Dying to Look Good Are You Sure the Ingredients in Your
Natural Skin Care Products Are Safe?
Every day, we use soaps and body washes, creams, lotions, makeup and other products, one on top of the other, to make ourselves look prettier (or more handsome), younger, erase blemishes, smell better, feel sexier and to attract, or keep, the perfect partner.
Looking well-groomed and attractive is important. It’s good for your self esteem too. But not all the ingredients in the products that make you beautiful and sexier are good for your health.
The cosmetic and personal care product industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry … and growing. New products are coming onto the market every day. Manufacturers play to your emotions in their advertising and packaging, frequently misrepresenting products as healthy which really are NOT.
With the fast growing interest in natural and organic skin and body care products, companies that typically manufacture the mainstream products containing synthetic ingredients and chemical preservatives, are coming onboard the organic bandwagon.
Natural and organic standards that were once noticeably absent now abound. Instead of no certifying agencies for cosmetics and skin care products, there are currently several. But not all organic certifying organizations abide by the same organic standards. Mainstream companies, trying to get their piece of the organic pie have developed their own lower organic standards, allowing synthetic chemicals and preservatives, not allowed by the true organic standards.
Talk about confusing! If you were confused before, you may be even more bewildered now.
If a label says certified organic, you need to ask by whom? If it doesn’t have a large and well visible USDA Certified Organic logo, you need to check the product ingredients carefully.
Now, I’m not saying that all products that are not USDA Certified Organic are bad. You just have to be more meticulous in checking out the ingredients and the integrity of the company before purchasing these products.
What does the integrity of the company have to do with the ingredients?
Even natural ingredients vary in quality. And some ingredients may contain contaminants or be composed of ingredients. So 100% of all the individual ingredients are not always listed on the label. Also, there are some ingredients that have a generic name to protect “trade secrets.” So, you can probably see here that there is potential for misrepresentation of the safety and healthfulness of the ingredients in your natural and organic skin
and body care products.
When you choose your body care products from a company that’s committed to using the purest, safest and healthiest ingredients in their products, you can feel confident that what you’re using on your skin is good for you.
How do you find out about a company’s commitment to the health and safety of their products?
It’s a matter of research. You can do it yourself or find someone who has already done it!
Search for companies that produce natural and organic cosmetics, skin and body care products. First check the ingredients in their products to make sure they’re all safe and healthy. After the ingredients pass the test, investigate the company. What is their mission? What are they committed to? Do they also produce product lines that contain synthetic ingredients and chemical preservatives? Or are they committed to using only the purest and safest ingredients in all their products? Are they careful about the quality of ingredients they receive from their suppliers?
This sounds like a lot of work … and it is.
There is an easier way …
Find a resource where that work has already been done for you. Dying To Look Good “Best Brands” gives you lists of products that have been thoroughly investigated for ingredient safety from companies committed to producing the safest and healthiest cosmetics, skin and body care products on the market today.
So you can choose to do the research yourself, or take the easy way and benefit from research that’s already been done.
© 2009 Christine H. Farlow, D.C., “The Ingredients Investigator” and author of Dying To Look Good “Best Brands” where you’ll find lists of the safest and healthiest skin and body care products on the market. Learn more at Dying to Look Good
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5 Questions Moms Should Ask When Choosing Skin Care Products
Did you know that cancer-causing chemicals have been found in the skin care products you buy for yourself and your children? Maybe you’ve heard about it in the news. But if you didn’t, you’re not alone. Many people, just like you, have been using body care products containing harmful ingredients without even knowing it. There are no laws to make sure the ingredients in the products you buy are safe. You see, the skin care industry is unregulated. Except for color additives and a few ingredients which are banned, manufacturers can use any ingredients they want in the skin care products they make … without approval from the FDA or any other government agency.
Why is this important to you?
Cancer has been the second leading cause of death in the U. S. for many years … and it still is. Even children are getting cancer. It’s the leading cause of death in children under 15.
