Toxic Beauty

Women (and men) everywhere are trying to make themselves look and feel younger and more beautiful.  But the products in use are more harmful than helpful.  Have you ever really looked at the ingredients in your personal care products.

...the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did something amazing. It issued an unprecedented warning to the cosmetics industry that it was time to inform consumers that most personal care products have not been safety tested.

This statement was issued back in 2005.  So why does the FDA still not require pre-market safety testing, review, or approval for cosmetics and personal care products.  The toxic chemicals that go into our shampoos, lotions, and cosmetics are often main ingredients.  What makes this so scary?  Everyone uses some type of personal care product.  In fact many of us use 15 or more personal care products in a single day.  Think about how you start your day off.  You take a shower, using soap (or body wash), shampoo, and probably conditioner.  You shave using shaving cream, put on lotion, and brush your teeth with toothpaste.  Ladies are putting on their make up; foundation, blush, eye shadow, lipstick, etc.  And many of us use some type of hairspray or gel to keep our hair in place for the day.  These are just a few things we do to be ready for the day.  That's Eleven different personal care products!  And many of these products don't just sit on our skin!  They are absorbed into our skin.


What can we do to protect ourselves from these toxins? 

• Shop for products that have the fewest ingredients. 
• Find out what ingredients are in the products you use currently.
• Switch to safer products that don't contain toxins.

Here are some everyday products and the toxins they contain:

DOVE BEAUTY BAR - Quaternium 15; Formaldehyde-Carcinogen. Causes cancer, dermatitis, neurotoxin, and sensitizer - poisonous, irritant to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Butylated Hydroxytoluene, (BHT) Carcinogen.JOHNSON'S BABY SHAMPOO - Quaternium 15; FD&C RED 40: Carcinogen and causes dermatitis.

CREST TARTAR CONTROL TOOTHPASTE - Saccharin: Carcinogen, contains Phenol. If you accidentally swallow more than a pea-sized amount of this, you must contact the Poison Control Center immediately. This warning does not appear on the tube.

OLAY REGENERIST - Ethylparaben, methylparabe and propylparabe; hormone disrupters. polyacrylamide, triethanolamine; carcinogens.

CLAIROL HERBAL ESSENCES SHAMPOO DRY/DAMAGED HAIR - CI 17200, CI 15510, CI 42053, CI 60730; cancer-causing dyes. cocamide MEA can be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane; a hormone disrupter associated with breast cancer.

LISTERINE TEETH AND GUM DEFENCE - 21.6 percent alcohol; alcohol dries and changes the pH of the mouth and throat and in long-term use increases the risk of mouth and throat cancers. Fluoride; in quantity is poisonous if swallowed.
Some of the long term effects of using toxic products include allergies, asthma, birth defects, cancer, central nervous system damage ( MS and Alzheimer’s Disease), infertility, learning disorders ( A.D.D. and A.D.H.D.), and miscarriage. All of these are on the rise.

I hope you are all a little more aware of the toxins that are in the products you use everyday. When you use these products you not only effect yourself and family, but wildlife and the environment. Where do you think those toxins go after they go down the drain?  There are safe alternatives out there.  Many of them cost less and are just as (or more) effective than what you are using now.  Please educate your self and your loved ones about the effects of toxins in our health and beauty products.
I set up customer accounts for a company that makes safer products, so if you want safe alternatives for you and your family please contact me. I want to help you get rid of the toxins.

Resources:
http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/cosmetics_personal_care.htm
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/research/whythismatters.php
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/how-toxic-is-your-bathroom-512285.html