Toxic Chemicals in Skin Care Products

Many men and women use skin care products for good looks and to battle the natural effects of aging.  Most of us also use personal care products like perfumes and colognes.  Women use somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 such products on an average day whereas the average man uses about 6.

But, get this, most skin care products contain toxic ingredients which are not only unhealthy, but have actually been found to speed up our aging process by as much as 3 times.  What!  hasten the aging process?  That doesn’t make much sense in light of the fact that we’re applying these products to look younger!

You might have thought that the FDA regulates personal care products.  The fact is that the government requires neither health studies nor pre-market testing of skin care products before they are sold.  Cosmetic manufacturers are permitted to use virtually any raw material as an ingredient.  Nearly 90% of the ingredients used in personal care products haven’t been evaluated for safety by any publicly accountable institution. 

But are the ingredients in personal care products really harmful?  While some companies make safe products, other companies use known human carcinogens or developmental toxins.  Nearly all these chemicals can penetrate the skin, and we ingest some directly from our lips or hands.  More than one-third of all personal care products have at least one ingredient linked to cancer.

What about perfume and colgne?  Not So Sexy – Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne, a May 2010 report by the Environmental Working Group stated that laboratory tests revealed 38 secret chemicals in 17 popular fragrance products, topped by American Eagle Seventy Seven with 24, Chanel Coco with 18, and Britney Spears Curious and Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio with 17.

These tests revealed that the average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals that were not listed on the label.  Some of Some of these chemicals are associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions.  Many of the substances have not been assessed for safety in personal care products.

It would be wise to find alternatives to skin care and other personal care products that contain things like parabens, synthetic fragrances, ureas, 1,4-dioxane, endocrine system disrupters, and others.  Reconsider your usage of personal care products that contain lead acetate, butyl acetate, butylated hydroxytoluene, coal tar, formaldehyde, phthalates, mercury, talc, polyethylene glycol, and butylene glycol.

The intelligent thing to do is to use skin care products that do not contain parabens but contain natural botanicals.

A relaxing and effective way to get rid of the toxins we all pick up from the products we use, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we use and drink, and our environment is by the periodic use of an ionic detox foot bath.