How many different products are you using daily as skincare or cosmetics?

Deodorants, perfumes, lotions, hair products, makeup like foundations, mascara, eye shadows, powders or soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and even perfume….. All these products, as soon as put on your body, penetrate it AS IF YOU WERE EATING THEM.

And this doesn’t only concern women. Men, teenagers, and even kids and babies (SUNSCREEN and other skin creams, bathing soaps…) are all being poisoned as well by hundreds of chemicals daily.

Those chemicals penetrate your body, and unfortunately they are not harmless. The rest that gets washed off, finishes in our rivers and oceans, polluting the environment and the wildlife all at the same time.

The problem is that the law doesn’t require any pre-market testing or health studies regarding those cosmetics and body lotions. Safety has to be checked by the same companies that produce them …. So you see the problem. FDA is not even authorized to order any products recalls.

Daily exposure to those highly hazardous chemicals can have very bad health consequences, and people are not aware enough about it. Eating organic, locally grown food is a must. But if you keep on using terrible chemicals on your skin all at the same time, you might not really feel the benefits from it.

Please read those facts that may help you take better decisions for you, your loved ones and our beloved planet:

1.      On average, a woman uses 12 personal care products daily, containing more than 168 different chemicals (for men: 85 and teens: 17). Those chemicals are directly absorbed in your skin, and you are taking them DAILY, for a lifetime! There are more than 10,500 chemicals that industrials are using in all skin care/cosmetics products. Many of them are known carcinogens, and especially very harmful for your endocrine/hormonal system. Harmful substances can be found in SUBSTANCIAL quantities in most of the commercial products, just as flour as primary ingredient in bread. The consequences can de disastrous, for you, your kids, and the environment around. A small but growing number of studies are serving as scientific red flags but no one dares alert the population yet….

2.      Commonly used ingredients like phthalates or parabens have been found in high concentration levels in breast tumor tissues and links have already been acknowledged between those chemicals and an elevated risk of breast cancer, early menopause (early decline of ovaries), early puberty, heart disease, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, cancer…. (for women AND men)

3.      Some tests made on teens found more than 16 different hormone-disrupting chemicals (including phthalates, paraben) in their body tissues

4.      In 2000, a US study showed that 37 nail polishes from 22 different companies contained DBP, which is known to cause lifelong reproductive disruptions in male rats. It is also known to damage the testes, prostate gland, penis, seminal vesicles in animals… Even if clinical studies need to be conducted on humans, just trust what your gut thinks this can do to the human body… DBP is added to increase flexibility and shine. It has been linked to animals birth defects, but was found at its highest levels in women of childbearing age.

5.      Studies keep on showing that hormone systems of wildlife are disrupted by chemicals used in personal care products and that get rinsed down and drained into the rivers.

6.      In the report “Heavy Metal Hazard: The Health risks of hidden metals in face makeup”, 49 different types of makeup products have been tested: foundations, concealers, powders, blushes, mascaras, eye shadows, lipsticks, lip glosses, eye shadows… It has been shown that all were contaminated with a significant serious level of heavy metals:

-        90% contain lead

-        90% contain beryllium

-        61% contain thallium

-        51% contain cadmium

-        20% contain arsenic

I hope you understand how applying those products daily over your body can have dramatic health consequences in the mid/long term. Heavy metals are amongst the most harmful poisons for your body and are really difficult to cleanse out. They can disrupt any system and organ, like the brain, the nervous system, the heart, the kidneys, the liver, the nervous system, the hormonal system, and so much more…

THE MOST COMMON AND HARMFUL CHEMICALS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Those chemicals are the most commonly used and amongst the most toxic. Please always check the labels and the ingredients list:

-        Paraben: used in deodorants, hair products, cll kinds of cosmetics. It copies the action of estrogen and contributes especially to the growth of human breast tumors

-        SLS or SLES (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate): this is a surfactant, detergent, emulsifier that is used in cosmetics AND in industrial cleaners.. We know today that it produces a very poisonous carcinogenic by-product

-        Phtalates: those chemicals are plasticizing and are linked to birth defects in the reproductive system of boys. They also lower sperm-mobility in adult men. They are often HIDDEN in the ingredients list of your products as “FRAGRANCE”

-        MIT (Methylisothiazolinone): this harmful chemical is more particularly used in shampoos to prevent/kill off bacteria. But it is very toxic and may have detrimental effects on the nervous system

-        Toluene: this chemical is made from petroleum mainly, and is found in most synthetic fragrances and nail polish. Chronic exposure is very harmful and is linked to anemia, lowered blood count, liver/kidney damage and may obviously affect a developing fetus.

HOW TO AVOID THOSE SYNTHETIC PRODUCTS

There are many alternatives now and you can find truly natural organic toxin-free products, with a short list of ingredients (where you understand and can actually pronounce all the ingredients’ names).

Beware of the so-called “All Natural” products: this doesn’t mean anything, they may still contain harmful chemicals so always check the ingredients list and the brand’s true ethics.

My go to? COCONUT OIL. Makeup remover, moisturizer, hair care, deodorant, tooth paste..this oil is just magic in your kitchen AND in your bathroom. A primary ingredient for most of your cosmetics needs. Mix it with some quality essential oils to improve some benefits and/or for the scent and you have a magical product.

Again, it is all about educating ourselves and take better decisions for us, for our family and for our planet. We can not IGNORE anymore the damage we have been doing for years to ourselves and the world around us. I remember that when I learnt all this, I went to my bathroom and literally threw away all the “crap” I had there. Now I know I don’t need as many products anymore, besides a large jar of coconut oil and some great essential oils. Don’t accept to feel sick just because it may be easier to buy well-packaged and beautifully marketed products. It will save you a lot of money and it might actually save your life.

In Health and Happiness,

Stephanie