July 16, 2025 • 25 mins
Microplastics in your cosmetics. Is this a problem? Does it hurt your body? Do we know the research on this?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
EGM Network.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
From Studio A in Sunny Florida. Welcome to Beauty and
the Beach Radio, where it's all about who's beautifying Vero Beach.
Today's show is brought to you by Dale Sawrenson real
Estate and here's your host and Glamour Girl makeup artist
Cindy Gets.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hey, guys, welcome back to Beauty in the Beach Radio.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
We hope you've had a great week, and today we're
going to be talking about beauty's dirty little secret. That's right,
hang on, so you know what I'm talking about. It's big,
it's crazy, but stick with me, so listen to this, guys,
all right. A study published in March twenty twenty three
(00:53):
showed that a growing plastic smog, now estimated to be
over one one hundred seventy trillion plastic particles, is choking
our oceans, which means are of course beautiful Atlantic Ocean
as well, and the research states that urgent solutions are required. Now.
(01:16):
One of the biggest issues we face right now, all
right is microplastic pollution. Microplastic pollution which also affects human health. Okay,
that is what we're talking about today. It's a big
one now, human consumption of microplastics has increased sixfold worldwide
(01:40):
since nineteen ninety, mapping microplastic ingestion across one hundred and
nine countries. So yeah, if you're drinking out of a
plastic bottle, put it down right now, Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Now.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles commonly found in a wide
range of products, including you, guys, cosmetics just like that
favorite tube of lipstick that you have right now, and
personal care items so hard to believe. While plastics found
in beauty products are often used as exfoliance okay, film formers,
(02:21):
or to enhance product texture and longevity. Now, so to
get the low down on microplastics and what they do
to us, I've got an expert on the show today
and we're talking about his favorite subject and mine, the skin.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
So please welcome. He is my guest.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
He is a husband, he is a father, he's a novelist,
and a dermatologist. He completed his residency at New York
Medical College. He practiced for over thirty years in Vier Beach, Florida,
and specialized in adult and pediat dermatology. Our guest was
also recognized as top Florida doctor in dermatology in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yay wady guys.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
He recently concluded his practice at Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery. Currently,
when he's not traveling, he serves as the lead dermatologist
volunteer for we Care, a nonprofit medical center that provides
services to low income residents right here in Indian River County.
He's definitely beautifying Vera Beach. Please welcome back to Beautying
(03:37):
the Beach radio, Doctor Patrick o'tusso well.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
You look great. Retirement must be doing well for you.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
I'm enjoying it. But you forgot one thing again?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
What did I forget?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
My grandfather?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Oh shoot, I got to write that in my notes.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Brand I'm soon to be a grandfather at times too.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Oh my goodness. And when's that? When's number two?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Number two is dude? You say number second and it's
a girl.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Oh my gosh, talk about a great Christmas.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
That's how you put magic. Yes, doctor Tussa, that is
so exciting, thank you. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
You should see if you're listening to radio. He's got
a big smile right now. Hopefully you're seeing it on camera.
But he's a, he's a are you grandpa, grandfather?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
What's your name?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
So far?
Speaker 4 (04:24):
On?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Papa?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Papa? So far?
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Okay, So we'll see how it goes. What would you
like to be called Papa's fine?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Okay? I love that.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
So you and I share something in common. You know,
I am a makeup artist, you're a dermatologist. We both
work with skin. Yes, okay. And you actually approached me
a while ago and you said, Cindy, you know, I
would really like to discuss microplastics and cosmetics. Now that
is not something that's really out there yet, and it
(04:57):
just really kind of rocked me out.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
And yes, let's get it out there and off air.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
You and I have discussed. It's not something that is
very public yet. No, it's not so so part of
this is just really educating the public. It's kind of
big arms to wrap around. As I mentioned earlier, you know,
if we were to step back from the cosmetic issue,
plastics in general is a huge problem.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Absolutely. It's entering our oceans, our rivers, our streams through
many different conduits and once it gets into that arena,
it then winds up in the food chain, which obviously
affects us indirectly and some of the things we're using
on our skin. We don't really know whether microplastics are
(05:48):
bad for us yet as far as in cosmetics, but
we do know that wash off products that contain microplastics
do wind up in the food chain because the water
system that they have now to filter these things do
not capture the microplastics, so they wind up in our food.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
So for instance, salmon, yes, you know, so salmon's be
is in being raised, you know, and water that is
piped out with plastic, we eat the salmon, and then
autopsies down the road show that we have I'm really
simplifying people's show that there's plastics you know, in our.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
In our bodies.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Absolutely, so that's just one very generic way of finding
that in our bodies.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Well, it's scary because we found out that microplastics do
pass through what's called the blood brain barrier, so it
winds up in brains. It also passes through the placenta
and winds up in fetuses and embryos. So the question
is do these microplastics have any bad effects on us?
