HEY CLEAN EATER!
ARE YOU CONSCIOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE FEEDING YOUR SKIN?
Article by Heather Jadus
Photo Credit: Nancy Schoenmakers
Magazine: Issue #27
Are YOU Conscious About What You're Feeding Your Skin?
Skin is the body's largest organ and because it's porous, so anything you slather on it can get absorbed straight to your bloodstream! When you eat food, it gets digested and and then goes to the liver to be detoxified. When products penetrate your skin there is no detoxification.
When it comes to living a healthy and natural lifestyle, what you put on your body is just as significant as what you put in your body.
Everyone wants clean skin products and some people even think they are using them but actually they are not. Unfortunately safe makeup, safe skin products and clean cosmetics brands are hard to find. The truth lies in the transparency so you need to do your homework!
Studies show that the skin can absorb an average of 64% of total contaminant dosage of any ingredient. This is why knowing your ingredients and reading your labels is key! Other studies found the face to be several times more permeable than broad body surfaces and an absorption rate of 100% for underarms. Lastly, another peer-reviewed study showed 100% absorption for fragrance ingredients. Ugh! That one really scares me!
It is easy to see that what we use on our skin ends up inside our bodies. So it is important to pay close attention to the ingredients in our skin care products. If the products you use contain harmful ingredients such as harsh, toxic chemicals, colors, and fragrances, those ingredients make their way into your body, your blood and lymphatic system. Every choice counts. Make some changes!
Here are a few tips on how to find the best clean skin products AND how to avoid the worst brands when it comes to safe and healthy ingredients:
1| Ingredients should be easily found. Many personal products list their ingredients on the box rather than on the bottle. Who keeps the boxes? But that's ok. A quick google on the internet should get you the information you need. HOWEVER, if you get to a product company website and ingredients are not listed this should raise a huge red flag. This has happened to me on a few products searches so I end up sending and email to ask if I am missing the ingredient lists somewhere on the site. Always the same answer... "If you want an ingredient list, please call to get it." This really disturbs me. Go no further. NEVER buy from this company again.
2| Perfume, Parfum - When either of these words are listed as an ingredient, it's considered a "trade secret" in the cosmetics industry. Therefore, the ingredinet that make up this word are not required to be exposed. There could be 1, 5, 100 or even 1,000 ingredients that HIDDEN within that one ingredient. This does not mean that you need to use only unscented products. It just means that the ingredients that makeup the fragrance should be listed separatly.
3| Natural, Organic, Hypo-Allergenic, etc. etc. - If a product is slapped with any of these "labels" don't think that your search has ended. There is no regulation on any of these labels so any product can put them on there and they mean nothing. This does not mean that any product with these labels are lying. It just means you cannot rely on this label. ALWAYS check the ingredient list.
4| DIY (Do It Yourself) - This is an option of course and pinterest is full of recipes for natural products where you can pick the ingredients yourself. This option is not for everyone but at least it's there!
When in doubt always ask questions! Comment below if you have any!
Be Informed. Be Safe. Be Healthy.
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