Hello Fashionistas and Stylinista's.....
With the proliferation of cosmetic choices available on the market today, a great deal of concern has become apparent there may be many dangers in the products we are putting on our bodies as well as what we are putting into it. On January 1st I posted how important what we put into our bodies was to the appearance of our skin. Today, I am posting the importance of checking the ingredients of the products a woman puts on her skin, the largest organ of the body.
Women, on average, use about a dozen personal care products a day on her skin; men about half that amount. What few women realize is there is very little regulation regarding these personal care products. The FDA is the only agency with any oversight capability or authority; they have none whatsoever in recalling or preventing continued use of products that become known as harmful. This oversight has had little or no modification since 1938 in spite of the fact that so many new chemicals, etc. have been introduced to our beauty products.
Cosmetics regularly sold for use in the United States have approximately 1,328 chemical ingredients in them that have been banned in other (mostly European) countries; the United States has only eleven according to Dr. Jody Krukowski of the University of Kansas teaching hospital. In fact, as in food consumption, Dr. Krukowski suggests that if you cannot pronounce the ingredient, it is not something we should use on our body (ies).
In 2004, the Environmental Working Group, (EWG) launched the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, containing approximately 78,000 items. This data base contains results of science research on these items. The EWG is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health. Its "EWGVerified" trademark is increasingly become a widely sought certification.
The EWG lists the five most harmful ingredients in widely sold personal care products. They are sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (found in any product that foams) to be a known and proven skin, lung, and eye irritant. Toluene, derived from petroleum and used in paint thinners, parabens (dangers increasingly in the news) and phthalates are known to be endocrine disruptor's with a link to breast cancer in women. Triclosan, found in anti-bacterial soap, eye-shadows, blush, mascara, and nail polishes, can cause thyroid and reproductive system issues. Other concerns also occur with talc (check out recent law suit award!), 4-dioxanes, believed to be associated with skin, liver and kidney damage, Dea/TEA/triethanolanim, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, and sodium fluoride (used in rat poison!). Of great concern is also the general lumping of many other banned items under the generalized name "fragrance" that is allowable under the current regulations.
Dear reader, as you already know from reading this blog, I have been greatly concerned over the foods we put into our bodies and sheer away from almost any preservative or artificial ingredients. My personal blood sugar levels are EXTREMELY affected by them, so I am certainly a believer in their harm to my body. Although I have only recently began experimenting with making my own skin care products using only natural ingredients, etc., after discovering the information that I have posted above, I am definitely withdrawing as much as possible from "ingredients whose name I cannot pronounce". I have found that the natural products of plain yogurt and honey work wonderfully as a cleanser for my aging, dry skin. Raw, unfiltered cider vinegar diluted with about 60% water works wonders as a toner for my skin (I swear it brightens it). I have not found a really good recipe for night cream or daytime face moisurizer yet, but I am working on it. The downside is that making these products is messy, it takes more work, and the product is perishable. Hopefully, I can find some great recipes that work for me. In any event, you can bet that I will be reading the label on EVERY product I purchase, and will not buy anything that conntains the ingredients I have listed above. I also plan on learning a lot more about the EWG.
Women, on average, use about a dozen personal care products a day on her skin; men about half that amount. What few women realize is there is very little regulation regarding these personal care products. The FDA is the only agency with any oversight capability or authority; they have none whatsoever in recalling or preventing continued use of products that become known as harmful. This oversight has had little or no modification since 1938 in spite of the fact that so many new chemicals, etc. have been introduced to our beauty products.
Cosmetics regularly sold for use in the United States have approximately 1,328 chemical ingredients in them that have been banned in other (mostly European) countries; the United States has only eleven according to Dr. Jody Krukowski of the University of Kansas teaching hospital. In fact, as in food consumption, Dr. Krukowski suggests that if you cannot pronounce the ingredient, it is not something we should use on our body (ies).
In 2004, the Environmental Working Group, (EWG) launched the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, containing approximately 78,000 items. This data base contains results of science research on these items. The EWG is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health. Its "EWGVerified" trademark is increasingly become a widely sought certification.
The EWG lists the five most harmful ingredients in widely sold personal care products. They are sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate (found in any product that foams) to be a known and proven skin, lung, and eye irritant. Toluene, derived from petroleum and used in paint thinners, parabens (dangers increasingly in the news) and phthalates are known to be endocrine disruptor's with a link to breast cancer in women. Triclosan, found in anti-bacterial soap, eye-shadows, blush, mascara, and nail polishes, can cause thyroid and reproductive system issues. Other concerns also occur with talc (check out recent law suit award!), 4-dioxanes, believed to be associated with skin, liver and kidney damage, Dea/TEA/triethanolanim, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, and sodium fluoride (used in rat poison!). Of great concern is also the general lumping of many other banned items under the generalized name "fragrance" that is allowable under the current regulations.
Dear reader, as you already know from reading this blog, I have been greatly concerned over the foods we put into our bodies and sheer away from almost any preservative or artificial ingredients. My personal blood sugar levels are EXTREMELY affected by them, so I am certainly a believer in their harm to my body. Although I have only recently began experimenting with making my own skin care products using only natural ingredients, etc., after discovering the information that I have posted above, I am definitely withdrawing as much as possible from "ingredients whose name I cannot pronounce". I have found that the natural products of plain yogurt and honey work wonderfully as a cleanser for my aging, dry skin. Raw, unfiltered cider vinegar diluted with about 60% water works wonders as a toner for my skin (I swear it brightens it). I have not found a really good recipe for night cream or daytime face moisurizer yet, but I am working on it. The downside is that making these products is messy, it takes more work, and the product is perishable. Hopefully, I can find some great recipes that work for me. In any event, you can bet that I will be reading the label on EVERY product I purchase, and will not buy anything that conntains the ingredients I have listed above. I also plan on learning a lot more about the EWG.
No comments:
Post a Comment