(06:57):
And there's not a lot of research out there right
now saying yay or nay, but some studies which are
non human studies have pointed to the fact that these
microplastics can cause issues such as Alzheimer's. One study points
toward potential for lupus like changes. Another study points toward
(07:19):
kidney issues liver issues. So I think we're really touching
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to microplastics,
which is why I'm trying to get this information out
both to consumers and also two physicians who may not
know much about this.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
So for those that are, you know, when I introduced
the show and we're talking about cosmetics and you've got
men out there going, Okay, I don't wear makeup.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
This has nothing to do with me.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
It still has everything to do with them, because I
want them to see the bigger picture. And you mentioned
that in a certain amount of time, i'd like for
you to tell the audience about the fish and the plastic.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Well, it's said because and I started on this endeavor
when I was studying years ago, when marine armatology discussing
issues regarding in venomations of fish and so on, and
they came across an article regarding dolphins who are now
ingesting and inhaling microplastics. So it's not just a female problem,
but cosmetics, because we're now finding these microplastics are being
(08:17):
used in shampoos, conditioners, body moisturizers, even some toothpastes. So
we're all coming in contact with these microplastics one way
or another, and we probably ultimately can never completely get
away from them, which is sad.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
That's a very good point.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
So whether you are ingesting it, whether you are putting
a cream on your body, whether it's from the ocean
like a dolphin or a salm or not, you know, salmon,
but you're one way or another, it's going to get you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yes, And we're also inhaling it. Some of these plastic
products which are not making it too recycling so to speak,
wind up in incinerators getting burned, and when they're burned,
the microplastics are then placed into the environment in the air,
which we then breathe.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Wow, it's so big here. So our sources of microplastics
you pretty much just covered.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
But just give them kind of another.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
So the sources of microplastics, your plastic litter li.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I mean, water bottles. Many of the products we use
are made of plastic. The unfortunate thing is that once
we use them, only five or six percent of plastics
are getting recycled, which is said the rest as I mentioned,
the winding up in landfills becoming incinerated, and winding up
in the waterways, which and even in the food supply,
(09:42):
even on farms where they're using some of this what's
called sewer sludge actually as a fertilizer, and the sewer
sludge contains the microplastics which then wind up in our
food from farmers.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Oh my goodness. And for those that have the blue bins,
and they're no offense to our counties, but you know,
us worldwide, whatever you're saying that even though you're recycling,
it's not all getting recycled.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Most likely it's not. Whether it's Bureaubach or not, I
cannot say, but in general, as a general statement for
the United States recycling, it's approximately five to six percent
of what we're thinking is getting recycling.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So even though they're buying all these you know, plastic
bottled waters and gatorades or whatever it is, they're like, oh,
I'm doing my part.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Well that's not enough.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well the problem with that also is that with plastic bottles,
if you're drinking bottled water. You mentioned it originally the
filters for water use nylon, and nylon is one of
the filtration devices which then breaks down over time, creating
what's called polyamide. That's one of the more common plastics.
