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Top 5 Toxic Ingredients in Your Beauty Products
It seems like every time we turn around, there is another article telling us how we are poisoning ourselves. And to an extent, it’s true. It’s no secret that while the EU has banned chemicals from their cosmetics that are still being used in the US. Even if you have no other knowledge of any of these chemicals, the sheer difference in numbers between continents should alarm us. And then comes the next terrifying thought- so then what am I putting on my face & body? Are my cosmetics poisoning me? I’m going to let you in on what your beauty products aren’t telling you, but be warned… it’s not pretty.
As women, we tend to frequent the salon a lot more often than men do. We go in for manicures & pedicures, hair coloring, facials & peels, massages, false eyelashes, waxing, botox, and on top of that, we layer on the makeup. The general consensus in our Western society is that we should all look young, wrinkle free, and flawless. But that’s just not normal. It’s no wonder that with all this pressure, women are far more likely to develop autoimmune thyroid conditions than men. We put many more chemicals directly on our faces and necks, and we can’t forget that our skin is our largest organ. Anything we put on will be absorbed directly into our bloodstream.
What Your Beauty Products Aren’t Telling You
So what are the top offenders that we should be avoiding?
- Talc: Found in items such as baby powder, facial powder, eyeshadow, foundation, lipstick, & deodorants. It is linked to ovarian cancer and lung disease, due to it’s naturally occurring asbestos.
- Parabens: Found in shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and more. Parabens are known for endocrine disruption, cancer, and reproductive toxicity.
- Lead: Found in lip products, whitening toothpaste, eyeliner, nail color, foundations, sunscreens, eye shadows, blush & more. Even though it doesn’t show up on the label, it’s in over 60% of lipsticks. Lead and other heavy metals can cause cancer, reproductive toxicity, & organ toxicity because our bodies can’t naturally detox metals.
- Phthalates: Found in color cosmetics, fragranced lotions, body washes and hair care products, nail polish & more. Can cause endocrine disruption, developmental problems, reproductive toxicity, & cancer.
- Formaldehyde: Found in nail polish, nail glue, eyelash glue, hair gel, hair-smoothing products, baby shampoo, body soap, and more. Can cause cancer and skin irritation.
So how do these dangerous ingredients get into our cosmetics? That’s the easiest part. Cosmetics don’t need to be tested or proven to be safe by the FDA prior to being sold. Thankfully there are some laws in the works to change this, but you really need to be your own advocate.
Don’t trust the labels. You need to do your own research on the ingredients and brands. Personally, I love finding homemade beauty products from small businesses that I trust. I make my own makeup remover, I buy lipstick and eye shadow from 100% Pure, and I get cleansers and creams from CrunchyMamaBear. (She makes the BEST magnesium spray!) 
The big corporations are looking out for themselves. You need to look out for you.
Do you use natural makeups? What is your favorite kind?
[…] is not a single ingredient on that label you can make any sense of. It is all synthetic chemicals, and that certainly cannot be good for your skin. Luckily, there is an alternative when it comes to skincare and cosmetics in general, and it lies in […]