One shocking secret is the fact that there are over 800 chemicals used in personal care products are known to be toxic. Thanks FDA! And the average person is exposed to at least 120 chemicals EACH DAY by using personal care products.
The most shocking dirty secret to me is the fact that (most) toothpastes contain PESTICIDES! Look at your tube… if it has Triclosan… it has pesticides in it! Triclosan is a pesticide that accumulates in the fatty tissue in your body and is suspected to be a hormone disruptor by interfering with thyroid function.
Another shocker it that by cleaning your hands with antibacterial soap is the same as cleaning you hands with pesticides. The American Medical Association does not recommend using anti bacterial soaps in your home or in a pediatrician’s office BUT they do in hospitals. This to me seems not right. Especially since these antibacterial soaps are not effective at killing viruses that make you sick. The same is true for hand sanitizers. Antibacterial soaps and sanitizers are said to kill 99% of bacteria. But you don’t catch the common cold or flu from bacteria. You get them from viruses. So you are covering yourself with pesticides and you may still get sick.
The dirtiest secret about some antibacterial products is that when you combine them with chlorinated water, (for example when you wash your hands) the two together make chloroform, which you will then inhale. Chloroform is a suspected carcinogen. So stick to soap and water, I am sure you can do with out the pesticides and chloroform fumes.
And of course your soap had a dirty secret too! Many bar soaps are made with a chemical called Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid ( EDTA). It’s an amino acid that binds to heavy metals, like mercury. So when you wash with it and then it gets rinsed down the drain and then it ends up contaminating the ocean. These contaminates then make their way into the fish & shellfish that live in the ocean and then you eat them! So when you eat the fish you are also eating the EDTA and the mercury that binds to it. And we all know mercury is one of the most toxic elements on the planet.
Here is another dirty dirty one… Parabens. It is a preservative found in almost ALL of your products. You will find them in your shampoo, conditioner, lotion shaving gel, and toothpaste. They all have parabens in them so they are able to sit on every shelf in every food and drug store in America. And dirtiest part of this secret is that they are also found intact in breast tumors! Now isn’t that enough to ban these parabens? Avoid any product that has any ingredient ending in paraben or aben. They are also hormone disruptors, mimicking estrogen and increasing your risk for hormone sensitive cancers, like breast cancer.
Parabens are not the only dirty one to watch out for. You want to also watch out for the following:
Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)– Found in car washes, engine degreasers, garage floor cleaners… and in over 90% of personal care products! SLS breaks down the skin’s moisture barrier, easily penetrates the skin, and allows other chemicals to easily penetrate. Combined with other chemicals, SLS becomes a “nitrosamine”, a potent class of carcinogen. It can also cause hair loss. SLES is sometimes disguised with the labeling “comes from coconut” or “coconut-derived”.
Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum – Petroleum products coat the skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating a build-up of toxins, which in turn accumulate and can lead to dermatological issues. Slows cellular development, which can cause you to show earlier signs of aging. Suspected cause of cancer. Disruptive of hormonal activity.
Toluene – Poison! Danger! Harmful or fatal if swallowed! Harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Made from petroleum or coal tar, and found in most synthetic fragrances. Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) contains toluene. Other names may include benzoic and benzyl.
Phenol carbolic acid– Found in many lotions and skin creams. Can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma and even death from respiratory failure.
Propylene glycol – Used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and as a carrier in fragrance oils. Shown to cause dermatitis, kidney or liver abnormalities, and may inhibit skin cell growth or cause skin irritation.
Acrylamide– Found in many hand and face creams. Linked to mammary tumors in lab research.
Dioxane– Found in compounds known as PEG, Polysorbates, Laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Common in a wide range of personal care products. The compounds are usually contaminated with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane, easily absorbed through the skin.
Dioxane’s carcinogenicity was first reported in 1965 and later confirmed in studies including one from the National Cancer Institute in 1978. Nasal passages and liver are the most vulnerable. Dioxane is easily removed during the manufacturing process by “vacuum stripping”. Warning: It is a synthetic derivative of coconut. Watch for hidden language on labels, such as “comes from coconut”.
Basically you skin is you body’s largest organ don’t load it up with known toxic chemicals. If you aren’t sure about your personal care products go to one of my favorite sites. www.skindeep.com this site by the Environmental Working Group rates all products and gives you a reading of just how toxic they really are.
Another good tip… read the labels of what goes into your skin the same way you would for what you eat. They can have the same effects on your body… toxic.
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