So the microplastics of polyamide wind up in our water
(10:49):
that we're drinking from the plastic bottles. So we drink
probably in each bottle of water on average. Research shows
as about two hundred and forty thousand nanoplastic particles in
each bottle water.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Wow. Now correct me if I'm wrong, doctor, but I
believe plastics came out during war time to make it
make it easy.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Easier for the soldiers.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And what's happened now, it's been so freaking convenient and
easy that we now just we don't even think about
the consequence.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's just easy, easy, easy. You know our containers that
hold our food, you know ziploc bags. I mean, it's
just it's everywhere, it's everywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yes, And the problem with the plastics is that in general,
it's easier to create new plastic cheaper than to recycle
older plastic. So that's one of the problems. And you know,
we've had plastic now since nineteen oh seven. It was
originally created the first synthetic fully synthetic plastic. So it's
(11:51):
been around since nineteen oh seven. It's been used in
many things, and as we discussed earlier, they even used
micro regular plastics for baby supplies.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yeah, you brought a little show and tell, can you
can you get that for us? So I failed? I
think Cindy, you passed. No, you were close to guessing
what it was. Yes, close.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
So if you'll hold it for the camera right near
the micro there you go. Okay, So for those of
you watching he's holding up it's like two red rings
and then like almost like it looks like although it
is all plastic, I believe it's a little it looks
like a little wooden rod in between the two small
rings that are like quarter size, and then you've got
these little discs that maybe four or five discs that
(12:32):
are on the little kind of wooden looking rod in
between the two two medium size circles. So yeah, I
didn't know what it was, so go ahead and tell
everybody what it is.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So this is a product which it's actually made from
bake Light, which is the first synthetic plastic that I mentioned,
made in nineteen oh seven, and this is from the
late nineteen fifties, which I actually found in its original
box on eBay. This is a teething ring, So this
was given to babies to teeth on, to chew on
(13:07):
in order to satisfy them. Wow, so we've been we've
been ingesting these kind of plastics for many, many years.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Unfortunately, that is insane.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
And then while we're on Show and Tell, you did
bring another prop I did?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, okay, show is that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
This is the newer biodegradable styrofoam, which now degrades usually
within five years, as opposed to regular styrofoam, which may
take up to five hundred years to degrade. So I'm
hoping that more and more institutions use this product in
order to at least somewhat alleviate the problem with styrofoam.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Let me make sure people heard you five years versus
five hundred years. Yes, that's that's crazy, yep.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
And more and more restaurants and certain you know, retail spaces,
they're promoted that aren't they that you know using this one.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
For instance, I got from a local golf course. Okay, So,
and I was very happy to see you.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, all right, So okay, so the exposure
routes you just inhalation, which I don't think people even
think about.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It's true, that's true.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
So give us an example. You did earlier, but go
ahead and give us an example of that.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
As I mentioned that microplastics are found, they become aerosolized
in the air, either from incineration or they could also
become aerosolized as products break down over time in landfills. So,
for instance, sunlight degrades plastics and as they degrade, they
then become aerosolized into the air.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
WHOA, Okay. Obviously ingestion, and then of course dermal contact.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And clothing, yes, clothing, so polyester clothing can actually wow
plastics onto the skin.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Also, so I'm trying to see anything. We're all like,
shoot my plethar pants on today?
Speaker 1 (15:03):
No, thank goodness, it's funny. I have a leisure suit
from the nineteen seventies that I wear for Halloween parties
and I've decided maybe I won't wear that anymore.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Yeah. Yeah, if you're an advocate, I say that's probably
going out.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And then the human body health hazards.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
You mentioned a few things, and again, you guys, these
are all just you know things that are coming out, but.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Talk to us about some of these effects that are
going on right now.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Well, for instance, up until several years ago, was felt
that microplastics did not enter through intact skin. Now we're
finding that in some of the research we're seeing now
that these microplastics can enter through the hair follicles, through
the sweat glands, even through the epidermis, the top layer
of the skin itself. And if the skin is damaged,
(15:52):
for instance, if you have a sunburn, or you have
psoriasis or exzema, or you get a chemical peel or
laser resurfacing, some of the products that are recommended by
dermatologists to help heal the skin following these procedures contain microplastics.
So the microplastics could actually enter into the skin easier
(16:13):
when that epidermal barrier is broken.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
All right, so let's go subcellular.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
So okay, it enters and it actually metastasizes, So talk
to us about metastas.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
That's probably not the right word. Metastases is usually recommended
more for like cancerous kind of things. But what happens
is the microplastics get into the cell, and to keep
it simple, they actually cause changes in the cell, which
then can cause problems such as potentially when we're not
sure yet, right, No, it may potentially cause skin cancer
or cancer elsewhere, or be associated with some of the
(16:50):
other things that I mentioned psoriasis like changes, exzema like
changes lupus. We really don't know, so a lot more
research needs to be done to see if this is
truly the case.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
But what you are seeing is it's changing the cells. Yes, okay,
which I don't want myselves messed with.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
The problem is.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You can't really avoid it completely, so we're kind of stuck. Yeah,
but we don't have to add to it.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Right right, And you know what, again, this is not
but we're also looking at the Alzheimer's like is that
potentially something that is accelerating it.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
We don't know. They're finding now in patients who have
had dementia post being post deceased, so to speak, when
they examine the brains by autopsy, they're finding microplastics in
the brain. So the question is do these microplastics contribute
to dementia and possibly Alzheimer's.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
We're going to have to go to a station break.
