Healthy is Beautiful
Not all makeup is created equally or healthily! The fact is, chemicals used in everyday cosmetic and beauty products, don’t need to be proven 100% safe before they’re made commercially available. What? No way! How? They do it by saying they only use the chemicals at ‘safe’ or ‘low’ levels. If, like me, you use quite a few different products every day then those little amounts are going to add up. That is why it so important to aware and informed about what is in your products and what you are putting on your skin.
U.S. researchers report that 1 in 8 of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal care products are industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins and hormone disruptors.
But there are many natural alternatives. Check out the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetic Database – a fantastic free online resource, where you can search an ingredient, product or brand to check if it’s safe.
And please, ALWAYS choose cruelty free 💋
What to Avoid, PARABENS, FRAGRANCE and SLES:
PARABENS: Derived from petrochemicals (bad for us and earth); a known hormone disruptor (estrogen mimic); and can penetrate the skin. The most widely used preservative in personal care and make-up; and has been detected in human breast cancer tissue.
FRAGRANCE/PARFUM: Unless it has an asterisk with ‘*from natural essential oils’ then it is 99.9% fake – ie it is a synthetic fragrance with PHTHALATES to make the smell last longer. Phthalates are not a listed ingredient – but by avoiding fragrance/parfum, you are avoiding phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals that are also hormone disruptors. Linked to reduced sperm counts, asthma, changes in male babies’ testes, increased breast cancer incidences; phthalates are prolific in so many products in our homes including shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, deodorants, perfumes, and soaps. Basically if it’s got a fragrance, and it doesn’t state that it’s from natural essential oils, it more than likely contains phthalates.
SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (SLES) – makes products bubble/foam. Can be contaminated during manufacture with two chemicals (one is classified as a ‘known human carcinogen’ and the second, a ‘possible human carcinogen’).