Skip to content

Top Navigation

Health.com Health.com
  • Health Conditions A-Z
  • News
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition
  • Fitness
  • Beauty
  • Mind & Body
  • Lifestyle
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Health.com

Health.com Health.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Is Your Doctor Gaslighting You? Here's What to Do

      How to handle a physician who doubts or dismisses your symptoms. Read More Next
    • 9 Signs It's More Serious Than the Common Cold

      Doctors explain how to tell if you have a head cold or something more serious that requires medical attention, such as the flu, strep throat, meningitis, or mono. Read More Next
    • How Your Period Changes During Your 20s, 30s, and 40s

      From easier cramps to a heavier flow, here's a guide on what to expect decade by decade. Read More Next
  • Health Conditions A-Z

    Health Conditions A-Z

    See All Health Conditions A-Z

    12 Anxiety Symptoms That Might Point to a Disorder

    The symptoms of anxiety can be hard to detect. Here are the ones you need to pay attention to, and how to know if you may have an anxiety disorder.
    • Allergies
    • Anxiety
    • Birth Control
    • Breast Cancer
    • Coronavirus
    • Chronic Pain
    • Cold, Flu, and Sinus
    • Depression
    • Digestive Health
    • Diabetes (Type 2)
    • Eczema
    • Eye Health
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Heart Disease
    • Headaches and Migraines
    • Oral Health
    • Pregnancy
    • Psoriasis
    • Sexual Health
    • Skin Conditions
    • Sleep
    • Thyroid
  • News

    News

    See All News

    Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis—Here's What It Means

    "I'm petrified," the actress said when she shared the news that her breast cancer came back. Here's why a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis can be so frightening.
    • Celebrities
  • Coronavirus
  • Diet & Nutrition

    Diet & Nutrition

    The Best (and Worst) Diets of 2020, According to Experts

    FYI: The keto diet is not number one.
    • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Vitamins and Supplements
    • Groceries
    • Restaurants
    • Diets
    • Keto Diet
    • Mediterranean Diet
    • Whole30
    • Recipes
  • Fitness

    Fitness

    See All Fitness

    10 Moves for a Cardio Workout at Home—No Equipment Required

    Stay in your living room and still spike your heart rate.
    • Cardio Workouts
    • Strength Training
    • Yoga
    • Ab Workouts
    • Arm Workouts
    • Leg Workouts
    • Butt Workouts
    • Fitness Gear
  • Beauty

    Beauty

    See All Beauty

    These 13 Women Prove Every Body Is a Bikini Body

    We're loving their inspirational, body-positive messages.
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Nails
  • Mind & Body

    Mind & Body

    See All Mind & Body

    Why Do People Lie? We Asked an Expert

    Here's the truth about lying.
    • Body Positivity
    • Self-Care
    • Misdiagnosed
    • Invisible Illness
    • LGBTQ+ Health
    • Health Diversity and Inclusion
    • Resolution Reboot
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    20 Things You Should Throw Away for Better Health

    Clean out expired products and clutter to make way for a healthier you.
    • Healthy Home
    • Pets
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Style
    • Holidays
    • Sex
    • Gifts
    • Money
    • Tech
    • Medicare
    • Best Life Now
  • Weight Loss
  • Newsletter
  • Promo

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences this link opens in a new tab
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Beauty Chevron Right
  3. What Are Phthalates–and Are They Bad for Your Health?

What Are Phthalates–and Are They Bad for Your Health?

By Jessica Migala
December 01, 2017
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Edelweiss Spykerman / EyeEm/Getty Images
The chemicals are commonly found in food and cosmetics and linked to a host of health ills. Here’s what you need to know about how to stay safe.
Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

What you need to know about phthalates

Prioritizing which items on your grocery list should be bought organic can help you save money and make healthier choices.

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

What are phthalates?

Credit: john shepherd/Getty Images

Phthalates (the “ph” is silent) are a class of chemicals that are put into all sorts of different products, often to make plastic soft and flexible, says Barrett. (Think: a rubber ducky or your plastic shower curtain liner). They also hold onto scent and color really well, so they’re used in products “that need to smell good or be colorful,” she adds, like cosmetics and perfume.

RELATED: 10 Products You Think Are Healthy, But Aren’t

2 of 9

3 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Where are phthalates found?

Credit: Jamie Grill/Getty Images

Short answer: Just about anywhere.

The main sources are personal care products like lipstick, nail polish, shampoo, or perfume, as well as food. Barrett says the phthalate that’s most worried about is called DEHP. “Most of the DEHP we have in our bodies comes from what we eat,” she says. A 2014 study in Environmental Health pointed out that eating a diet high in meat and dairy doubled your exposure to phthalates, and a more recent report found phthalates in boxed macaroni and cheese.

Processed and fast foods are top offenders. “This food goes on conveyor belts, through tubes, and is packaged, so it may pick up phthalates that are in the processing equipment along the way,” Barrett says. “The more fast food you eat, the more likely you are to ingest phthalates.”

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

How do phthalates enter your body?

Credit: KatarzynaBialasiewicz—Getty Images/iStockphoto

Phthalates in deodorants, perfumes, and cosmetics can be absorbed through your skin. You can eat them in food and ingest them when swallowing small amounts of products like lipstick and lip gloss–it happens!

You can also inhale them. “Dust is a big source of phthalates. If you were to take a dust sample from any home and send it to a lab, you’d almost certainly find phthalates,” says Barrett. Like we mentioned, these chemicals are everywhere—it’s impossible to get away from them entirely. But that may be okay—more on that in a minute.