I did make a list of some things to look
for in your cosmetics.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
We'll get to that. It's like seven or eight things.
We'll get to that.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
And actually doctor Tusson mentioned a couple of them already,
so we'll do that when we come back from break.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
But before we go, it's been you know, it's been
a little overwhelming.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
What advice do you have for people, because plastic is everywhere?
What kind of simple advice do you have for people
right now if they want to make a quick change.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, one thing to do is to get an app
on your phone called Beat the Microbead dot com. It's
not dot com, I'm sorry, it's Beat the Microbead. It's
an app you could actually apply to your cell phone.
And what it does is you actually can take a
picture of ingredients in your cosmetics and then it will
tell you if it contains microplastics.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
So that's one thing you can do to try to
avoid these kind of substances.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Okay, and then drink out of a glass.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's always good to drink out of glass. Even that's
not one hundred percent. Reverse osmosis filtration works really well,
but nothing is one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
Right, Okay, Well, you guys, we need to go to
a station breaks to stay with us, We'll.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Be right back.
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Speaker 3 (20:20):
Sinny gets She totally gets it.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Oh my gosh, did you see my prom makeup? She
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Speaker 3 (20:25):
Due did you see her before and after makeup on Instagram?
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That makeup girl gets it.
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Hey, guys, we're bound on Cindy get your host and
we want to think del Sourns in real Estate for
making sure we're on air and sharing great stories like
doctor Rotusso has for us today, making sure you stay healthy.
So with your buyinger selling reach out to them seven
seven two two three one four seven one two. You
can also find them at swornsin real estate dot com.
(21:16):
We also want to shout out to Verietals and more.
They always make sure we take care of our guests
with our beverages. So Varietals and more you can find
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Beach Radio. You do get a ten percent discount. I
am back with doctor Patrick gatusso wonderful dermatologists here in
Vera Beach, Florida. And you know this, this is a
(21:38):
this is big a doctor Tusso, what are kind of
your final thoughts and before we do, you mentioned a
great app to look for for ingredients, but just mention
a few ingredients that are kind of most popular.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
You mentioned nylon, You mentioned the.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
polyN yes, yes, polymethyl mythach relate. These are all products
that are found in cosmetics and even some products that
are used as filler, for instance for wrinkling. Right, Okay,
So one needs to be aware of these things and
check your ingredient lists. So, for instance, a lot of
times when you go online and you see a product
(22:16):
that's been touted as being great for wrinkling. It'll tell
you the active ingredients, but it doesn't tell you the
inactive ingredients unless you look for them.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So all air, you were mentioning, the big problem in
the cosmetic industry that we're talking about is that they're
not putting these things on the labels.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Well, they're putting the ingredients on the labels, but they're
not putting what the ingredients actually are. So, for instance,
I believe, this is my personal opinion, that the label
should state whether or not a product contains microplastics. Sure,
that way, the consumer is aware understand using a lot
of these products, a lot of these chemicals, the everyday
(22:57):
person is not going to know what it means. Right,
someone sees polyethylene, they may not know that that's a microplastic.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Right, makes sense? So that's okay, So I know you'll
work on that. I'm trying to Yes, Yes, contact you
know the local powers that be.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yes, Son, Any.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Final thoughts now with what's going on with recycling with cosmetics,
with micro you know, microbeads, what would you say.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Well, actually you mentioned the microbeads. Microbeads. Now the plastic
microbeads have been banned since twenty fifteen. We actually have
an act here in the United States that was passed
in twenty fifteen preventing us from using those further. Wow,
so that's that's excellent.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Which was used a lot for exfoliation, right absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Yes, they're now working on actually avoiding the use of
glitter in cosmetics because some of the glitters are made
of microplastics. Well, so that's something else that's being worked upon.
So I think the consumer needs to be more aware
of the potentotential problems of these microplastics. And again we're
not sure that they are harmful or not, so I
(24:06):
think we need to work more on that.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
All right, Well, get the app beat, beat the mic,
beat the microbead.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Dot com beat them, forget.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
The microa, beat the microbead, and do your part.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Maybe one less plastic thing that you buy from the
grocery store would.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Help, right absolutely.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
And glass there you go, and we are drinking out
of our glasses today, So guys, thank you, and uh
you guys, stay healthy out there.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Love you guys.
EGM Network.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
From Studio A in Sunny Florida. Welcome to Beauty and
the Beach Radio, where it's all about who's beautifying Vero Beach.
