Skin Care: Are We Killing Ourselves With Our Personal Care Products?

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed a growing concern about the toxic chemicals present in the personal care products we use every day; toxins that enter our skin and go straight into our blood in 8 to 10 minutes.  For once, the media are reporting the truth!

This ABC interview with Stacy Malkan gives just a glimpse of what is going on in the skin care industry today.  Americans – men, women and children – use on average 6-12 personal care products daily, exposing their bodies to 8 to168 chemicals.[1]  The cumulative effect of these chemicals can cause numerous health problems from allergies to cancer to reproductive problems.

One study showed newborn babies’ umbilical cord blood carried 287 chemicals.  Of those chemicals, 180 could cause cancer, 217 could be toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 could cause birth defects or abnormal development.[2]

Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies.  Whatever we put on our skin absorbs directly into our blood.  Truly, we are what we absorb.  If the skin’s main job is to protect us from infections and toxins, applying toxins to our skin every day defeats its purpose.

So what are we to do?  The cosmetic industry is largely self-policing.  According to the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, “…a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from FDA” (FDA 1995).[3]  We can’t trust the government to make sure personal care products are safe for us to use, so we must educate ourselves.  The Environmental Working Group was formed to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.  See their research relating to toxins in our environment, cleaning products, food and personal care products at www.ewg.org.  They have created a database at Cosmetic Database, a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products.  There you can research for yourself the ingredients in the products you use, and on a scale of 0-10 (no toxins to very toxic) see how toxic they are and why.

Consider reading Not Just a Pretty Face by Stacy Malkan, about “The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.”  Another good reference is Beauty to Die For by Judi Vance.  Both of these books will help you take proactive measures to reduce the toxins we put in and on our bodies.  We have to take charge of our family’s health, now!  Good health is no longer something to take for granted.

 

[1] cosmeticdatabase.com/research/exposures.php

[2] Templeman, M.D., Dr. J. Frederic. A discussion on Toxins.  Health & Wellness Report, Volume 3/Number1. 2008

[3] cosmeticdatabase.com/research/whythismatters.php

 

 

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