Let me share a little bit about me. Years ago I had a reaction to a lotion I put on my legs. My legs puffed up, looked and felt like a sunburn. It was at that point I decided to be selective about anything I put on or in my body. The result caused me to learn a lot about natural products and skin care.

Read more friends about some of the things I learned.

Even if you are not having a skin reaction, it does not mean these chemicals ingredients are not affecting you.  They are affecting you on a deep cellular level. They have the ability to mess with your hormones and they are even make you fat! Read on…

I had discovered some common products we use and slather on our bodies daily can have the same chemicals that are found in cleaning solutions.

No Joke! I am here for you to help you begin to understand what’s in your beauty products.

1.  Few Products Are Actually Tested

We assume that because a product is on the shelf it has been tested and is safe. 

Well, that is absolutely not the case.

The beauty industry has us fooled, big time. Most people think the FDA regulates all the cosmetics, because they are and Food and Drug Administration.

Actually, the FDA establishes regulations around the manufacturing of food and drug items, but there’s very limited attention placed on testing and evaluating skin care and cosmetics.

“The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market.”(fda.gov, 2016) 

That means that it is legal to put almost anything you want in a cosmetic, make false claims, and sell the product for an outrageous price. Often, there are chemicals and ingredients used in the cosmetics that can be harmful to your body.

Dead Animal Parts Could Be Hiding In Your Cosmetics!

It’s true.

Animal byproducts are lurking in many of your cosmetics and personal care products. It is not uncommon for these byproducts to come from slaughterhouses or even roadkill.

“Cosmetics companies use animal ingredients such as tissue and tallow (fat) because they’re cheap, not because they’re better than plant-based or synthetic ingredients. Slaughterhouses kill billions of animals every year and have to dispose of the “byproducts” somehow; selling them to cosmetics manufacturers is one easy solution” (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA], 2016).

Cosmetic companies have made it is very hard to read the labels and decipher ingredients. Some companies remove the word “animal” from their labels not to cause question to the consumer or plain turn them off from purchasing.

The next time you see “hydrolyzed collagen” on a label, you might be witnessing sly wording. “For example, instead of saying “hydrolyzed animal protein,” companies may use a term like “hydrolyzed collagen” (PETA, 2016).

I took a look at my old collection of products to see what I could find. I found “hydrolyzed collagen”, and I also found, “cleansing agent”, and “thickening agent.” I have no clue what that means but it is unnerving to see how we are being fooled.

Have you ever seen cow brains, snail slime, bull seman, aortas of cows, and chicken feet and ground-up animal horns listed on a label?

Probably not. But these are the sources of many ingredients used in the cosmetic and personal care industry. And according to the FDA, it’s okay.

The FDA states that in general, except for color additives and those ingredients that are prohibited or restricted by regulation, a manufacturer may use any ingredient in the formulation of a cosmetic, provided that–the ingredient and the finished cosmetic are safe under labeled or customary conditions of use, the product is properly labeled, and the use of the ingredient does not otherwise cause the cosmetic to be adulterated or misbranded under the laws that FDA enforces.” (Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2016)

In a nutshell, a company does not need to prove the product safety before a product goes on the market. According to PETA (People for the Ethical Rights of Animals) the Food and Drug Administration recently told cosmetics makers to stop using the brains and spinal cord tissue from older cows in products like lipstick and hairspray in order to try to prevent the spread of mad cow disease to humans.” (PETA, 2016) That’s the one good thing in all this.

2. The Promises On The Labels Hold Little Weight

Just because a label says “natural” don’t assume it’s good for you or good for your skin!

Uranium is a natural and it is a radioactive. Lead is also natural and proven to cause learning disabilities and is stored in the brain. So, don’t be fooled when you see the word natural on any product.

Many companies today use keywords to make the appearance that they are something that they are not. Catchy wording on labels is often a “marketing trick” to lure you, the buyer to make a purchase. Let’s take a closer look at “meaningless” label lures that companies use and what they mean.

Natural – The first thing I will say is buyer beware! The word “natural” doesn’t really mean a whole lot. It’s meaningless! “The FDA has not defined ‘natural’ for use in cosmetic labeling.” (FDA, 2016) Ingredients  derived from a natural source is not enough for a product to be labeled as “natural.”

Organic – This is a biggie. Use caution. There are no federal regulations around using the term “organic.” Technically any company can use the word organic and have the product loaded with chemicals and chemically treated animal byproducts. There is more to “natural” and “organic”than what meets the eye. To be categorized as such, the ingredients must come from a plant, animal or mineral. The processing must be minimal and without synthetic additives that may impact natural status of the product.

Fragrance-Free – This doesn’t mean a whole lot either. Often companies will call a product “fragrance-free” when they use a fragrance that disguises the smell of other ingredients. The fragrance hider is loaded with chemicals that do a good job covering up. This is another secret that people don’t know.

