All,  Banished Ingredients,  Ingredient Education

Methylisothiazolinone

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๐™ˆ๐™š๐™ฉ๐™๐™ฎ๐™ก๐™ž๐™จ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™–๐™ฏ๐™ค๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™š
Because creating EMPOWERED label readers is the name of the game here, Mamas!

This one is a doozy to pronounce, so weโ€™re going to shorten it to โ€œMIโ€ for this post! Itโ€™s also very easy to spot on an ingredient label since itโ€™s so lengthy and typically towards the end of the list.

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So other than being really difficult to pronounce, what is MI?

โŒย This ingredient is a powerful biocide, which is a chemical substance that can control or kill harmful microorganisms. It is often found in antibacterial products, and came into play as a preservative swap when parabens started getting a bad public reputation.

โŒย Unlike some synthetic chemicals, however, this one isnโ€™t just a mild skin irritant…

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The biggest concern came to light when researchers conducted two recent laboratory studies on rat brain cells, and found that MI caused damage to those cells. The researchers stated, โ€œa brief exposure to MI is highly toxic to cultured neurons.โ€ The scientists went on to state that these toxic effects had been reported previously, and because of their widespread use, the consequences of chronic human exposure need to be evaluated. ๐™’๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ค๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™–๐™—๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™จ ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ช๐™™๐™ฎ ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™š๐™ญ๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™จ๐™ช๐™ง๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™–๐™จ ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ก๐™ฎ 10 ๐™ˆ๐™„๐™‰๐™๐™๐™€๐™Ž ๐™ก๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ.

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Sadly, the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CFTA) issued a response stating that MI is safe as it is already widely used in cosmetic formulas.

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โŒย In 2004 Europe limited the use of MI to 0.01 percent, or 100 parts per million (ppm), but in the USA it is still completely UNREGULATED.

โŒย Additional studies have shown MI to cause dermatitis, and a 2012 a study found it to be toxic during neural developmental stages to fetus, increasing the risk of seizures and visual abnormalities.

โŒย The EWG also states that MI is a skin sensitizer and irritant, which means that it can cause contact allergies such as eczema.

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Simply not worth the risk, my friends. Safe and effective swaps are readily availableโ€ฆ time to ditch the toxins and take proactive steps towards reducing your body burden and living wellย ๐ŸŒฑ

ยฉLivingWellMamaยฎ๏ธ
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