How to Avoid Dangerous Chemicals in Your Beauty Products

Chemicals in your beauty products don't pass through your digestive system which would filter them, instead they head right into your bloodstream after being absorbed through your skin.And the FDA doesn't regulate beauty products like they do food either. Companies are required to list their products ingredients but are not required to test them for safety.The FDA only gets involved if they know a substance to be dangerous. This is why it is so important for us as consumers to know what is in the products we use. Some would say that with the lists of complicated ingredients, you'd have to have a knowledge of chemistry to understand it.This may be true, some of the ingredients we can recognize as basic substances but a few are more complicated. What is in some of our favorite products? How about mercury, thimerosal, lead acetate, formaldehyde, toluene, petroleum, ethlyacrylate, coal tar, dibutyle phthalate, and potassium. These are toxins and have not only been proven to be unsafe for human use, but can also be harmful to the environment.

So how can we know if we are getting a good product. Buy natural or organic products if possible, or at least products with the fewest amount of ingredients. I know that organic products can be quite pricey. So go for the ones you know to be good. Products made for babies is a good choice like baby shampoo, baby bath and baby oil. Baby oil is an excellent skin softener and mostly contains mineral oil and a little fragrance. Mineral oil is made from petroleum so it may be a better idea to buy some cocoa butter or coconut oil from your local health food store.

Limit or avoid dandruff shampoos which contain selenium sulfide -- a neurotoxin and possible carcinogen. The FDA has also been monitoring the contaminant 1,4-dioxane, which on a label could be called "PEG," "Polyethylene," "Polyethylene glycol," "Polyoxyethylene," "-eth-," or "-oxynol-."

Use Hair Dye less often or use natural dyes.

Henna products are made from natural dyes and come in a variety of colors. Naturtint, Herbatint, Light Mountain, and Surya Henna are a few brands of natural hair dyes. They do not bleach the hair color out, and do not contain ammonia or peroxide.Also does not contain Resorcinal which can cause cancer based on animal data.They are considered a semi-permanent haircolor because they wash out gradually.If you'd like more information on these products, you can check them out at http://www.naturalhairdye.com/.

Use less nail polish

Have you ever looked on a bottle of nail polish for the ingredients.It's not there, often the bottles are too small. But some nail polishes contain Phthalates, which may be linked to birth defects. And really there is no way to know if your polish contains this or not, so a better idea may be to limit using it.

Mineral Makeups

Although it is generally thought that mineral makeups are better to use, it may not be totally accurate. Some mineral powders contain Titanium Dioxide (Tio2) in nano-particle form which can be inhaled and act like a form of asbestos which causes lung cancer. One company, Every Day Minerals has stated on their website that they do not test their products on animals and their products do not contain nano particles. They do not use Nano Technology.They do use Titanium Dioxide as a pigment but it is not in nano form. Erth Minerals is also believed to be nano-free but I have not checked them out to know for sure.

http://www.aolhealth.com/healthy-living/beauty-skin-care/chemicals-avoid-products
http://www.epigee.org/eco.html
http://www.naturalhairdye.com/
http://www.vivawoman.net/2008/02/21/do-mineral-makeup-pose-health-risks/