Did you know that your makeup and skin care products can be causing major health issues?

One of the most important things to know about our skin is it’s our largest organ and what we put on it begins to absorb into our bloodstream very quickly. Everything you put on your skin has the potential to cause you harm.

Skin care products are known to contribute to cancer, disrupt our hormones, allergies, birth defects, obesity, learning disabilities and reproductive problems. They can also contribute to environmental pollution because a lot of it ends up going down the drain (ie shampoo/conditioner, soap, face wash, makeup).

Using a skin care product that contains harmful chemicals every great once in a while won’t cause harm. It’s a cumulative effect. We use shampoo, lotion, makeup, deodorant, soap, etc DAILY! This accumulation of toxic chemicals is what leads to some of the health issues.

Harmful chemicals and kids

What happens to our kids when they’re exposed to these chemicals day after day? Cancer, disruptive behavior, skin issues, asthma and more. These problems can start to develop in utero!This study by Dr. Phillip J Landrigan shows that “the ‘likelihood is high’ that many chemicals’ have potential to cause injury to the developing brain and produce neurodevelopmental disorders’”.

This study shows that 287 chemicals were found in the cord blood of newborn baby’s. When a woman is exposed to chemicals either before she gets pregnant or while pregnant, she runs of the risk of exposing her unborn child to potentially harmful chemicals. “The dangers of pre- or post-natal exposure to this complex mixture of carcinogens, developmental toxins and neurotoxins have never been studied.”

Here are some harmful ingredients you’ll want to AVOID to make sure your skin care products are helping you, not harming you:

Fragrance

Mineral Oil

Parabens

Phthalates

‘Antibacterial‘

‘Antiperspirant’

Both parabens and phthalates disrupt our hormones, contribute to infertility and are possible carcinogens… among other negative health risks.

Fragrance is made from chemicals. I feel like that’s ’nuff said. Just know that if that one word is on the ingredient list there are hundreds of chemicals in that product. Yes, it can take that many chemicals to make fragrance.

Triclosan is a synthetic chemical found in ‘antibacterial’ items that contributes to hormone imbalances, asthma, eczema, thyroid issues, a poor immune system and more. In addition to the antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers, it can be found in cosmetics, deodorant, clothing, toothpaste, dish soap and more. It accumulates in fat cells, has been detected in breast milk, and has been found in our water.

Mineral oil disrupts our nutrient absorption and it’s actually a byproduct of petroleum as it’s made into gasoline! Would you put gasoline on your skin? On labels, mineral oil can be listed as mineral oil, petroleum, petrolatum, or paraffin oil.

What can you do?

First, head to www.EWG.org. They also have the ‘Healthy Living’ app. Enter (or scan using the app) some of your current skin care products. If it rates 1 its awesome (non-toxic) and 10 is horrible!

Next, head to this website that has all ‘clean’ makeup and skin care products.

I didn’t mention hair dye, but this is a post I wrote about the amazing hair dye I use.

You can also head to the ‘Stuff I Love’ page on my website for a variety of items that I use, trust and love!

Last, don’t freak out and feel like you need to toss all your personal care products right now. Tossing them all and then replacing all of them at the same time might get overwhelming. Throw out, then replace, a couple products here and there.

This guest post was written by Brianne, a Registered Nurse and Certified Health Coach at Hippie Dippie Mom.