RELATED: 20 Sneaky Spots Where Allergy Triggers Hide

4 of 9

5 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

How dangerous are phthalates?

Credit: Marco Govel/Getty Images

Phthalates are ubiquitous. Almost all of us have measurable levels of the chemicals in our bodies, Barrett says. “We’re all exposed to phthalates, it’s just a matter of how much,” she says. But experts don’t know what’s a safe amount of exposure. Much of the research on phthalates is on animals, which doesn’t always translate clearly to humans.

Barrett’s research has compared phthalate levels in ordinary people with various markers of health. In kids, for instance, she’s looked at brain development or body composition. “We see that even at the ‘normal’ phthalate levels that everyone has in their bodies, there’s an association with obesity or altered development,” she explains. That said, researchers don’t yet know if there’s a certain amount you can carry around and be fine or a cut off above which you might start to worry. “We’re still trying to figure out in humans what’s safe and what’s not,” she says.

5 of 9

6 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

What if you’re pregnant?

Credit: Roberto Westbrook/Getty Images

Prenatal exposure to phthalates may actually be the most worrisome. This may make any mama-to-be nervous (and you have plenty to stress about already), but the time you might want to be especially vigilant about reducing your levels is if you’re pregnant. Ingested, inhaled, and absorbed phthalates can actually cross the placenta and reach the baby, Barrett says. “We don’t know exactly how, but we have a pretty good idea that phthalates affect hormones of the baby and thus development,” she says.

Alarmingly, phthalates may interfere with reproductive development. Barrett points to data that shows that moms who have higher levels of phthalates in their body are more likely to have sons with altered reproductive development. “What this means in terms of future problems, we aren’t sure. We don’t know if those boys will have fertility issues,” she says.

In one 2014 study, which Barrett co-authored, phthalate exposure late in pregnancy was associated with behavioral problems in boys who were six to 10 years old.

For anyone hoping to become pregnant, this class of chemicals may also interfere with your own hormones, which are obviously key for conceiving and maintaining a pregnancy. Barrett points out that phthalates may also interfere with things like semen quality in adult men.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Are there other risks of phthalates?

Credit: Wakila/Getty Images

Barrett believes researchers are just beginning to uncover the risks of phthalates. “Because hormones are so important for every system in the body, we may be just hitting the tip of the iceberg. The more we learn, the more health problems associated with phthalates we’re likely to uncover,” she says.

Hormones play a role in many functions in your body; if they’re altered by phthalates, other health concerns might crop up. Take weight, for example. Research suggests some links between phthalates and an increased waist circumference and BMI. Studies also point to a connection between these chemicals and insulin resistance in children. It’s not a slam-dunk conclusion, as research is conflicting, but there’s enough evidence to show we need to look more closely at how these chemicals affect us humans.

RELATED: 5 Signs Your Hormones Are Out of Whack

7 of 9

8 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Are all phthalates "bad"?

Credit: Yuri Arcurs/Getty Images

Not necessarily. Research has been laser-focused on DEHP, which is why it gets a lot of attention. “Some phthalates don’t really seem to have health effects that are obvious. So, no they’re not necessarily all bad when it comes to our health,” Barrett says. Some brands have opted to take DEHP out of their products (and advertise by including “DEHP-free” on their labels), but there is some concern about what it's being replaced with. Often, that may be another phthalate that poses unknown dangers.

8 of 9

9 of 9

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

What can you do?

Credit: Edelweiss Spykerman / EyeEm/Getty Images

“The good news is that phthalates don’t stay in your body for long," Barrett says. "The problem is that because they’re everywhere and we’re continuously exposed to them, our bodies carry around continuously high levels."

So how can you protect yourself? For starters, focus on eating fresh fruit and veggies and meat from humanely raised animals. Choose organic when you can. You’ll limit your exposure to phthalates and chip away at the store in your body. “This can drop your levels by 50% in a matter of days," Barrett says.

You can also cut back on how many personal care products you use. “We see a strong association between the number of products you use and phthalate levels,” Barrett says. That doesn’t mean you spend a life makeup-free and without shampoo, but you can ditch what you don’t need. “When I was pregnant, I stopped wearing perfume, since it’s a main source of phthalates,” says Barrett.

To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter

The chemicals are not usually listed on ingredients labels, so the only way to know if a product is phthalate-free is if a manufacturer specifically calls it out on the label. Choosing unscented products or “natural” picks isn’t a sure bet, but those products may be more likely to be sans phthalates.

Finally, never put plastic containers in the microwave or dishwasher, as chemicals like phthalates have a greater chance of leaching into your food under heat. Once plastic containers are old and scratched up, replace them.

As alarmed as you might be right now, take a deep breath. “You’ll never get your level down to zero, and you can drive yourself crazy with worry, but that’s not good for you either," Barrett says. “Take simple steps and do what you can.”

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Jessica Migala

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 9 What you need to know about phthalates
2 of 9 What are phthalates?
3 of 9 Where are phthalates found?
4 of 9 How do phthalates enter your body?
5 of 9 How dangerous are phthalates?
6 of 9 What if you’re pregnant?
7 of 9 Are there other risks of phthalates?
8 of 9 Are all phthalates "bad"?
9 of 9 What can you do?

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Health.com

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact us
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Health.com is part of the Meredith Health Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved. The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments. All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Health.com may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.health.com

View image

What Are Phthalates–and Are They Bad for Your Health?
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.