Diazolidinyl Urea - Is It Safe?

Chris

I read this in a Salem News article here (http://www.salemnews.com/pulife/local_story_340001230.html?keyword=topstory). It seems very alarmist, What's the real scoop on diazolidinyl urea? I thought it was an excellent skin moisturizer.

"For example, an organically-certified body wash on my shelf turned out to contain diazolidinyl urea a preservative which The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a World Health Organization body located in Lyon, France, classified as a "known human carcinogen."

Diazolidinyl urea also releases formaldehyde, a "probable" carcinogen as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

mo

Wikipedia:-

Some people have a contact allergy to imidazolidinyl urea causing dermatitis[1]. Such people are often also allergic to diazolidinyl urea.

Diazolidinyl urea, as a formaldehyde releaser, is sometimes used in cosmetic products as a preservative, was recently re-classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to its highest toxic class, IARC 1 (known human carcinogen). Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provides sufficient evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

However, another Formaldehyde "DMDM Hydantoin" has been rated safe on wikipedia :-

DMDM hydantoin is an antimicrobial formaldehyde releaser preservative with the trade name Glydant. DMDM hydantoin is an organic compound belonging a class of compounds known as hydantoins. It is used in the cosmetics industry and found in products like shampoos, hair conditioners and skin care products.[1][2]

DMDM hydantoin works as a preservative because the released formaldehyde makes the environment less favorable to the microorganisms. Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has evaluated DMDM hydantoin and determined that it is safe as a cosmetic ingredient.

Left Brain

We'll expand on it but the information in that article is unproven, fear mongering. No references are given and things that aren't true (such as parabens easily penetrating skin) are stated as facts. The things that are true for DMDM Hydanotin, are also true for Diazolidinyl Urea.

mo

So the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is just another drag queen ? I thought if they have classified the D Urea as unsafe; then we can take their word for it.
Left Brain, may I request you to please expand on this.

Left Brain

@Chris - Diazolidinyl Urea is not a moisturizing ingredient. It is a preservative that releases formaldehyde when in water solution.
@mo - The EPA is a great agency that does excellent work. Where did you get the idea that they classified Diazolidinyl Urea as "unsafe"? The only reference I could find on their website about Diazolidinyl Urea was that it is listed as safe for non-food use pesticide products.
The agency that regulates cosmetics is the FDA and they rely on the Cosmetic Ingredient Review board to evaluate safety data. In 1990, the CIR looked at all the safety data available for Diazolidinyl Urea and concluded
On the basis of the animal and clinical data presented in this report, the CIR Expert Panel concludes that Diazolidinyl Urea is safe as a cosmetic ingredient up to a maximum concentration of 0.5 percent.
The data was re-examined in 2006 at the request of someone in government and the CIR concluded
The CIR Expert Panel looked at the new data and decided the data were not sufficient to re-open the report. The conclusion in the current report was confirmed.
Based on the best available data, Diazolidinyl Urea has been determined to be safe.

mo

Wow, multiple responses from the Left Brain. I'm so happy, thank you so much.
However, the International Agency for cancer has classified it as a known human carcinogen. Wikipedia also mentions the same.
Here's another link for US National Cancer Institute
It is a confusing world out there and Paula's Choice Beautypedia costs a lot, though she has all the answers.

Left Brain

@Mo - The link you provided is not from the US National Cancer Institute. It is from the Cancer Prevention Coalition which is not a governmental agency. It is a political agency which doesn't use objective measures to come to their conclusions. They don't let science get in the way of what they want to say.
It is a confusing world out there (and Paula is good but she doesn't have all the answers either).
Questions like the safety of raw materials never have simple solutions. Different compounds effect different people in different ways. And dose, method of exposure, and length of time of exposure that matters too. These are not simple questions answered in simple ways. That is the problem with groups like the CPC and the EWG and all the other politically based organizations. They ignore science if it doesn't agree with what they think.
I have faith in the agencies of our government including the EPA, FDA and the groups that regulate the safety of cosmetics, namely the CTFA and the CIR board.
These agencies have concluded that "Based on the best available data, Diazolidinyl Urea has been determined to be safe."

mo

Thank You Left Brain. I guess it is indeed a confusing world out there & I will try to distinguish the scientific from the political.

Chris

mo and left Brain,

Thank you very much for all the information. The dialogue was very interesting and very educational. We need to be so careful about what we read on the Internet.

I now know D Urea has not been proven unsafe but neither is it a moisturizer! I know I read somewhere (well I'm pretty sure) that it is a water-binding agent that binds 100 times its weight in water. Is there a different urea I could have confused D Urea with?

Thanks again. This is a great resource. I'm a real Beauty Brains fan!

Left Brain

You're probably thinking of Urea.
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowFulltext&ProduktNr=224194&Ausgabe=226592&ArtikelNr=29896
It is not the same as Dizaolydinyl Urea.

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