There are cancer-causing chemicals everywhere these days. Many of them we have no control over, for example, in the air we breathe. But some we do, like in the products we use on our bodies – soaps, shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, sunscreen – anything we use for personal care.
The products you use for personal hygiene should help you stay healthy, not make you sick. It’s essential for you to be able to determine the safety of the products you use for yourself and your family … before you buy.
Here are five important questions you should ask before you purchase any skin care or body care product:
1. Can I believe what it says on the label?
Manufacturers spend millions of dollars designing the packaging of the products they make to entice you to buy their goods. They use words like organic and natural on the front of the package when, in reality, the product inside is far from organic or natural. They can get away with this because organic and natural are officially undefined in the cosmetics and personal care industry.
2. Does this product contain any cancer-causing ingredients?
Cancer-causing chemicals have been found in almost all types of skin care and body care products, even those sold in health food stores. A recent study found the cancer-causing contaminant 1,4-dioxane in body care products on the shelves of health food stores as well as regular grocery and drug stores. It was even in baby products.
3. Are there any other harmful ingredients in the product?
Cancer-causing chemicals aren’t the only harmful substances found in your skin care and body care products. Even if the products you choose don’t contain carcinogenic ingredients, you still need to make sure they don’t include chemicals that disrupt your hormones, are toxic to your nervous system or immune system, or have not been tested for safety.
4. Is the manufacturer committed to producing safe and healthy products?
With more and more people choosing to buy organic products because of concerns about ingredient safety, companies that typically have not produced organic products are jumping onto the bandwagon to get their piece of the organic pie. Many of these companies are not really concerned about producing safe and healthy products. Sadly, their biggest concern is making sure they get a share of the profits from the organic trend.
5. Will the ingredients in this product harm the environment?
So many of the chemicals in use today, including those in body care products, have had a harmful effect on our ecosystem. Rivers and streams are contaminated. The ecological balance of the oceans has changed. Some plant and animal species are becoming extinct. Many of the chemicals used in our modern society have had a damaging effect on our world.
What can you do to protect yourself and your family, now and in the future?
Forget about the pretty packages…
…and what the manufacturer says about the product inside. That doesn’t tell you anything about the safety of the item.
Read the ingredients list.
Find out if there are any cancer-causing chemicals or other harmful ingredients in the product. Learning how to identify the harmful ingredients is not hard. The book, Dying To Look Good, rates ingredients in your cosmetics and personal care products according to safety. You can take it with you when you shop and check the labels right in the store before you buy.
Know the manufacturer of the products you want to use.
Make sure they’re committed to the safety of their products and preserving the environment, not in it just for the profits. There are a number of companies producing certified organic products now who only started with the growing popularity of the organic movement. Many of these companies banded together to create an organic standard that allows chemicals that should never be in organic products. And they continue to push for lower organic standards that allow synthetic chemicals and pesticides.
Reading ingredients and trying to figure out if the manufacturer really is committed to the health and safety of their products may sound like a lot of work. It can be … if checking all your products for safe ingredients before you buy doesn’t interest you.
There is an easier way.
If you want to be able to select the safest and healthiest products from the most reputable companies with the highest quality ingredients, without all the effort that goes into reading labels, researching products and companies, Dying To Look Good “Best Brands” will help you do just that. You’ll receive lists of products that have been pre-screened and are guaranteed to be safe and healthy with only the best quality ingredients from manufacturers committed to your health and safety.
There is no need to wonder if the skin care products you use for your family contain cancer-causing chemicals or other harmful ingredients any more. All the research has been done for you. All you have to do is pick and choose. Now what could be simpler than that?
© 2009 Christine H. Farlow, D.C., “The Ingredients Investigator” and author of Dying To Look Good “Best Brands” where you’ll find lists of the safest and healthiest skin and body care products on the market. Learn more at Best Brands
