This queen of the beauty product was recently delivered some devestating news. It came in the form of one of my besties admonishing me for my use of spray tan. Seems counter-intuitive, no? I laughed at first, shaking my head at her. "Silly girl, tan in a can is clearly safe because it's the alternative to a real tan, which we know is not safe at all. No wrinkles!! Follow me?" Never, ever had it occured to me that this stuff could indeed be poison.
Then she sent me the following link: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
This site enables you to search every single product in existence and provides you with a rating of its toxicity as well of a list of all its ingredients and their harmful side effects. The news, my friends, is not good. Just about every product I use from my face wash to my shampoo to my deodorant fall within the moderate-high hazard range. And what's to come of my weekly manicure in light of this news: "Reduce your use of nail polish. It's one of the few types of products that routinely contains ingredients linked to birth defects. Paint your toenails and skip the fingernails. Paint nails in a well-ventilated room, or outside, or avoid using nail polish altogether, particularly when you are pregnant. Browse our custom shopping guide for advice on nail polishes that contain fewer ingredients of concern."
What the hell is a girl to do? Turning hippie is simply not an option. As much as I love working with children with Autism, I'd prefer to reduce my chances of giving birth to one. And don't get me started on cancer...
So, what do you think ladies? Is this hyper-vigilance extreme or is there merit to reducing the use of products in our best interest?
Posts
4 comments:
I don't have a solution to your tanning problem (yet). But as for makeup, sounds like it's time for you to turn to Bare Minerals - check out their ratings on there!
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wordsearch_free.php?hq=bare+minerals&go=go
Andddd, then cross your fingers they come out with an equally as non-hazardous nailpolish and tanning line. Hmmmmm...
Well, I may not be your favorite person since I'm a pretty much a total hippy here, but I'll share with you my point of view.
I don't wear nail polish. I don't wear makeup. I don't use hair spray/gel/mousse. I don't use antiperspirant, I use a deoderant Crystal. I don't use shampoo and conditioner, I use baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I only use non-toxic vegetable soaps.
My theory is this; Everything you put on your body gets absorbed into it, so why put anything on your body you wouldn't feel safe ingesting?
I don't do these things so I can wear the title of "hippy", I do them because I think they are better for my body. And I'd rather live a long time and be considered a "hippy" than have my life or that of my children shortened by applying chemicals to my body.
I've used the cosmetic data web site myself and found it extremely informative.
It's been a gradual weening for me, I have started using mineral makeup too and read the labels more carefully.
I'd say if your using something that's highly toxic there has to be something just as good out there that's better for you. It's the same with prescription drugs: for every one there's an herb or something natural that does the same thing (or better) for your body. I use Dermalogica for my face and I'm not really one to use much makeup, but I agree with the other Amanda: Bare Minerals is awesome :)
As for the tan I'm extremely fair and I've just learned to live with the fact that during the winter I fade and in the summer I get natural sun in healthy amounts with lots of sun screen. I think being overly tanned when we're young is so overrated. When I'm 50 I'm going to be happy I kept my skin healthy instead of burnt.
I really like this subject, by the way. Everyone has an opinion on this one and people should be more aware of what they're putting on and in their bodies. Thanks for sharing :)
Post a Comment