Why go Natural?

Photo via RMS Beauty

Alright, so today's post may be kind of long and boring for some, but I can guarantee you'll learn a thing or two. Today the average consumer walks into a local Target, and they casually walk down the various aisles picking up groceries, laundry detergent, dog treats, air freshener, cosmetic products, deodorant, body wash, other skincare items, and a ton more if you're like me {oops!}. Most consumers, including myself not too long ago, pay absolutely no mind to the labels on the majority of these products. We automatically assume that these products are regulated for safety by our government, but the scary truth is, most of them are hardly regulated at all. The Food and Drug Administration regulate the overall safety of our food {although they still allow the use of pesticides, GMOs, and other harmful chemicals in the making of this food}, but they do not regulate the cosmetic industry in the least. Items that range from deodorant to foundation to body wash to detergent... the products we use every single day are full of harmful hormone disruptors, allergens, toxins that can harm our immune system, and carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Take a look at this quote about the term "fragrance," from the EWG Skindeep Database:

"Federal law allows companies to leave some chemical ingredients off their product labels, including those considered to be trade secrets, components of fragrance and nanomaterials (FDA 2011). Fragrance may include any number of the industry’s 3,100 stock chemicals (IFRA 2010), none of which is required to be listed on labels."

Check your products when you have a chance, you'll be shocked. I would guess that nearly all household and beauty products found in the average store contain the term fragrance, perfume, or parfum. As mentioned above, these terms can be any combination of an astounding 3,100 chemicals! Even further, tests of products that were labeled with the term fragrance on average contained 14 hidden compounds of ingredients that the company did not label because our government doesn't require them to {EWG}. These chemicals are scientifically proven to be linked to both hormone disruption and sperm damage. Often people think this awareness is geared more towards women because we, on average, use 12 different skincare/beauty products each day, BUT men are also affected, as they use on average 8 of these chemical laden products daily.

One of the accounts I follow on Instagram, @safer_beauty posted this photo and I was taken back:

The U.S. only bans ELEVEN harmful cosmetic ingredients while the European Union has banned at least 1400 chemicals. It's time to start reading labels and beginning to understand what they mean for the safety of yourself, your future self, your children/family {if applicable}, and our environment. There are ways to measure the safety of your environment, as I mentioned in an earlier post, found here, you can download the Think Dirty app as well as use the EWG Skindeep Database online to gain more knowledge of the subject and search products you already own as well as find safer alternatives.

Quick label guide {just to list a few of the larger no-no's}:

• - No ingredients listed: RUN away. 
• - Avoid the terms fragrance, perfume, & parfum {unless within a certified natural or organic product and specified as a naturally occurring fragrance} as these synthetic fragrances can cause allergic reactions, headache, respiratory issues, and hormonal disruption within your body. Some are even linked to cancer! 
• - Avoid parabens {paraben will be found within the compound name, for example, methlyparaben, also, can be ID as parahydroxylbenzoate} these are known to act like estrogen within our bodies, leading to disruption. Especially critical to women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. 
• - Avoid Petrolatum, Petroleum Jelly, and Mineral Oil all of which are known to have impurities linked to cancer and these are found in skin care, lip balm, makeup, and body care
• - Avoid Talc. This ingredient is found within many cosmetic lines, especially mineral cosmetics and is a known skin irritant, and has also been found to contain traces of asbestos. 
• - Avoid Phthalates, these are often used a synthetic fragrance carrier and is considered a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization, often grouped in with the label "fragrance."
• - Avoid synthetic sunscreens {nearly every brand found in stores} as these are very easily absorbed into the skin and have been known to cause hormone disruption and skin irritation. Instead, opt for products that use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide which are natural SPFs, check out the brand Coola for an organic alternative or Raw Elements. 

Labels to look for:  

• + Non-GMO 
• + Free of parabens, phthalates, fragrance, talc, synthetic dyes, mineral oil, preservatives, &/or nanoparticles {the more "free of," the better}
• + Certified organic or all-natural {beware of the word natural, it's often loosely used, so pay attention to the ingredients label}
• + Cruelty-free {for the furry babies}

Stores to shop at: 

• ► Target {they have some great non-toxic brands for both home and beauty including Pacifica, Dr. Bronner's, Seventh Generation, Burts Bees, and more}
• ► Whole Foods {very wide selection of clean foods and products}
• ► Kroger {no natural cosmetics that I've found, but they do sell a good variety of organic/non-GMO foods}
• ► Trader Joe's {entire store is no GMO, no artificial flavors, preservatives, synthetic colors or MSGs}
• ► Local natural goods store {Google this in your area, you may be surprised}
• ► Etsy {a lot of sellers make incredible, safe products such as organic soaps, body wash, makeup, lotion, facial oils, etc.}
• ►The Honest Company {offer great bundles of household goods and have a cosmetic line, Honest Beauty}
• ► A ton of online beauty boutiques, which I'll be discussing more of soon, including Aurora Beauty, Spirit Beauty Lounge, and Citrine Natural Beauty Bar just to name a few. 
• ► Amazon{another fav}: they have everything, literally... and offer bundle deals similar to the Honest Company through their Prime Pantry program, just search for natural or organic products! 

I also just uploaded a video {see below} that has some suggestions of replacement products for toxic ones! The segment is called Toss it Tuesday, and I'll be doing this for probably 2-3 weeks!

Thanks for reading! Hope you learned something new and below are some of the references I've used during my research, so feel free to read their information as well -

• EWG article: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/myths-on-cosmetics-safety/
• Huffington Post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/makeup-ingredients_n_4159375.html 
• Rodale's Organic Life article: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/toxic-perfume-chemicals-linked-cancer-sperm-damage

More blogs coming soon loves including a huge review blog of recent samples I've picked up!

Stay beautiful. 
xoxo, Holly