Could your nail varnish cause you cancer?

They are the products that we use every day, our staples and maybe even the beauty buys we swear by. However, charity Breast Cancer UK has launched an alarming new campaign which seeks to warn consumers away from everyday beauty products that could contain potentially harmful chemicals that will increase the risk of breast cancer.

They charity's campaign, called #DitchTheJunk is calling on consumers to choose cosmetics which are free from harmful chemicals.

The charity explains that in order to reduce your risk of exposure to chemicals that may be linked to breast cancer, you should try to avoid products that contain harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates and synthetic musks. These are known endocrine-disrupting chemicals or carcinogens which may be linked to breast cancer.

Types of synthetic musks, parabens and ethanolamines can be found in make-up products, creams, moisturizers, fragrance and even your nail polish!

To check if your favourite products contain chemicals that may be linked to breast cancer, take a look at Breast Cancer UK's informative infographic below. Then check the list of ingredients on your products to see if they contain any of the chemicals listed below.

The best way to avoid these harmful substances is to buy natural cosmetics. Breast Cancer UK advises, "Natural cosmetics, free from harmful substances, are readily available, or you can make your own." They also advise searching online for safe alternatives that are natural, organic and chemical free.

The NHS states that the causes of breast cancer, "aren't fully understood" however, "there are risk factorsknown to affect your likelihood of developing breast cancer". The NHS lists these as including but not exclusive to: age, family history, previous diagnosis of breast cancer, previous benign breast lump, being overweight and consumption of alcohol. To read more, visit www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-breast-female