Skin care products: May Contain Harmful Chemicals or Toxins

Fortunately there are responsible companies that are committed to making skin care and cosmetics that are safe for you and your family to use. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has many companies listed, they have pledged to do no harm and only make products that are completely chemical free. I have added the link here where you can see if your company is on the list. Also check out Cosmetics Data Base where they have thousands of products listed, and are rated 0 for completely safe up to 10 for most hazardous.

There is no reason to use toxic products when there are safe alternatives instead.

Although a product may be labeled "pure, natural and organic" this can be misleading. At the present time no legal standards exist for organic or natural skin care products sold in the United States. Those labeled this way may still contain some harmful chemicals, so we need to be careful with what we buy.

New industry standards may help people know the difference between the natural and not-so-natural products, but multiple standards with different meanings can be hard to understand. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics wants a standard that means ingredients really are as safe as they say they are.

Yes, it's true..... lead has been found in lipstick. In 2007 The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 popular lipstick brands at an independent lab for content. It showed that over half were positive for lead, including such well known brands as L'Oreal and Cover Girl.

Even in very small amounts lead can be a health harard. It builds up in the body over time and applying lipstick with lead can add up. Companies are free to contain lead if they wish, despite the potential health problems, as there is nothing stopping them from doing so. It's up to the consumer to be educated about what is in their favorite products and to not buy from companies that are not showing concern for our health.

I used to like buying products with added fragrance, until I learned about the hidden harards.

Fragrance can really mean almost anything apparently, and companies don't have to say what is in it. They often have many synthetic chemical compounds. Many products use the generic term "fragrance," in many personal care products such as deodorants, shampoos, creams and so on. Even "unscented" products can have masking fragrances, which are chemicals used to cover up the odor of other chemicals. Not very healthy is it?

Some hidden hazards that may be in products that contain synthetic fragrance include:

Phthalates: These are banned in Europe but are often found in North American products such as shampoos, deodorants and hair gels. Phthalates have been shown that they may be hazardous to our health.

Sensitizers: Some people may have immune system problems from fragrance and become sensitized to them.

Neurotoxins: Fragrance ingredients have been identified as one of six categories of chemicals that could be toxic to the brain and that should be thoroughly investigated for impact on our health.

The umbilical cord is the unborn baby's lifeline, giving the baby nourishment from the mother and removing waste. The amniotic fluid surrounds the unborn baby, and the cord brings vital oxygen and nutrition. However, it's shocking to hear that the cord also contains toxic chemicals according to a study entitled "Body burden: The pollution of newborns."

Researchers from two major laboratories checked for the presence of toxic chemicals in umbilical cord blood of 10 newborn babies born in US hospitals in August and September of 2004. Of the more than 400 chemicals tested, 287 were found in umbilical cord blood. Of these, 180 can cause cancer, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 can cause birth defects.

The full report is here: Body Burden Report

According to the studies authors, the amount of testing was limited because chemical companies do not have to reveal methods for detecting their chemicals in the body, If this had been the case, researchers believe they would have found much more than 287.

Can there be any doubt we need to do all we can to reduce this toxic overload? Especially for innocent newborn babies?

Shouldnt we be doing everything we can to protect ourselves, and especially for our children?