There has been a noticeable increase in people being concerned with what they eat — eating organic foods, avoiding processed and high fatty/sugary foods and high-fructose corn syrup battle of the decades. It’s wonderful to see a farmer’s market come to Loras! And it is wonderful to see people becoming more conscious about what they are fueling their bodies with, but what about our skin? We choose organic foods for many reasons, one being we don’t want those pesticides to infect the actual part we’re eating. Chemical penetration is happening on our own bodies — very unbeknownst to us. The soaps, lotions, chemical cleaners, and make up is seeping into our skin and ruining our meaty insides.
Cosmetic companies have very little regulations on what they can and cannot put in their products. They are not required safety testing, either. Almost anything can end up on your face without you even realizing it. These chemicals can cause some really awful things — cosmetic companies even put chemicals in their products that will make those chemicals seep into your skin easier. Fun, hm?
A good rule of thumb for food, cleaner, and make up is, ‘if you cannot pronounce it, don’t buy it’. Even if you can — ingredients that are longer than your mother’s name are probably not a good bet to slather on your skin. Some of these include: DMDM hydantoin and Imidazolidinyl urea — which are toxic contaminants. Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone — causing allergies, cancer, and harmful effects to the nervous system. Parabens, commonly known as a suffix — causing hormone effects. As you can see, scary name… scary result.
Products to avoid include hair dyes, which contain ammonia and peroxide — things you would not normally dump on your head. Try to avoid nail polish and nail polish remover — it contains formaldehyde. Last time I checked, we weren’t zoology experiments. Or dead.
Don’t trust cosmetic labels of ‘dermatologist-tested’, ‘natural’, or ‘organic’. Always read the label on the back — acids are natural but not always the best choice, (yes, things that come from nature can hurt you). Take the labels seriously! They actually have ‘this product may include’ on the back — this is a curious precursor, if I do say so myself. Suspicious, even.
A great website for reference when in search for cosmetics, (and things we like to put on our skin), is www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. The website is brought by the EWG — Environmental Working Group, (www.ewg.com). Basically, you can search for any product, ingredient, or company and discover what chemicals are potentially harmful and why. There is a grading scale for big brand companies I really enjoy looking at — Covergirl averages a 5-10 hazard rating. It delves between moderate and high hazard. Their ‘Outlast All Day Liquid Foundation’ — an 8. Ingredients it contains are linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, violation of restrictions of warnings, allergies and immunotoxicity, enhanced skin absorption methods, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity, and general irritation of skin, eyes, and lungs. And we wonder why our skin breaks out when we try a new product sometimes.
