Yeah, that title is a little scary. At least, I think it is... But apparently the cosmetic industry disagrees. For some time now I have been researching the ingredients in our hygiene products (things like shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, lotions, make up, etc.). I have found A LOT of really scary things. The cosmetic industry is so huge and "powerful" that the FDA has had little to no regulations on the products put on our stores' shelves. Because of this most cosmetic companies use the cheapest stuff they can find... Synthetic chemicals and synthetic fragrances... A lot of which are carcinogens. Take for example baby powder. Unless you are using a 100% corn starch baby powder than your powder's #1 ingredient is talc. Talc doesn't sound too bad, does it? Well, talc that is unregulated by the FDA carries traces of asbestos! Talc is a carcinogen that has been linked to both lung cancer and ovarian cancer, so when you are covering your baby girl's bottom with it during diaper changes it goes straight to her female organs and can cause her to develop ovarian cancer when she is older. Yikes, right?
There is a really long list of toxic chemicals used regularly in our shampoos, soaps, lotions, toothpaste (yes, I said toothpaste), etc. etc...
Our family has made the decision to quit living in ignorance and start reading labels. I read the labels on EVERYTHING I buy now. Most of the time I carry a list of toxic chemicals w/ me to the store so I can double check.
Our skin is the largest organ in/on our bodies and over 60% of what we put on our skin gets absorbed into our system and goes to our internal organs. A lot of synthetic chemicals cannot be broken down by our livers either. I think it is worth the extra time to read labels.
I have started making our laundry detergent & cleaners, and will be making our shampoo and conditioner soon too. It may sound like a real pain in the you-know-what but it is actually fun to get to create things the way I want them and add whatever essential oils to them I want. There are a lot of great recipes online for these things. One really fabulous website to visit is www.safecosmetics.org which is very informative when it comes to how the cosmetic industry works and what we can do to change it.
And this is all about what we put ON our bodies... Just wait till I blog about what goes IN to our bodies! That is for a different day though :).
You know, for a while I was really into this stuff, and then I stopped. It just seemed too overwhelming to tackle, like such a losing battle. Thanks for reminding the importance of reading cosmetic labels. I'm going to get my info books back out and re-dedicate myself. Miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to experiment a little more with adding essential oils to things. A lot of my "homemade" stuff doesn't smell like anything. You'll have to tell me what kind of scents your family likes the best.
ReplyDeleteDawn... You go girl! Let me know next time you are at Hillsboro park & we will try to meet up.
ReplyDeleteHolly... Right now I use patchouli & sandalwood (which we love). We really like anything that has an earthy/woodsy fragrance. I am doing so research on the properties of essential oils so I know the best ones to combine.