Benefits of Using Organic Personal Products

When it comes to using organic personal products, you're reluctant. You'd like to incorporate organic personal products into your lifestyle, but it's difficult to part with your old favorites products and switch to more expensive, organic supplies.

But there are many reasons to make that change, benefitting both the environment and your health.

1. Organic products cost more because they are made of higher quality ingredients.

Organic product companies pride themselves on using all natural ingredients, mostly from plants, without artificial additives. These products contain phytonutrients, also known as antioxidants, and an assortment of vitamins and minerals all beneficial to your health. They are also free of harmful chemicals, preservatives, and pesticides.

Non-organic products contain synthetic ingredients, such as emollients, thickeners, emulsifiers, colorants, fragrances, chemical solvents, and also GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. E.J. Mundell from HealthDay News reports that Dr. Lisa Donofrio, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, has studied the affect of parabins, preservatives present in many beauty items, including makeup and especially lotions, to extend shelf life.

Parabins have the ability to attach themselves to estrogen receptors, and in studies they stimulate breast cancer cells, raising estrogens levels and increasing the risk of developing breast cancer. The beauty industry claims the levels of parabins in products are too small to cause health risks, but women using these lotions day after day increase their exposure as the levels accumulate over time.

Your beauty products should enhance your beauty and health. The last thing you want is your makeup and lotion to raise your risk of cancer. It's just not worth the risk. Need more proof? Visit the online Skin Deep Database, a searchable, cosmetic database with hazard rating levels for ingredients. Type in an ingredient, and you will see the hazard rating from 1-10. You can also conveniently search by product. Products or ingredients above a 2 rating are considered a "moderate hazard", and above a 6, a "high hazard." If you have concerns about a certain product you love, check it out.

In addition, when purchasing organic products, be sure to check the packaging for the words certified organic. Some products claim to be organic, but they mix organic products with synthetic substances. Be careful not to confuse the word natural for organic either. The term natural has not been clarified, and the standards are still being debated.

The only absolute way to know whether or not a product is truly organic is to look for the USDA label, which certifies that the product is 95%-100% organic. Often the other 5% refers to water content, but check the label to be sure. Unfortunately, not many organic beauty companies have the USDA label yet because the certification of organic beauty products is so new. Companies may truly be organic but have not been officially approved by the USDA due to paperwork and fees.

One popular, fail-safe method: If a product claims to be organic, read the list of ingredients. If you can't pronounce some of them, chances are the ingredients are synthetic.

2. Your body absorbs the ingredients in personal products.

Organic ingredients work with your body's chemistry, enhancing your beauty with the power of nature. The skin is the biggest organ of the human body. When you slather on soap, lotion, and deodorant, your pores absorb these products, and the ingredients enter your bloodstream. Your skin consumes your personal products, so even if you eat organic food but do not use organic personal products, you are still subjecting your body to the chemicals, preservatives, and pesticides you are trying to avoid in your food.

Skin, hair, and nails can also reap the benefit of organic products since they contain so many natural vitamins and minerals. There are organic alternatives available for other personal products, such as toothpaste, deodorant, perfumes. Otherwise, as we use these products, chemicals permeate into our bodies.

Organic baby clothing, diapers, blankets, lotions, and other sundry products have also exploded in the consumer market. Parents concerned with the effect environmental pollutants have on their little ones are willing to pay higher prices for products that keep their babies healthy.

Babies are highly sensitive to environmental factors, and organic baby products omit harsh chemicals and preservatives, easing their parents' worries. Organic cotton is grown without harmful pesticides, benefiting the environment and your health. Don't forget about organic sanitary items, and other cotton materials, including cotton clothing. Organic clothing, toys, and other supplies for toddlers and older children are growing in popularity.

If you'd rather tap into your creative side, you can make your own unique, organic products, especially soaps, oils, balms, and fragrances. Don't be overwhelmed; if you can cook, you can follow basic organic recipes. Recipes are abundant online, but to maintain quality, be sure your ingredients are all certified organic. You may even want to create these homemade, organic products as gifts. Perhaps your friends and relatives may convert to organic products as well.

3. Organic products benefit the environment.

Organic products rely on the environment for ingredients, and in turn, they respect the environment. The packaging on organic products is made with recycled materials and can often be recycled, sometimes through the original company. Cargo, a Canadian beauty company, has even taken this a step further. They created the innovative PlantLove Botanical Lipstick ($20).

The tube is made entirely of corn, a planet-friendly resource, designed with a funky pink and white swirl pattern. The outside packaging is made of flower paper embedded with real flower seeds. Once moistened and planted, a bouquet of wild flowers will grow in its place. Now that's environmentally sound! Cargo also donates two dollars from the sale of every tube to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since they believe in giving back to the community as much as they can in the hope to inspire others to follow.

Organic ingredients are also grown without harmful pesticides or other chemicals. Harmful pesticides are known to pollute the air, sink into the oil, and run into the water supply. Organic companies also harvest their ingredients in the most harmless way for the ecosystem rather than in the most cost-effective way for their pockets. Some non-organic company practices include clearing fields of trees for easier access to ingredients.

Many organic companies now pride themselves on being biodynamic, a holistic approach to living with the environment, using its natural resources while considering all inter-related living systems, and then helping the earth to replenish itself rather than continually taking from it. Ingredients that are wildcrafted and wildharvested are carefully grown and collected without disturbing other natural resources. This greater respect for nature unfortunately also results in a higher product cost, but by spending the extra money, you are showing support for the efforts of organic companies and making a stand against companies concerned only with money.

4. Organic products benefit animals.

Organic products take the environment into account, which benefits animals and their natural habitats. Organic personal products are also never tested on animals. The beauty industry is notorious for testing its products on animals and is slow to change. Many products, such as hair color, are placed in one eye of a rabbit, leaving the other eye alone to compare the effects.

The eyes are held open with clips for days, and to prevent the rabbit from rubbing the area, the head and extremities are strapped down. Many rabbits thrash about in pain, often breaking their own necks. No pain relieving drugs are administered since that would affect testing results. Often the testing leads to blindness, other horrific side effects, or death. Another popular test is filling a guinea pig's stomach with shampoo. Why? To test for toxicity.

While some organic products still contain animal products, such as glycerin, many companies have incorporated vegetable glycerin as an alternative. Other companies, such as SpaRitual, have also embraced the vegan philosophy, using no animal products or by-products in their ingredients. For instance, did you know that the shimmer from many nail polishes is made from crushed fish scales? Not SpaRitual's collection of nail lacquers.

Convinced? At Pristine Planet, an eco-friendly site, you can comparison shop from a variety of socially responsible merchants. They also have wonderful reviews, blogs, and coupons for customer use. The Internet is loaded with many organic sites, but check their reliability and ingredients before you buy.

Love yourself, your family and the environment; make the switch to organic personal products. Make yourself proud while making a stand.

For more information, contact:

National Organic Program (www.ams.usda.gov/nop)

Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org)

Skin Deep Database (www.cosmeticdatabase.com)

All Organic Links (www.allorganiclinks.com)

PETA:Blinding Rabbits for Beauty (www.peta.org/feat/kgfeature)

Caring Consumer (www.caringconsumer.com)

Cargo Cosmetics (www.cargocosmetics.com)

SpaRitual (www.sparitual.com)

Pristine Planet (www.pristineplanet.com)