20 Jul What’s really in our beauty products?
A lot of people don’t know this but our cosmetics are packed FULL of harmful chemicals, including carcinogens (substances that can cause cancer), reproductive toxins, and hormone disruptors. Some products even contain plasticizers (chemicals used to keep concrete soft), degreasers (used to get grime off auto parts), and surfactants (they reduce surface tension in water, like in paint and inks). YIKES!! Imagine what that does to your skin!!! Not only that but it also harms the environment, our oceans and fish. At the end of the day when we wash up for bed or take a shower everything gets washed down the drain and goes into the ocean.
What can you do about it? Well, the first thing I did was familiarize myself with the different chemicals and their names so that I could at least know what not to look for when buying cosmetics. Then I did a little research to find out which brands are using these dangerous ingredients. And you know there isn’t much information out there, specifically with makeup brands. I think the cosmetic industry is trying to keep this information from the general public to save their pocket books, but that’s my speculation. So I started looking for myself. I started reading the ingredients on every product I found and was shocked to discover that 99% of cosmetic products and beauty products on the market had one or more of these toxic chemicals!! Brands including Aveeno, Burt’s Bees, Smashbox, MAC, Lancôme, Tom Ford, Crest, Colgate, Chanel, Loreal, Almay, Physicians Formula, Maybelline, Tresseme, The Body Shop, Lush, Dial and on and on. I managed to find a few skin care products with all natural and organic ingredients, which I’ve detailed further on in the article. But when it comes to cosmetics in the drugstore, forget it! I read ALL the ingredients on all makeup brands I could find in the drugstore and not one was free from toxic chemicals. This also goes for the high-end brands. Don’t assume a product has safe ingredients just because it has a fat price tag. Download my little wallet size guide and start reading labels the next time you go shopping!
I wasn’t able to find any shampoo and conditioner or body lotion at the drug store that was free of the various chemicals so I started hunting the organic beauty product aisles at various heath food stores. I thought surely if it’s “organic” and “all natural” that the ingredients would check out. But I was wrong about that too! I found several of the various chemicals on the ingredients lists in these so called organic and all natural products. Thankfully I did find a few products that had really clean ingredients and I ended up buying a few (also listed below). So don’t assume that it’s safe just because it’s in the organic aisle, read the labels, know what you’re buying and putting on your face and body and help keep our environment clean. Again, download the little guide and keep it in your wallet or purse so you are always prepared when you’re out shopping for beauty products.
I am still on the hunt for affordable, drugstore makeup that has 100% clean ingredients, free of the toxins on my “Naughty List”. I know there are some good brands out there that use really clean ingredients like Makeup Geek, Arbonne, I think even Sugarpill uses clean ingredients. But I’m hoping to one day find a drugstore makeup line that has 100% safe and chemical free ingredients. Hey a girl can dream!!! I will continue to read labels and search the shelves at each drugstore I visit. If any of you know of a brand I haven’t discovered yet that fulfills my quest please leave a comment and I’d be more than happy to check it out.
If I was to recommend one brand, above all others, it would be Arbonne, hands down. Not only is this brand %100 non-toxic, vegan, environmentally friendly and cruelty free, they use ingredients that help promote healthy, youthful, glowing skin and anti-aging beyond anything I’ve every used before. The brand is a little more expensive if you’re used to buying drugstore only, but comparable to Sephora prices and way better quality! Click here for information on their ingredients policy and click here to browse their catalog and/or shop.
I have been using this brand for years and I can’t say enough good things about it! Not only does my skin look great, but I feel great knowing that I’m supporting a clean brand and doing my part for the environment.
In summary I have discovered the ugly truth that the cosmetics industry, along with the food industry is putting harmful chemicals in our products and we are using them and poisoning our bodies and the environment without even knowing it. I have written this article in the hopes that you can learn something useful and I hope you too will be inspired to use products with safe and non-toxic ingredients.