I want to challenge you to think about your skin in a different way. After all, it is the biggest organ in your body. With that in mind, we need to think about what we put ON our skin as carefully as we think about what we put IN our bodies.
Our personal care products are bombarding us on a daily basis with toxic chemicals that, over time, create hormonal and metabolic chaos.
How could beauty items be so toxic?
By the time the average woman has gotten ready for work each morning, she has unknowingly exposed herself to over 500 toxic chemicals. All in the name of beauty. So it’s not surprising that so many women are experiencing early hormonal changes, infertility, fatigue, weight gain, pain and depression.
There are approximately 518 chemicals in makeup, beauty products, soaps, lotions, laundry detergents, deodorants, shampoos and bubble bath and about 125 of them are considered carcinogenic.
Remember that when your cells become overloaded with toxins, they have two options. Die or mutate. We don’t want either of those things to happen to you! To top it off, cosmetic companies are not required to list all the chemicals that are in their products.
Chemicals to Watch For
Let’s take a look at the top 5 toxic ingredients in most common beauty products.
- Diethanolamine (DHE) is used to enrich shampoos, soaps, bubble bath, and detergents and provides a rich lather and creamy consistency to lotions and creams
- Propylene Glycol is a powerful solvent found in antifreeze and hydraulic fluid. This is commonly found in toothpaste, shampoos, lotions, deodorants, cosmetics, vaccinations, lotions, baby wipes, and even pet food. This helps you to retain moisture when you use your body lotions.
- Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) is commonly used to break the surface tension of water in order to break up grease and oils. It is found in toothpaste, shampoos, soap, engine degreaser, concrete floor cleaners, and car wash detergent.
- Phthalates are the dangerous chemicals found in plastics and also baby care products
- Nanotechnology an emerging, unregulated technology that manipulates materials at the molecular level and is found in toothpaste and perfumes. The health side effects are uncertain at this point in time and the only way to know if there are nanotechnology particles in your beauty products is to call the companies and ask them. Better to be safe than sorry and stay away from this unregulated technology.
My Favorite Non-Toxic Products
I like to look up my beauty products at www.cosmeticdatabase.com to see if they are EWG Verified.
Some cosmetic brands I trust include:
- Aubrey Organics
- 100 Percent Pure
- Gabriel Cosmetics Inc
- Lavera
- Dr. Hauschka
- Suzanne Somers
- Miracle II Soap (My favorite and it makes incredible, non-toxic bubble baths!)
You can also download the Think Dirty app, which rates cosmetics on a scale of 1 (safe) to 10 (toxic) based on the chemicals it contains. It allows you to scan products by barcode or look them up by name, then it will tell you exactly what it contains that might be toxic!
Hopefully, this helps you make more informed decisions when choosing what products to put on your body. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!