Are Your Bodycare Products Safe Or Slowing Killing You?

Each day you wash you hands, brush your teeth, wash your dishes, shampoo your hair, condition your hair, put lotion on, launder your clothes and perhaps put some make-up on.   You think you are getting clean, but in reality your skin/body just had a nice dose of anti-freeze and de-icer (plus about 20 other toxic chemicals).

Look at this “natural” shampoo ingredient list.

Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Ammonium Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Tocopheryl Acetate [Vitamin E Acetate], Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, PPG-9, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract [Aloe Vera], Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Red 33 (CI 17200

Did you find propylene glycol about halfway through?  Propylene glycol is anti-freeze.

Start looking up the other ingredients and you will find long lists of problems ranging from skin irritants to cancer causing agents.

The biggest myth out there is that it must be safe (and tested) because it is on the shelf for sale.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but profit trumps safety in the majority of the cosmetic and bodycare industry.   Products do not have to be tested for safety to be on the shelves!

Kids and adults are breaking out in strange rashes, behavior issues (including but not limited to ADD, ADHD)  because of the toxic load that exists.

Our body can flush out a few toxins here and there, but nearly every single “mainstream” product contains toxic ingredients plus petroleum.  On our skin  petroleum builds up creating layer after layer of chemicals that just sit there on the skin waiting to be absorbed.  That is why adults who have been fine all of their lives suddenly experience rashes and skin outbreaks.  The skin says enough!!!

Now before you start rushing to the shelves to by a natural product, we must cover another topic quickly.  Greenwashing -Any company can claim their product is natural.  Don’t be fooled by marketing.  Just because they can write the word natural does not mean it is natural.

Here are 3 steps to a healthier family.

1. Read the label of a product before you purchase it.  If you cannot pronounce it, it is not natural.

2. Go certified organic as much as possible.  Your health is worth it.  We spend more money on cars each month than we do on our health.  Don’t get me started…

3.  Be an informed consumer.  Consciously think about why you are purchasing something.  Is is out of habit or knowledge?

 

If you do not have the time to research natural and organic bodycare products here are the products our family has been using for over 7 years.

When the boys were little this was our “go-to” for diaper rash.

Even “natural” laundry detergents were too strong for our boys so we used baking soda for many washes before finding the laundry ball featured below.

We love the laundry ball so much we still use it to this day!

There is nothing worse than suffering from something that can be avoided. Please comment below if you still have questions regarding natural beauty products. I will do my best to lead you in a good direction. I know it can be overwhelming at first (switching from natural laundry detergent to baking soda to laundry ball took us many months), but in the end you will be much healthier and wiser. : )

Wishing you a day filled with less toxic overload~

Summer Joy

About The Author

Summer Brackhan

Mom, sociologist, teacher, author, musician, world traveler, parenting and health coach who believes healthy living incorporates body, mind and soul and that life is not about living in little boxes, but experiencing everything at its fullest.

Leave A Response

* Denotes Required Field