Cosmetic toxins 101

Welcome to post number  #2 in my toxin free series. I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post, and I'm sure some of you were eagerly waiting for this post! I am going to share with you what toxins to look out for in beauty products and why they are harmful.

When we eat toxic foods, our saliva has the ability to break down some of those toxins, (that doesn't mean you should go out an have a pink slim McDonald's cheeseburger but you get the point) however when we put toxic products on our body 60% of that is absorbed right into our blood stream. The skin is our BIGGEST organ. What's even more crazy is that these toxins are BANNED in Europe and on our toxicity watch list, yet they are STILL in our products. Here are a few of the toxins I look out for:

PEG- Found in almost every personal care product, may cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and heart

Triclosan- Used as an antibacterial, classified as a pesticide by the FDA, possible carcinogen

SLS- Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Found in MANY personal care products possible carcinogen

Parabens-  Used as a preservative, could disrupt hormonal balance which can lead to hormonal cancers, also linked to birth defects and organ toxicity in both men and women

Aluminum- Found in antiperspirants, may lead to breast cancer in women, prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease

Mineral oil- Found in many lotions, clogs pores because of its consistency which allows toxins to be trapped inside your skin

Petroleum- Found in lip balms, petroleum is what makes up Vaseline, it is a carcinogen

Fluoride- Found in our drinking water and dental hygiene products, unapproved by the FDA, contains a number of harmful chemicals- lead, arsenic, aluminum

Here is a guide that I have been using that has helped me eliminate toxins:

I can't make the photo any larger, but save it to your phone so you can not only make it bigger
but so you always have it when you're shopping!

I actually had a really bad experience with Dove body wash which contained a handful of the ingredients above, but specifically because of the mineral oil in the body wash. As I mentioned above mineral oil causes pores to get clogged. It basically acts like saran wrap over your skin trapping toxins inside. After using the body wash for a while I developed Keratosis Polaris all over my arms. If you haven't heard of this before I'm sure you've seen it or have it yourself! Keratosis Polaris is the official name for those little white bumps all over your arms, that aren't pimples but they are kind of hard. That's a bunch of trapped built up toxins!

If you want more information on this subject visit posts from my two favorite sources: Food Babe and The Healthy Housewives

I highly recommend checking out the video in Food Babe's post! Also refer back to yesterday's post, now you'll have some insight as to why I chose those cosmetic lines. 

Stay tuned for post # 3 in this series coming within the next few days. This post will talk about a plan to start eliminating toxic products for little or NO cost!