Dermatologist Tested – This term means that the product may have been reviewed by a dermatologist and that the dermatologist has been in charge of product tolerance mostly likely by performing a patch test. It doesn’t mean the product was tested for safety. It doesn’t hold a lot of weight.

Clinically Tested – These types of terms where a “professional” is assumed mean nothing, These tests are used to brand build and rank typically in new products, These professional terms provide credibility for those selling the product. It does not mean it went through a series of tough clinical trials.

Dermatologist Recommended – There’s no weight here. Sometimes doctors will endorse a product because there is a financial interest.

Hypo-Allergenic – I don’t see this term used as often as the others. There is no guarantee that the product your try won’t give you hives. This term suggested that some of the ingredients used in the product may cause fewer allergic reactions than other ingredients.

Alcohol Free – Alcohols absorb water and can be very drying to the skin. They harm the ph balance and can cause damage by encouraging free radicals. The alcohol that should be avoided in skincare products are Denatured Alcohol, Ethyl Alcohol, Ethanol, Methanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol and SD Alcohol.

According to the FDA, “in cosmetic labeling, the term “alcohol,” used by itself, refers to ethyl alcohol. Cosmetic products, including those labeled “alcohol free,” may contain other alcohols, such as cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl, or lanolin alcohol.” (FDA, 2016)

3. Take The Time To Read Labels  

There are a lot of products out there that use false marketing trends to convert sales. Don’t be fooled the name of a product, the natural-looking packaging, the fruit-like color or natural-appearing fragrance.

All those attractive features can easily misrepresent a product. It’s frustrating to think you’re being mislead by false marketing, but for me, it’s even worse when I know that some of the products out there being sold can be a risk to our health.

Basically, personal care product or cosmetic you put on your body will be absorbed through the skin and into your bloodstream. Sometimes this effect is called transdermal. You may have heard this term before in your doctor’s office when prescribed a medication. This method of transferring a medication has been proven to be very successful.

A perfect example of this transdermal effect is the Nicotine patch and birth control patches. Just as your skin absorbs medications, your skin readily absorbs your cosmetics and personal care products. Your skin is like a vessel that has high absorption.

Not all of the chemicals used in formulating cosmetics and personal care products have been tested to see its effects on the body or skin. I could not find substantial data on how some of chemicals actually affect your skin and your body in a topical way.

It appears as though most of the studies I found have been on the systemic effect on the body. According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “less than 20 percent of the chemicals in cosmetics have been assessed for safety by the industry’s safety panel” (Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, 2016).

How dangerous is it to use these chemical laden cosmetics when you figure you’re only putting them on your face and legs possibly twice a day? 

“Since the 1950’s our usage of chemicals has increased. Our world has become chemically dependent with the mindset of better living through chemistry” (Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, 2016). We start our day slaughtering our bodies with chemicals.

“It is estimated that the average woman uses 12 personal care products daily and each product has 12 or more chemicals” (Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, 2016).

We use toxic deodorants, powders, soaps, and even our toothpaste is loaded with chemicals. The kitchen and bathroom cleaners are no longer simple most are made with chemicals. Our municipal water is tainted and treated with chemicals.

The 98% of the food we see in the grocery stores is processed with chemicals. You can begin to see that even before you leave the house in the morning you are introduced to possible over 100 different chemicals.

One tiny amount in a cosmetic may not matter too much if that was the only encounter you’ve had, but I would guess that is probably not the case.

This what the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports: We are repeatedly exposed to industrial chemicals from many different sources on a daily basis, including cosmetics and personal care products. Some of these chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems that are on the rise in the human population. The 1950’s mindset never considered how chemicals impact human health.

Some chemicals found in a variety of cosmetics-including phthalates, acrylamide, formaldehyde, and ethylene oxide are listed as carcinogens or reproductive toxins. Even now there are no laws to get rid of them. Since 1938 only 8 out of  approximately 12,000 ingredients used in cosmetics were banned (2016).

Over the years I have seen the rise of breast cancer, other cancers, and autism, and learning disabilities. Our school’s upcoming sixth grade class had a forty percent rate of children who were on the autistic spectrum. The bigger question I ask is: Are these chemicals in cosmetics making us sick?

Over the years there has been a steady rise in breast cancer in women. Studies show that human exposure to chemicals in our environment such as pesticides, insecticides, and industrial chemicals can cause these endocrine disrupting conditions that help regulate the body.

“These endocrine disrupting chemicals mimic or partly mimic naturally occurring hormones in the body like estrogens (the female sex hormone), androgens (the male sex hormone), and thyroid hormones, potentially producing overstimulation (National Institute of Environmental Health[NIEH], 2016).

Our bodies were not designed to handle chemicals. I witnessed how my body reacted to certain chemicals by the rashes I got. It’s plain and simple. What you put on your skin matters! I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to share all of this information with you. Now, you can begin to take the steps needed to improve your own health and beauty and help your family make healthier choices.

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Big Hugs,