As I mentioned in part I of this series, up to 60% of what we put on our skin gets absorbed which leads to our bodies absorbing up to 5 pounds of chemicals through our skin every year. If something isn’t pure enough to eat we really should not put in on our body, should we?
It’s inauspicious that manufacturers of personal care products are not regulated and therefore not required to disclose ingredients, toxic or not. Fortunately, many organizations are on top of it and bringing awareness to the issue. Some of these watchdog groups may have a political agenda, but not all of them do.
Agenda or no agenda, much of the information they share is based in science and they do have an important message: do not use products containing harmful ingredients that will compromise your health and threaten the environment.
There are many brands out there claiming to be pure and while they may not contain carcinogens, they do have synthetic fragrances, irritants, endocrine disruptors and other unfavorable ingredients. So what can we do? How do we find products that won’t harm us? We have to be cautious but there are some fabulous lines on the market which I will talk about in upcoming posts and videos.
You can also check the ingredients of your products in EWG’s cosmetic data base. It’s not a complete list of every personal care item out there but it is a helpful resource. I’ll be writing about ingredients to avoid in the near future as well so stay tuned.
Did you read the article I posted on my Facebook page the other day? They tested over 400 lipsticks for lead content, check to see if yours is on the list.
It’s not always easy to find suitable alternatives and many of the organic and truly pure, clean cosmetics are way over priced. But there are companies that offer good, safe products such as Ava Anderson Non Toxic. I’ll write about of my finds in upcoming posts. One of my favorite tinted lip balms is by Tarte.
Mascara has been a tough one for me. Do I really want to spend $25 on mascara that flakes off and leaves a smattering of black dust under my eyes when I can spend $7 on Lash Exact by Covergirl that really does give my lashes great volume and length?!
What’s an eco savvy gal to do?! I’m giving Ava and Organic Wear mascara a try, I’ll let you know how they measure up. If you like an earth friendly mascara that works well and doesn’t break the bank I’d love to hear about it.
The products which we buy from the market contains so many chemicals and these chemicals give very bad effects to our skin. That’s why I always prefer home-made stuff rather than imported cosmetics. I always prefer natural ingredients.
Homemade is a great way to go.