Yoony says:

Yes. The other day I noticed my not-so-innocent sunblock contorted its plastic container after sitting in it for a few weeks. I have been using this everyday for the past year. Now my mom sends me sunblock from South Korea. It’s really no wonder there are all these unexplainable diseases and such. Not to mention the explosion of allergies in recent decades. Who knew science could kill so insidiously?

iheartgph says:

It sounds like you and Rumi are very concerned about your health. As a future doctor (I graduate in June 2013), that is wonderful to hear. However, I’m concerned if either of you smoke given its prevalence both in Europe and the fashion industry as a whole. You discussed chemicals on the outside of your body in “beauty products” and those in “foods” that enter our bodies. Rumi’s right – there are many, many chemicals that are not fully tested before they come to market (in the US more than Europe), but what we have known for the past 62 years – on both sides of the Atlantic — are the side effects of smoking.

SMOKING CIGARETTES IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PREVENTABLE RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH and is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. Smoking tobacco is among the leading causes of many diseases such as lung cancer, bladder cancer, heart attacks, COPD, erectile dysfunction and birth defects. According to the National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov), of the more than 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia.

And if that doesn’t turn you away from smoking, did you know it LEADS TO PREMATURE AGING OF THE SKIN? Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, causing less blood flow and less nutrients going to the tiny capillaries in our skin. That causes your skin to age faster, not to mention the free radicals that smoking also creates. Haven’t you noticed that people who smoke all look like they smoke? There’s a biological reason for that!

As a soon-to-be-doctor, my hope is for you both to build on your view of the importance of health, happiness and personal growth. I encourage you to continue to play an active role in your wellbeing, so you can continue to be a force in fashion for a long, long time!!!