Is Your Lotion Toxic? How To Recognize And Avoid Toxic Skin Care Products
Is your moisturizer gradually killing you? Does your mascara cause cancer?
I know these doubts may perhaps seem somewhat far fetched, but in truth, numerous mainstream commercial personal care products offered on department store shelves these days are toxic skincare products which include chemical substances that may well be dangerous to your health. A lot of people are not even conscious of this, but these compounds can cause all sorts of destructive unwanted side effects, from thinning hair, to rashes and additional allergies, to mouth or skin sores and other conditions, and in the long-term a few could even be linked to cancer!
For example, Pthalates (often listed in skincare contents as dibutylphthalate, DEP, DBP, or butyl esters) are used in beauty and skincare products from mascara to nail polish, to face cream, and they help these products spread thinly, and absorb into the skin.
You know what else phthalates do? They cause birth defects! That's correct - studies have shown that these toxic skin care elements cause birth defects in rats, as well as in humans. Several cosmetics manufacturers have lately stopped the use of phthalates, however many other companies haven't.
A different scary ingredient to avoid is Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulfate (SLS). This one is essentially a detergent, which will cause things like shampoo, soap, and even, toothpaste to lather up and get sudsy. SLS is one of the chief causes of personal care product complaints such as dandruff and thinning hair, dry skin, and mouth sores, and it may even cause long-term damage to the eyes!
And this one is particularly frightening: Remember formaldehyde - that really smelly substance which was used to preserve the frogs for dissection in your biology class? Formaldehyde has recently been identified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen (you most likely might have guessed that by how bad it smelled, right?)
Well, how would you like that substance on your skin? Guess what: while you might not actually spot the word "formaldehyde" on your skincare product ingredient list, you may see one of these substances instead:
€ quaternium-15
€ imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (also known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
€ bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
€ DMDM hydantoin
All of these toxic skincare elements break down during use and form formaldehyde, which is especially an issue if they appear within a product you use in the shower or on your hair, as warmth can increase the conversion to formaldehyde.
And so the list goes on....
But what can we do? That stuff is all over the place, right? So how do we steer clear of these toxic skin care ingredients, and attain more natural beauty products which can be less harmful to our health?
Although you may never manage to memorize every single toxic skin care ingredient out there, you can still surely write a list of the most unsafe culprits (maybe write out the list and carry it in your purse or wallet), and then you can verify the formula of your skin care products against the list, and if they do not measure up, simply don't buy them.
Here is a brief list of toxic skin care ingredients you should never purchase:
* Phthalates
€ Mineral Oil and other petroleum products
€ Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate
€ Parabens (keep in mind these might be shown by a longer name like methylparaben)
€ Formaldehyde
€ Selenium Sulfide
* quaternium-15
€ imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (also known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
€ bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
€ DMDM hydantoin
You should also steer clear of: alcohol, fragrance, mineral oil and additional petroleum products, dioxane, toulene and triclosan.
There are certainly lots of others around also, but when you happen to be unable to get truly 100% natural personal care products in your area, avoiding the elements above should at least get you on the right track to a healthier future.
I know these doubts may perhaps seem somewhat far fetched, but in truth, numerous mainstream commercial personal care products offered on department store shelves these days are toxic skincare products which include chemical substances that may well be dangerous to your health. A lot of people are not even conscious of this, but these compounds can cause all sorts of destructive unwanted side effects, from thinning hair, to rashes and additional allergies, to mouth or skin sores and other conditions, and in the long-term a few could even be linked to cancer!
For example, Pthalates (often listed in skincare contents as dibutylphthalate, DEP, DBP, or butyl esters) are used in beauty and skincare products from mascara to nail polish, to face cream, and they help these products spread thinly, and absorb into the skin.
You know what else phthalates do? They cause birth defects! That's correct - studies have shown that these toxic skin care elements cause birth defects in rats, as well as in humans. Several cosmetics manufacturers have lately stopped the use of phthalates, however many other companies haven't.
A different scary ingredient to avoid is Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulfate (SLS). This one is essentially a detergent, which will cause things like shampoo, soap, and even, toothpaste to lather up and get sudsy. SLS is one of the chief causes of personal care product complaints such as dandruff and thinning hair, dry skin, and mouth sores, and it may even cause long-term damage to the eyes!
And this one is particularly frightening: Remember formaldehyde - that really smelly substance which was used to preserve the frogs for dissection in your biology class? Formaldehyde has recently been identified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen (you most likely might have guessed that by how bad it smelled, right?)
Well, how would you like that substance on your skin? Guess what: while you might not actually spot the word "formaldehyde" on your skincare product ingredient list, you may see one of these substances instead:
€ quaternium-15
€ imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (also known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
€ bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
€ DMDM hydantoin
All of these toxic skincare elements break down during use and form formaldehyde, which is especially an issue if they appear within a product you use in the shower or on your hair, as warmth can increase the conversion to formaldehyde.
And so the list goes on....
But what can we do? That stuff is all over the place, right? So how do we steer clear of these toxic skin care ingredients, and attain more natural beauty products which can be less harmful to our health?
Although you may never manage to memorize every single toxic skin care ingredient out there, you can still surely write a list of the most unsafe culprits (maybe write out the list and carry it in your purse or wallet), and then you can verify the formula of your skin care products against the list, and if they do not measure up, simply don't buy them.
Here is a brief list of toxic skin care ingredients you should never purchase:
* Phthalates
€ Mineral Oil and other petroleum products
€ Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate
€ Parabens (keep in mind these might be shown by a longer name like methylparaben)
€ Formaldehyde
€ Selenium Sulfide
* quaternium-15
€ imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (also known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
€ bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
€ DMDM hydantoin
You should also steer clear of: alcohol, fragrance, mineral oil and additional petroleum products, dioxane, toulene and triclosan.
There are certainly lots of others around also, but when you happen to be unable to get truly 100% natural personal care products in your area, avoiding the elements above should at least get you on the right track to a healthier future.