You Are What You Use?!

Quick trivia question...what is the largest organ in your body?

Your skin!

Knowing this and knowing our skin is sponge-like and easily absorbs what is placed on it, it makes sense to take a deeper look at the cosmetics and products we use on our bodies. Women who use make up daily absorb an average of 5lbs of cosmetics through their skin each year!

Unfortunately the FDA doesn't regulate cosmetics and beauty products (hence the name "Food and Drug Administration" has no mention of cosmetics). Because these types of products are not closely monitored they can contain some really harmful substances. Here are just a few:

~Mercury
~Dioxane
~Nitrosamines
~DEA
~Cyclomethicone
~Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
~Alcohol

These chemicals, along with many additional chemicals can cause some major health issues such as:
-Cancer
-Interfere with your endocrine (hormonal) system
-Cause fertility issues
-Harm a developing fetus
-Trigger allergic reactions

Here is what you can do to make better choices:
~Look for products labeled Organic (Burt's Bees, California Baby, Jason, and Giovanni are some of my favorites)
~Do your research. Type your product into Skin Deep's database to see if it's safe.
~Don't be fooled by marketing lingo:
     -"For Professional Use Only". This phrase allows cosmetic companies to remove harmful chemicals from their labels.
     -"Hypoallergenic". No actual testing is necessary to claim that a product is "hypoallergenic", "allergy-free" or "safe for sensitive skin". Neither the FDA nor any other regulating body even requires the companies to prove these claims.
     -Harmful Chemicals. Unless they are intentionally placed in the product, harmful chemicals are not required to be listed. It's no shocker that you never see these.

Skin Deep  and Mercola are two websites I visit frequently to research products.