Today's show is brought to you by Dale Sawrenson real
Estate and here's your host and Glamour Girl makeup artist
Cindy Gets.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hey, guys, welcome back to Beauty in the Beach Radio.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
We hope you've had a great week, and today we're
going to be talking about beauty's dirty little secret. That's right,
hang on, so you know what I'm talking about. It's big,
it's crazy, but stick with me, so listen to this, guys,
all right. A study published in March twenty twenty three
(00:53):
showed that a growing plastic smog, now estimated to be
over one one hundred seventy trillion plastic particles, is choking
our oceans, which means are of course beautiful Atlantic Ocean
as well, and the research states that urgent solutions are required. Now.
(01:16):
One of the biggest issues we face right now, all
right is microplastic pollution. Microplastic pollution which also affects human health. Okay,
that is what we're talking about today. It's a big
one now, human consumption of microplastics has increased sixfold worldwide
(01:40):
since nineteen ninety, mapping microplastic ingestion across one hundred and
nine countries. So yeah, if you're drinking out of a
plastic bottle, put it down right now, Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Now.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles commonly found in a wide
range of products, including you, guys, cosmetics just like that
favorite tube of lipstick that you have right now, and
personal care items so hard to believe. While plastics found
in beauty products are often used as exfoliance okay, film formers,
(02:21):
or to enhance product texture and longevity. Now, so to
get the low down on microplastics and what they do
to us, I've got an expert on the show today
and we're talking about his favorite subject and mine, the skin.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
So please welcome. He is my guest.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
He is a husband, he is a father, he's a novelist,
and a dermatologist. He completed his residency at New York
Medical College. He practiced for over thirty years in Vier Beach, Florida,
and specialized in adult and pediat dermatology. Our guest was
also recognized as top Florida doctor in dermatology in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yay wady guys.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
He recently concluded his practice at Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery. Currently,
when he's not traveling, he serves as the lead dermatologist
volunteer for we Care, a nonprofit medical center that provides
services to low income residents right here in Indian River County.
He's definitely beautifying Vera Beach. Please welcome back to Beautying
(03:37):
the Beach radio, Doctor Patrick o'tusso well.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
You look great. Retirement must be doing well for you.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
I'm enjoying it. But you forgot one thing again?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
What did I forget?
Speaker 1 (03:49):
My grandfather?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Oh shoot, I got to write that in my notes.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Brand I'm soon to be a grandfather at times too.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Oh my goodness. And when's that? When's number two?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Number two is dude? You say number second and it's
a girl.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Oh my gosh, talk about a great Christmas.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
That's how you put magic. Yes, doctor Tussa, that is
so exciting, thank you. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
You should see if you're listening to radio. He's got
a big smile right now. Hopefully you're seeing it on camera.
But he's a, he's a are you grandpa, grandfather?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
What's your name?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
So far?
Speaker 4 (04:24):
On?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Papa?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Papa? So far?
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Okay, So we'll see how it goes. What would you
like to be called Papa's fine?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
Okay? I love that.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
So you and I share something in common. You know,
I am a makeup artist, you're a dermatologist. We both
work with skin. Yes, okay. And you actually approached me
a while ago and you said, Cindy, you know, I
would really like to discuss microplastics and cosmetics. Now that
is not something that's really out there yet, and it
(04:57):
just really kind of rocked me out.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
And yes, let's get it out there and off air.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
You and I have discussed. It's not something that is
very public yet. No, it's not so so part of
this is just really educating the public. It's kind of
big arms to wrap around. As I mentioned earlier, you know,
if we were to step back from the cosmetic issue,
plastics in general is a huge problem.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Absolutely. It's entering our oceans, our rivers, our streams through
many different conduits and once it gets into that arena,
it then winds up in the food chain, which obviously
affects us indirectly and some of the things we're using
on our skin. We don't really know whether microplastics are
(05:48):
bad for us yet as far as in cosmetics, but
we do know that wash off products that contain microplastics
do wind up in the food chain because the water
system that they have now to filter these things do
not capture the microplastics, so they wind up in our food.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
So for instance, salmon, yes, you know, so salmon's be
is in being raised, you know, and water that is
piped out with plastic, we eat the salmon, and then
autopsies down the road show that we have I'm really
simplifying people's show that there's plastics you know, in our.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
In our bodies.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Absolutely, so that's just one very generic way of finding
that in our bodies.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Well, it's scary because we found out that microplastics do
pass through what's called the blood brain barrier, so it
winds up in brains. It also passes through the placenta
and winds up in fetuses and embryos. So the question
is do these microplastics have any bad effects on us?
