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So many people are doing detoxes to cleanse their livers and colons and even detoxes to cleanse the estrogens out of their system. Then they change their eating habits to make sure they aren't putting the toxins back in and they are even buying less toxic household cleaning products.
They find ways to eliminate pharmaceutical drugs that are hard on the liver and find alternative treatments. That is a great thing to do for your body.
BUT! What is it that is toxic that you are exposing your body to every day?
You are washing your hair with toxic shampoo and using toxic soap and wearing toxic perfume.... and even more so... you are applying toxic make up.
When most people hear the word cosmetics, they usually think about makeup... blush, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick and so on but cosmetics also covers shaving cream, hair spray, hair gel, men’s cologne, deodorant, soap, shower gel, toothpaste, lotion and more.
Did you know that the cosmetics industry is NOT regulated by the government in the United States? Ingredient lists do not have to be approved at all and they can use WHATEVER THEY WANT. Now we all know that industries that have no regulation and who use "self governing" processes are dangerous... remember before the FDA regulated slaughter houses for meat? Scary!!
Of course the cosmetics industry has to list their ingredients EXCEPT for trademarked scents. That's where the toxins usually are as well… at least the most dangerous ones. Even with the ingredients listed, do you have any idea which ones are toxic?
Many of the products that you use contain either toxins, carcinogens (agents that cause cancer), a hormone disruptor, or a combination of these elements. Lipstick often has lead in it, mascara is made from bat feces, antiperspirants have aluminum in it, and shampoos and soaps have sodium lauryl sulfate in them. The most toxic cosmetic product on the market is hair relaxers..yikes!! Parabins are also hormone disruptors and are used in many of the skin care products you use.
Think about this.... the average woman uses shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, hairspray, foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lipstic or gloss, lotion, nail polish, blush, eye shadow, toner, face cleanser, soap, sun screen, face cream and sometimes more every day. The cosmetics industry says there are only trace amounts of toxins but even so, what would that do if you are using 12-17 products every single day... what would that do in 5 years?
This is overwhelming information. What should you do about it all? What cosmetics companies can you trust? Well there is a great website that that lists a ton of cosmetics that have been tested and they have rated each product on toxicity level. It's called http://www.safecosmetics.org
They have tested hundreds of cosmetics of all sorts. Also, look for companies that have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics." These are companies that are committed to creating products that are non toxic and safe for everyday use.
You can look at the PDF on what companies have signed the compact. http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=326
Of course none of them are the major companies that you are probably using now. Also, check some of the MLM companies that talk about how "natural" their products are.
There is no stipulation on what can be called Natural or Organic in the cosmetics industry. Just because it's called natural or organic doesn't mean it's safe. There are even some product lines with the word organic in the name but that doesn't mean anything. It's just a name.
A great book to read on the subject is "Not Just a Pretty Face" by Stacy Malkan. She talks about the unregulated cosmetics industry in this and how the EU has passed laws regulating the cosmetics industry and has forced major cosmetics companies to create safer cosmetics. But these companies have done nothing in the United States to change their formulas. They have already developed them for Europe, yet they are still selling us the same toxic stuff.
I personally selected http://www.neways.com when I learned all this information. They are one of the signers of the compact and work consistently to improve formulas to make sure that I can have cosmetics that are free of toxins, carcinogens and hormone disruptors.
What's in your products? Do you have any idea?
Add a Comment2 Comments
Hi CharlotteSal- Thanks for this information. I'm very aware of what's in the products I use and have subscribed to information from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics for some time. I first became aware of the toxins in cosmetics due to having allergic reactions which prompted a closer look. It's truly astonishing to read the long list of chemicals on some of these products. The more we know, the better!
December 17, 2009 - 6:21pmPat
This Comment
I suggest reading, The Body Toxic by Nena Baker. You can find it on Amazon, amazing read.
December 14, 2009 - 10:12amThis Comment