What are you really putting on your skin?

This is often a neglected aspect of  self healing and such an important one –eradicating the cocktail of toxic chemicals which are regularly being slathered onto your skin. You will probably be quite surprised by just how many there are!

Our skin is highly absorbent, and provides a pathway into our bloodstream for many of the ingredients in our skin care and makeup. Women on average absorb more than 14kg of the ingredients in face and body care products alone over 60 years – that is not counting those we absorb from cosmetics. Yet most of us use skin care that is filled with chemicals that can accumulate in our bodies and may, over time, be harmful.

For example, parabens – one very common ingredient in skincare. Parabens can have an effect similar to estrogen, and may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer. A study conducted by researchers in Britain found that there were traces of parabens in the tissue of women who had breast cancer. Whilst they are not suggesting that the parabens caused these women’s cancer, they pointed out that this is the first study that shows that these chemicals do accumulate in our bodies. So even though we may only be absorbing a small amount each day, that can build up to a more significant amount over time.

Some ingredients have very concerning chemicals in them, for example, talcum powder is in the same group of minerals as asbestos, and there is a 300 to 400% increased risk of developing ovarian cancer when it is used regularly. Common emulsifiers like monostearate and stearic acid used to thicken and bind products are known to be irritating to the skin, yet they are used in nearly every skin care product to prevent it from separating.
If we begin to look closer at the ingredients in our skincare and make-up, this disturbing theme of toxicity comes up again and again. Whilst these chemicals are present in only very small amounts, the potential for them to build up is very real.
How many different products come into contact with your skin on a regular basis? :

• Perfumes, colognes and other fragrance products.
• Shampoo and conditioner.
• Shower soap or shower gel products.
• Skin creams, toners, eye-make-up removers, etc.
• Sunscreen products.
• Cosmetics.
• Antibacterial hand soaps.
• Laundry detergents (through your clothing).
• Household cleaners such as window cleaners.
• Artificial dyes found in clothing.
• Feminine hygiene products.
• Deodorants and anti-perspirants.
• Shaving creams and after-shave products.
• Hair dyes.
• Massage oils and lotions.
• Hair sculpting products and hair sprays.
• Insect repellants.
• Over-the-counter creams: Anti-itch, pain creams, etc.

The average perfume product, just as an example, contains over twenty harmful chemicals. Antibacterial soaps are often made with a chemical that’s similar to the nerve toxin chemical called Agent Orange which was used as a chemical weapon in the Vietnam War. Yikes!

Hair dyes contain highly toxic chemical solvents. Conventional laundry detergents are made with extremely toxic fragrance chemicals. Conventional cosmetics are loaded not only with harmful chemicals, but also heavy metals like lead.

The list goes on and on…

The products listed above probably contain over 10,000 different synthetic chemicals, and virtually none of them have ever been safety tested or approved as safe for human consumption by any federal agency. The TGA doesn’t even know what many of these chemicals are because companies claim they need to protect their formulation “trade secrets” by not even listing the ingredients on product labels.

But think about these 10,000 chemicals for a moment and ask yourself this question:Why are you putting them on your skin?

I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve told me they were pretty health conscious, yet I still find they’re using conventional laundry detergents, brand-name soaps in the bathroom, toxic skin lotions and baby products, sorbelene, etc.

The point of this article is to raise your awareness of what’s in the products your skin comes into contact with, and then to take new action to get all those toxic products out of your home.

This may sound crazy, but here’s what I want you to do – Go through your entire house, covering every room,  under the kitchen sink, the bathroom cupboards and so on. Gather up every “chemical” product and throw them all out. (You’re poisoning the environment by doing so, of course, but you’re going to make up for that by never buying these products again…)

This includes all your conventional cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, fragrance products, cleaning products, laundry products, bug sprays, air “fresheners” and the whole lot. Gather them all up and throw them out!

Within just a few days, your chemical burden will start to fall as your body eliminates the chemicals that have been routinely poisoning it. After six months, your chemical load can drop as much as 90 percent, greatly reducing the chemical stress on your liver and kidneys while dramatically reducing your risk of cancer and other chronic illnesses in the long term.

Doesn’t that feel better?!!

My company, Arbonne International, offers safe, natural, and botanically based alternatives to skin care, body care, and cosmetics. We also offer a detoxifying line. Comment on this post with your email address included for more information. Or, visit my website at www.jenniferdurrett.myarbonne.com.

Most of the information in this blog post by Samantha Hyde from www.evolvedlivingholistic.com.