(06:57):
And there's not a lot of research out there right
now saying yay or nay, but some studies which are
non human studies have pointed to the fact that these
microplastics can cause issues such as Alzheimer's. One study points
toward potential for lupus like changes. Another study points toward
(07:19):
kidney issues liver issues. So I think we're really touching
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to microplastics,
which is why I'm trying to get this information out
both to consumers and also two physicians who may not
know much about this.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
So for those that are, you know, when I introduced
the show and we're talking about cosmetics and you've got
men out there going, Okay, I don't wear makeup.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
This has nothing to do with me.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
It still has everything to do with them, because I
want them to see the bigger picture. And you mentioned
that in a certain amount of time, i'd like for
you to tell the audience about the fish and the plastic.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Well, it's said because and I started on this endeavor
when I was studying years ago, when marine armatology discussing
issues regarding in venomations of fish and so on, and
they came across an article regarding dolphins who are now
ingesting and inhaling microplastics. So it's not just a female problem,
but cosmetics, because we're now finding these microplastics are being
(08:17):
used in shampoos, conditioners, body moisturizers, even some toothpastes. So
we're all coming in contact with these microplastics one way
or another, and we probably ultimately can never completely get
away from them, which is sad.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
That's a very good point.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
So whether you are ingesting it, whether you are putting
a cream on your body, whether it's from the ocean
like a dolphin or a salm or not, you know, salmon,
but you're one way or another, it's going to get you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yes, And we're also inhaling it. Some of these plastic
products which are not making it too recycling so to speak,
wind up in incinerators getting burned, and when they're burned,
the microplastics are then placed into the environment in the air,
which we then breathe.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Wow, it's so big here. So our sources of microplastics
you pretty much just covered.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
But just give them kind of another.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
So the sources of microplastics, your plastic litter li.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I mean, water bottles. Many of the products we use
are made of plastic. The unfortunate thing is that once
we use them, only five or six percent of plastics
are getting recycled, which is said the rest as I mentioned,
the winding up in landfills becoming incinerated, and winding up
in the waterways, which and even in the food supply,
(09:42):
even on farms where they're using some of this what's
called sewer sludge actually as a fertilizer, and the sewer
sludge contains the microplastics which then wind up in our
food from farmers.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Oh my goodness. And for those that have the blue bins,
and they're no offense to our counties, but you know,
us worldwide, whatever you're saying that even though you're recycling,
it's not all getting recycled.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Most likely it's not. Whether it's Bureaubach or not, I
cannot say, but in general, as a general statement for
the United States recycling, it's approximately five to six percent
of what we're thinking is getting recycling.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So even though they're buying all these you know, plastic
bottled waters and gatorades or whatever it is, they're like, oh,
I'm doing my part.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Well that's not enough.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well the problem with that also is that with plastic bottles,
if you're drinking bottled water. You mentioned it originally the
filters for water use nylon, and nylon is one of
the filtration devices which then breaks down over time, creating
what's called polyamide. That's one of the more common plastics.
So the microplastics of polyamide wind up in our water
(10:49):
that we're drinking from the plastic bottles. So we drink
probably in each bottle of water on average. Research shows
as about two hundred and forty thousand nanoplastic particles in
each bottle water.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Wow. Now correct me if I'm wrong, doctor, but I
believe plastics came out during war time to make it
make it easy.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Easier for the soldiers.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And what's happened now, it's been so freaking convenient and
easy that we now just we don't even think about
the consequence.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's just easy, easy, easy. You know our containers that
hold our food, you know ziploc bags. I mean, it's
just it's everywhere, it's everywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yes, And the problem with the plastics is that in general,
it's easier to create new plastic cheaper than to recycle
older plastic. So that's one of the problems. And you know,
we've had plastic now since nineteen oh seven. It was
originally created the first synthetic fully synthetic plastic. So it's
(11:51):
been around since nineteen oh seven. It's been used in
many things, and as we discussed earlier, they even used
micro regular plastics for baby supplies.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Yeah, you brought a little show and tell, can you
can you get that for us? So I failed? I
think Cindy, you passed. No, you were close to guessing
what it was. Yes, close.
