26 seconds is all it takes for the ingredients in your personal care products to enter your bloodstream.
We now know, without debate, that chemicals in our personal care products can and do enter our bloodstream. It makes sense, when you think about it.
Our skin is our body’s largest organ and what you put on it can affect you in good and bad ways. Just think about Nicotine patches for those trying to quit smoking. Patches are applied directly to the skin and hopeful quitters can get their hit from the patch, which delivers Nicotine to them via their bloodstream.
It happens quickly too. It’s been reported recently that it takes only 26 seconds for what you apply to your skin to be absorbed into your bloodstream.
This would be ok, if what we were putting on our skin was safe, healthy and enhanced our wellbeing. But, there is no concrete definition of what is Natural when it comes to the beauty industry and reason for more concern is that there is no regulatory body overseeing it. Which means, anyone can put something in a bottle, tube or pot and call it natural, non-toxic or green…. and the sad thing is, that they do.
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Detox your bathroom – Top 5 products to start with
- Anything you soak or wash in (ie soap & bubble bath) as it has the highest exposure to your entire body.
- Anything you apply and do not wash off, such as lotion, face and body creams, balms and oils as they have all day to soak in.
- Body powder/Talcum Powder – there are too may health concerns surrounding this product including increased risk of ovarian cancer.
- Shampoo and conditioner (which is a wash off, but has high exposure due to where you use it and the way it “washes” over your entire body).
- Any product you put on your child, check the labels even some brands designed specifically for babies that claim to be natural are far from it.
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Studies by the Environmental Working Group state that the average person uses 12 personal care products each day, exposing themselves to 126 ingredients in total. Most of these have huge health question marks placed over them, are either, synthetic, toxic, skin irritants, known carcinogens and play havoc with our hormonal development.
This information isn’t designed to scare or shock us. But it sure is a wake-up call that can empower us to make healthier choices. Just like the clean, green eating movement, it’s uber-important to start looking at what you are applying to your skin.
The task of scrutinizing every single ingredient can be daunting. So a helpful place to start is with the products that are having the most negative impact. Think about the level of exposure you’re getting from the products you’re using. For instance, if you use a lotion all over your body and it soaks into your skin all day, you’re getting a lot more exposure to those chemicals than if you were to use the same ingredients in a face cleanser that is quickly washed off.
So be strategic…try to get the best ingredients in products that you have a lot of exposure to (shampoo, lotion, sunscreen, etc.), and if you want to, relax your standards a bit for products like hand soap.
Remember, stress is beauty’s enemy so be realistic! It’s impossible in this day and age for us to live as 100% purists. So change your products on your own terms, on finding similar performing natural offers that are within your budget. The aim is to reduce you chemical exposure and live as clean as possible.
Also, don’t be fooled by the label, the words Botanical, Natural and Organic, don’t mean much these days. So check the ingredients, usually if you can’t eat it or pronounce it, you really shouldn’t be putting it on your skin.
Article by Anastasia Skin Crusader
A reformed mainstream beauty addict, Anastasia now goes by the title of skin crusader and has been embarking on an educational crusade over the past 10 years to revolutionise the way people care for themselves and the planet. Via her public speaking engagements, products and blog. She hopes that this knowledge passes on a legacy to future generations, so they too can embrace the philosophy of less equals more and save our skin and the world we live in.
W: www.saveourskin.com.au
I: /anastasia_skincrusader
B: www.saveourskin.com.au/blogs/news
FB: /Save-Our-Skin-The-World-We-Live-In
