According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) the average woman uses about 12 products per day with over 168 different ingredients and she will likely ingest 4-6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. Considering this statistic wouldn't you want to know what toxins you are ingesting? Over the past few decades, cancer rates have soared and are predicted to continue their alarming growth. While there isn't any concrete evidence (yet) that toxic chemicals are to blame there are studies that show many of these toxins, which can be found in beauty products, are showing up in breast cancer tissue. Given this scary information maybe you will consider making a few changes.
A few things I keep in mind while shopping for skincare and makeup products are:
- If you wouldn't eat it, don't wear it
- Applying a toxic substance topically can be dangerous because it is directly absorbed into the bloodstream and can be transported to your organs.
- Read, Research, Shop
- Read the ingredient labels on products, research what the ingredients are and determine whether or not they are good for you, then shop knowing you're making a well-educated decision.
- Advertising campaigns bombard customers with words like "natural", "herbal", and "infused with..." so why not check the list of ingredients to make sure the claims are true? Sadly, no one is policing the cosmetics industry and there are very few regulations to determine what goes into the product.
- Be wary of "all natural" because that term includes materials naturally found in nature such as: arsenic, mercury, uranium, and formaldehyde.
According to makeup artist Kristen Arnett's Green Beauty Team blog these 22 brands are guilty of greenwashing to some extent*:
- Arbonne
- Aveda
- Aveeno
- Bio-Oil
- Covergirl Natureluxe
- Herbacin
- Herbal Essences
- Johnson’s Natural
- Josie Maran
- Jurlique
- Korres Natural Products
- LUSH Cosmetics
- Melaleuca
- Moroccan Oil
- Natures Organics
- Nivea Pure & Natural
- Organix
- Origins
- Pure and Basic
- Simple Basics
- Tarte Cosmetics
- The Body Shop
A quick look at an ingredient list on any products on the above list or a scan of a barcode with the Think Dirty app will inform you. Below are examples or greenwashing.
The Body Shop:
In reality...
- Synthetic fragrance which could be a combination of nearly 3000 fragrant ingredients to mask odors or add a pleasant scent. Synthetic fragrances may disrupt hormones and cause allergies.
- Coumarin (skin irritant & may produce photoallergic reactions)
- T-Butyl Alcohol (flammable & carcinogenic)
- Parabens (endocrine disruptors & mimics estrogen)
- Phenoxyethanol (depresses central nervous system & a neurotoxin)
- Cyclomethicone (non biodegradable)
- PEG-100 Stearate (irritant & contamination concerns)
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (skin/eye irritant & contamination concerns)
- Disodium EDTA (irritant & penetration enhancer)
LUSH Cosmetics:
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| Photo Credit: The Independent |
Some of the potentially harmful chemicals in the Fair Trade Foot Lotion & the Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub are:
- Synthetic fragrance which could be a combination of nearly 3000 fragrant ingredients to mask odors or add a pleasant scent. Synthetic fragrances may disrupt hormones and cause allergies.
- Parabens (endocrine disruptors & mimics estrogen)
- Synthetic color (irritant)
Kristen Arnett's Green Beauty Team blog's list is a great start when learning about which brands to bypass. However there are many other brands that are also guilty of greenwashing, such as Hempz Body Care.
Hempz:
Hempz:
In reality...
While Hempz markets their products by saying that they contain fresh coconut, watermelon, and 100% Natural Hemp Seed Oil may be true, they fail to include the fact that their products also contain:
Finding healthy and clean alternatives is rather simple once you get started. For example, a simple swap out for body lotion, eye & makeup remover, shaving gel, lip balm, etc is coconut oil. Pure, organic, unrefined, unbleached, cold-pressed coconut oil literally has hundreds of uses and can be found in your local grocery store or on Amazon.
- Synthetic Fragarance,
- Polysorbate-40 (organ system toxicity & contamination concerns)
- Phenoxyethanol (depresses central nervous system & a neurotoxin)
- PEG-100 Stearate (skin & eye irritant; contamination concerns)
- Methylisothiazolinone (sensitizing effect)
- And more synthetic chemicals which cannot even be pronounced. All of these chemicals have the potential to cause developmental & reproductive toxicity, allergies & immunotoxicities, skin irritation, respiratory irritation, eczema, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly cancer.
Finding healthy and clean alternatives is rather simple once you get started. For example, a simple swap out for body lotion, eye & makeup remover, shaving gel, lip balm, etc is coconut oil. Pure, organic, unrefined, unbleached, cold-pressed coconut oil literally has hundreds of uses and can be found in your local grocery store or on Amazon.
In conclusion, the aisles in department stores and drug stores are enticing mazes which are all trying to sell their latest products to fulfill the unattainable standards that can be seen by the beautiful, photoshopped models who sell the promise of youth and perfection. In reality these models have been digitally altered to look this way and the products they are selling are often toxins wrapped in pretty packaging. Thus, remember if you wouldn't eat it then don't wear it & read, research, before you shop!
Sincerely,
JEN
You can keep up with Sincere and JENunie while on the go! Simply subscribe to me through Google+ or by email to receive an email for every new post.
*List created by Kristen Arnett and can be found on the Green Beauty Team blog
*List created by Kristen Arnett and can be found on the Green Beauty Team blog
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