Speaker 4 (12:11):
So if you'll hold it for the camera right near
the micro there you go. Okay, So for those of
you watching he's holding up it's like two red rings
and then like almost like it looks like although it
is all plastic, I believe it's a little it looks
like a little wooden rod in between the two small
rings that are like quarter size, and then you've got
these little discs that maybe four or five discs that
(12:32):
are on the little kind of wooden looking rod in
between the two two medium size circles. So yeah, I
didn't know what it was, so go ahead and tell
everybody what it is.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So this is a product which it's actually made from
bake Light, which is the first synthetic plastic that I mentioned,
made in nineteen oh seven, and this is from the
late nineteen fifties, which I actually found in its original
box on eBay. This is a teething ring, So this
was given to babies to teeth on, to chew on
(13:07):
in order to satisfy them. Wow, so we've been we've
been ingesting these kind of plastics for many, many years.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Unfortunately, that is insane.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
And then while we're on Show and Tell, you did
bring another prop I did?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, okay, show is that.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
This is the newer biodegradable styrofoam, which now degrades usually
within five years, as opposed to regular styrofoam, which may
take up to five hundred years to degrade. So I'm
hoping that more and more institutions use this product in
order to at least somewhat alleviate the problem with styrofoam.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Let me make sure people heard you five years versus
five hundred years. Yes, that's that's crazy, yep.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
And more and more restaurants and certain you know, retail spaces,
they're promoted that aren't they that you know using this one.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
For instance, I got from a local golf course. Okay, So,
and I was very happy to see you.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, all right, So okay, so the exposure
routes you just inhalation, which I don't think people even
think about.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
It's true, that's true.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
So give us an example. You did earlier, but go
ahead and give us an example of that.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
As I mentioned that microplastics are found, they become aerosolized
in the air, either from incineration or they could also
become aerosolized as products break down over time in landfills. So,
for instance, sunlight degrades plastics and as they degrade, they
then become aerosolized into the air.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
WHOA, Okay. Obviously ingestion, and then of course dermal contact.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And clothing, yes, clothing, so polyester clothing can actually wow
plastics onto the skin.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Also, so I'm trying to see anything. We're all like,
shoot my plethar pants on today?
Speaker 1 (15:03):
No, thank goodness, it's funny. I have a leisure suit
from the nineteen seventies that I wear for Halloween parties
and I've decided maybe I won't wear that anymore.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
Yeah. Yeah, if you're an advocate, I say that's probably
going out.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And then the human body health hazards.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
You mentioned a few things, and again, you guys, these
are all just you know things that are coming out, but.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Talk to us about some of these effects that are
going on right now.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Well, for instance, up until several years ago, was felt
that microplastics did not enter through intact skin. Now we're
finding that in some of the research we're seeing now
that these microplastics can enter through the hair follicles, through
the sweat glands, even through the epidermis, the top layer
of the skin itself. And if the skin is damaged,
(15:52):
for instance, if you have a sunburn, or you have
psoriasis or exzema, or you get a chemical peel or
laser resurfacing, some of the products that are recommended by
dermatologists to help heal the skin following these procedures contain microplastics.
So the microplastics could actually enter into the skin easier
(16:13):
when that epidermal barrier is broken.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
All right, so let's go subcellular.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
So okay, it enters and it actually metastasizes, So talk
to us about metastas.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
That's probably not the right word. Metastases is usually recommended
more for like cancerous kind of things. But what happens
is the microplastics get into the cell, and to keep
it simple, they actually cause changes in the cell, which
then can cause problems such as potentially when we're not
sure yet, right, No, it may potentially cause skin cancer
or cancer elsewhere, or be associated with some of the
(16:50):
other things that I mentioned psoriasis like changes, exzema like
changes lupus. We really don't know, so a lot more
research needs to be done to see if this is
truly the case.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
But what you are seeing is it's changing the cells. Yes, okay,
which I don't want myselves messed with.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
The problem is.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You can't really avoid it completely, so we're kind of stuck. Yeah,
but we don't have to add to it.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Right right, And you know what, again, this is not
but we're also looking at the Alzheimer's like is that
potentially something that is accelerating it.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
We don't know. They're finding now in patients who have
had dementia post being post deceased, so to speak, when
they examine the brains by autopsy, they're finding microplastics in
the brain. So the question is do these microplastics contribute
to dementia and possibly Alzheimer's.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
We're going to have to go to a station break.
I did make a list of some things to look
for in your cosmetics.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
We'll get to that. It's like seven or eight things.
We'll get to that.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
And actually doctor Tusson mentioned a couple of them already,
so we'll do that when we come back from break.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
But before we go, it's been you know, it's been
a little overwhelming.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
What advice do you have for people, because plastic is everywhere?
