We deserve products that don’t disrupt our endocrine system
As Diipa Khosla of Inde Wild says on the WTF Podcast: There's a lot that “Parfum” and other hidden ingredients aren’t telling you...
For decades, we’ve all been sold picture-perfect promises by the beauty industry, but never really been told what actually goes inside the bottle. This ambiguity isn’t just unfair but also harmful – because what we put on our skin ultimately impacts our health. On Nikhil Kamath’s WTF podcast, Diipa Khosla, Founder, Inde Wild, pointed out how perfume brands get away with using “Parfum” to mask endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like phthalates.
And, fragrance is just one example - these chemicals are present in your hair dyes, sunscreens, and even product packaging. When they’re present beyond prescribed safe limits, long-term exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can disrupt critical hormone functions with real consequences on your body. We’re talking about serious side effects – like fertility issues, cognitive dysfunction, and hormonal imbalances.
What are Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and how do they work?
EDCs - also known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals are chemicals that disrupt how our hormones are made or used, affecting the body’s regular hormonal balance.
A 2020 report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) flagged 88 different EDCs in more than 73,000 products since 2009.
Ever since I learned about endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) I’ve become an even more obsessive screener for ingredients re: all beauty and skincare products I buy.
Think of your endocrine system as the body’s WhatsApp group chat. Hormones are the messages being sent to organs – telling them what to do, when to grow, how to burn energy, secrete more hormones, chemicals and even regulate mood, etc.
Now imagine there is a cyber attack, and spam texts start flooding the group; these spam texts are your endocrine disrupting chemicals. They mimic the hormones (by sending fake messages or silencing them) or scramble signals so the wrong instructions to the organs are delivered. The result - confusion in some of our body’s most critical functions:
Growth & development
Metabolism & thyroid function
Reproductive health
Mood, cognition, and immunity
So why are brands using them? EDCs are cheap, multifunctional and effective, and for decades they’ve been considered safe at low levels. The research is still evolving - when present within the safe limits, they shouldn’t be a concern in humans.
The million-dollar question: As a consumer, should you worry?
Most regulators allow these chemicals within set safe limits; research shows the problem doesn’t lie in a single encounter but in the slow, long-term buildup.
Imagine tiny doses beyond the safe limits from everyday products like perfumes, sunscreens, and hair dyes adding up over months and years.
The intent here is not to fear-monger but for us to become more aware as consumers and ask the difficult questions.
If a single word on a label can hide dozens of chemicals with the power to disrupt our hormones, then consumers aren’t being given a fair chance to make informed choices. Beauty cannot just be about how products make us look and smell; it has to also be about how they affect our health.