So here we go, let's open this pandora's box and see what people have to say
I'll start off.
I have read the latest announcement by Willow in regards to the safety of Benzoyl Peroxide being declared by the FDA. In 1991, the FDA changed it's classification of Benzoyl Peroxide from a Category 1 to a Category 3 "more data needed" due to it's tumor promoting tendencies in more than one strain of mice, as well as in hamsters.
^
This would have been enough to keep me from using BP alone, sorry. And i used to use it, for 5 years.
It is effective because it oxygenates the pore, but it also causes oxidative stress to the skin
Notice the red, itchy, dry state of your skin. Is it not much different than the oxidative stress you receive from a sunburn? And do you get instant skin cancer when you sunburn? No, but people who sunburn with any frequency are at much greater risk of developing skin cancer. (And this isn't even getting into what is being absorbed into your system, and it's affect on your internal body functions)
Also, what has changed about BP since 1991? Nothing, it is still Benzoyl Peroxide. But now companies have to label the product saying things like 'don't use if you have sensitive skin' or 'limit sun exposure' or 'keep out of eyes, mouth, etc.'
It is a much safer move for the FDA (in regards to public opinion) to not recall BP. They would never do it. It is and has been used in too many products. And since the damage from using BP won't show until many years later, it also becomes much easier for the FDA to say "it's ok". No immediate ramnifications. And if you do have an immediate bad reaction to BP, then it's simply labeled as a bad reaction. Or you have 'sensitive skin'
No one is regulating the FDA. This is what you have to understand. When you have people circulating in and out of these government/non-government positions, you can see where conflict of interest comes into play
These same corrupt people are circulating in and out of Monsanto (company responsible for GMOs, rBGH aka Posilac, Round Up, and now Agent Orange Corn. Yep, corn resistant to Agent Orange, the defoliant used in Vietnam that caused so many devastating health issues to those exposed to it). If you're not familiar with GMOs, you need to get familiar. They are destroying farmers livelihoods/health all across the globe. Monsanto's goal is to control/patent all seed, and they are moving on to genetically modifying animals, and patenting them as well. So they want to control all food.
Monsanto has been caught falsifying study after study to get away with the sick practices they get away with. Also they destroyed so many lives in the town of Anniston, Alabama where monsanto hid decades of PCB pollution in the town. And no one from the town was told. Monsanto's explanation: 'We did not want to lose one dollar of business'. People are living with cancers, more than dangerously high PCB levels, and countless other health issues now. And the result? Monsanto paid Anniston a large sum of money. Sorry for ruining your health, here's some money. This is how these companies deal with these issues.
These are the people making the decisions at the FDA. And this is who we are trusting to tell us the safety of BP, one of the most used products in acne treatment? Think
Interesting.
I am not going to disagree with you completely as any made mad "chemical" for lack of a better term isn't going to be good for the body.
However a conclusive independent study with solid data needs to be done to back what you are saying.
I still use bp as this is the only thing that works on my acne. I would love an alternative because i am sick to death treating my face.
However, even eating a "clean diet" does not fully rid me of acne, ive tried other meds for us to no avail. Some of us have little choice i am sad to say.
Totally agree with you here. In addition to having no oversight, no authority, and no accountability, the FDA doesn't do independent testing. (You alluded to this. I'm sure you're aware. Just sharing with everyone else.) The research they use to determine safety is often paid for by the companies themselves. When scientists' paychecks are being signed by the corporation whose product they're testing, I wonder what their conclusion will be about the safety of that product. The FDA is a terrible barometer of safety in general. In Europe, there are over 1,000 chemicals that are completely banned for use in personal care products. In the US, only 9 are banned. So all those thousand+ chemicals that Europeans have successfully proven are dangerous enough to be banned outright, we're still using. But we still wonder why rates of cancer and other disease are rising. Between all of the dangerous crap in our personal care products, our food, our drugs and other things like plastics, I don't think it's such a mystery.