined with mucosal cells so they can sustain severe chemical damage without the protection of the stratum corneum. By the same token, babies who have yet to fully develop a functioning stratum corneum and the elderly whose skin epidermis have thinned considerably due to ageing tend to be adversely affected by chemical toxins found in cleaning products.

Using the absorption rate at inner elbow as the standard of comparison designated as 1

Head 3.5

Forehead 6

Chin 13

Armpit 3.6

Inner elbow 1

Palm 0.83

Back 17

Sex organ 42

Heel 0.14

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