The PFAS Puzzle: What’s Really Inside Your Beauty Products?
"DISCLAIMER: This blog post reflects my interpretation, as a founder of a heritage clean beauty brand without a scientific background on the topic of organic fluorine and PFAS in regards to our cosmetic business, up to the present date. Scientific knowledge of PFAS is still in it's infancy with under 1500 of over 15,000 identified or studied.
PFAS/ Organic fluorine/ Organ toxicants
In recent years, concerns about the presence of potentially harmful substances in everyday products have sparked considerable interest among consumers and researchers alike. One such group of chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), has gained attention due to its widespread use and potential health impacts. PFAS are known for their water and grease-resistant properties, making them common in products like cosmetics, personal care items, and even food packaging. There are only 250 PFAS that you can test for but there are 15,000 that exist and testing for organic fluorine is the only way to see if you have a PFAS in your product - you just don't know which ones.
The reason scientists want to test for organic fluorine is because a PFAS is, essentially at it's core, a carbon molecule attached to an organic fluorine molecule (organic means man made in science) - fused to create the strongest bonds in the world.
Carbon and fluorine are naturally occurring / Organic fluorine is man made .
Research Overview
As many of you know, SAPPHO brought the idea of testing personal care items for the presence of organic fluorine (PFAS) to BCIT over 2 years ago. Recently, a second set of students at BCIT undertook a study to investigate PFAS levels in various personal care products using advanced analytical techniques. The aim was to determine if these products contained PFAS and quantify their presence using Parr bomb combustion followed by Ion Chromatography (IC) analysis.
Methodology and Challenges
The study utilized Parr bomb combustion, a method where samples are combusted to release fluorine, which is then analyzed using IC to quantify total fluorine content. This method was chosen for its effectiveness in previous studies and the simplicity of the instrumentation involved. The results indicated that only one product, Jennifer Foundation, exhibited detectable levels of total fluorine, measuring 3.7 µg/g however fluorine can be naturally occurring and the students this year were not able to do the further testing for organic fluorine due to lack of equipment needed as well as various other challenges.
During the research, several challenges arose, such as handling samples with high moisture content and ensuring complete combustion. These factors could affect the accuracy of the results, highlighting the complexity of analyzing fluorine in diverse product matrices like cosmetics and deodorants.
*** This in itself is the reason why we need to develop standardized testing with proper equipment to go forward with any kind of purpose *** SAPPHO has been working at this 3 years now, as you know and so far the support for this work has been tons of accolades but very little gov't, foundational or substantial support. Testing is expensive and results are not always 100% reliable. ****
We are doing the best that we can, sending our samples to the States as we can afford to but sometimes we have to do multiple tests for clarification ( & even then it is important to know there are no 'standardized' tests for organic fluorine) . All of this is the very best available and this is very expensive for us and without support developing dupes for products we have to say goodbye to is difficult
.. just saying!
Implications
The findings suggest that while some products may contain detectable fluorine levels, further analysis is required to determine the exact nature of this fluorine . In order to do so we need to have protocols designed and equipment available to our colleges and universities so that commercial labs can take up the torch and we can mitigate these organ toxicants.
Recommendations and Future Directions
Moving forward, researchers recommend refining sample preparation methods to improve combustion efficiency and exploring alternative analytical approaches like LC-MS/MS for enhanced sensitivity. These advancements could provide deeper insights into the presence of PFAS in consumer products and help ensure product safety.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of rigorous testing and analysis to assess the presence of fluorine, potentially including PFAS, in personal care products. It however also underscores the need for funding the creation of methods to determine levels of organic fluorine in personal care items.
Acknowledgements
The success of this project was made possible by the support and contributions of the Professors and students at BCIT . Their expertise and guidance has been invaluable in conducting this research and interpreting the findings.