What kind of simple advice do you have for people
right now if they want to make a quick change.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Well, one thing to do is to get an app
on your phone called Beat the Microbead dot com. It's
not dot com, I'm sorry, it's Beat the Microbead. It's
an app you could actually apply to your cell phone.
And what it does is you actually can take a
picture of ingredients in your cosmetics and then it will
tell you if it contains microplastics.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
So that's one thing you can do to try to
avoid these kind of substances.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Okay, and then drink out of a glass.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's always good to drink out of glass. Even that's
not one hundred percent. Reverse osmosis filtration works really well,
but nothing is one hundred percent.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
Right, Okay, Well, you guys, we need to go to
a station breaks to stay with us, We'll.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Be right back.
Speaker 6 (19:04):
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Speaker 3 (20:20):
Sinny gets She totally gets it.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Oh my gosh, did you see my prom makeup? She
so gets it.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Due did you see her before and after makeup on Instagram?
Speaker 4 (20:28):
That makeup girl gets it.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
My wedding makeup was so amazing. And my makeup artist,
she totally gets it.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
My senior photo makeup rocked.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
She gets it.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
You should see her new Facebook profile. Her makeup artist
really gets her. My I makeup is so unplique. Thanks
Anny Gat.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Cindy gets makeup artist seven seven two six three three
four zero three zero.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
She gets it.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Hey, guys, we're bound on Cindy get your host and
we want to think del Sourns in real Estate for
making sure we're on air and sharing great stories like
doctor Rotusso has for us today, making sure you stay healthy.
So with your buyinger selling reach out to them seven
seven two two three one four seven one two. You
can also find them at swornsin real estate dot com.
(21:16):
We also want to shout out to Verietals and more.
They always make sure we take care of our guests
with our beverages. So Varietals and more you can find
them at Royal Palm Point and mention Beauty in the
Beach Radio. You do get a ten percent discount. I
am back with doctor Patrick gatusso wonderful dermatologists here in
Vera Beach, Florida. And you know this, this is a
(21:38):
this is big a doctor Tusso, what are kind of
your final thoughts and before we do, you mentioned a
great app to look for for ingredients, but just mention
a few ingredients that are kind of most popular.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
You mentioned nylon, You mentioned the.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
polyN yes, yes, polymethyl mythach relate. These are all products
that are found in cosmetics and even some products that
are used as filler, for instance for wrinkling. Right, Okay,
So one needs to be aware of these things and
check your ingredient lists. So, for instance, a lot of
times when you go online and you see a product
(22:16):
that's been touted as being great for wrinkling. It'll tell
you the active ingredients, but it doesn't tell you the
inactive ingredients unless you look for them.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So all air, you were mentioning, the big problem in
the cosmetic industry that we're talking about is that they're
not putting these things on the labels.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Well, they're putting the ingredients on the labels, but they're
not putting what the ingredients actually are. So, for instance,
I believe, this is my personal opinion, that the label
should state whether or not a product contains microplastics. Sure,
that way, the consumer is aware understand using a lot
of these products, a lot of these chemicals, the everyday
(22:57):
person is not going to know what it means. Right,
someone sees polyethylene, they may not know that that's a microplastic.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Right, makes sense? So that's okay, So I know you'll
work on that. I'm trying to Yes, Yes, contact you
know the local powers that be.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yes, Son, Any.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Final thoughts now with what's going on with recycling with cosmetics,
with micro you know, microbeads, what would you say.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Well, actually you mentioned the microbeads. Microbeads. Now the plastic
microbeads have been banned since twenty fifteen. We actually have
an act here in the United States that was passed
in twenty fifteen preventing us from using those further. Wow,
so that's that's excellent.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Which was used a lot for exfoliation, right absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Yes, they're now working on actually avoiding the use of
glitter in cosmetics because some of the glitters are made
of microplastics. Well, so that's something else that's being worked upon.
So I think the consumer needs to be more aware
of the potentotential problems of these microplastics. And again we're
not sure that they are harmful or not, so I
(24:06):
think we need to work more on that.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
All right, Well, get the app beat, beat the mic,
beat the microbead.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Dot com beat them, forget.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
The microa, beat the microbead, and do your part.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Maybe one less plastic thing that you buy from the
grocery store would.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Help, right absolutely.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
And glass there you go, and we are drinking out
of our glasses today, So guys, thank you, and uh
you guys, stay healthy out there.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Love you guys.
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