Poisoned by Shampoo?!

Are you unknowingly adding to your toxic burden with your personal care products? Many people are trying to exercise and eat right and yet don’t realize the toxin load they are “voluntarily” ingesting or absorbing. Your skin is your largest and thinnest organ and a lot of what goes on -goes in! Using clean skin care products is a must for a healthy body.

Here is a short list of things you DO NOT want to see on your products:

Parabens- Widely used preservative in cosmetics and moisturizers. They mimic our hormones and thus create “hormone chaos” in our bodies; also implicated in causing cancers.

Mineral oil, Paraffin, Petrolatum-These coat the skin like plastic and clog our pores!! Do you remember the Gulf oil spill? Do you really want to slather this stuff on your skin?? Alternative names are adepsine, lignite, albolene and white oil.

Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS)- This is found in car washes and engine degreasers and over 90% of personal care products! It breaks down the skin’s natural moisture barrier and has been shown to cause hair loss.

Propylene Glycol- This is also known as antifreeze and is a common ingredient in moisturizers and fragrances! It causes dermatitis, inhibits cell growth and has been linked to liver and kidney disease.

Phenolic Carbolic Acid- Found in many lotions and creams, this product can cause convulsions, coma, paralysis, and respiratory failure!

Toluene- Made from petroleum or coal tar and found in most synthetic fragrances, this poison can be fatal if swallowed and is known to be harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin!! Why is it in your perfume??? Chronic exposure has been linked to anemia, liver and kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus.

Acrylamide- Found in many hand and face creams and linked to breast cancer.

Dioxane-This highly volatile chemical is easily absorbed through the skin and is very commonly used. It is found in PEG, Polysorbates, Laureth, and ethoxylated alcohols.

So if all these chemicals are so bad for us why are they in our skin care products?? Because there are no regulations and these chemicals are cheap, readily available and increase shelf-life. It is all about profit and not about your health. Unfortunately, it is a buyer-beware industry and many companies are jumping on the “green” bandwagon illegitimately.