My sister-in-law and I have known each other since high school. We still tease each other over bad fashion, big hair, and scary blue eye shadow. There is something we still hold dear about those fluorescent jelly shoes but that’s another story. As sisters and as friends, we’ve had our fair share of ups and downs, great laughs, fond memories, and, of course, the occasional hair pulling. The one thing we've both struggled with as individuals has been our skin. From breakouts to dryness to severe irritation, both of us have spent a decade on the prowl for products that would give us clear, glowing, beautiful skin. Living on opposite sides of the country, whenever we had opportunity to get together we would go through one another’s makeup bags, make suggestions to try and help each other, and genuinely empathize over the other’s skin woes. We’ve even been known to text or e-mail the name of a new product we thought might be the “holy grail.” But much to our dismay, we never found what we were looking for. Our skin just looked, well…bad.I began to do more research and became increasingly disturbed after reading information on the Organic Consumers Association website about 1,4-dioxane. 1,4-dioxane is a suspected carcinogen and is found in high concentrations in ingredients such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), polysorbates, and laureth that are readily found in personal care products. Ironically enough, I happened to be in my second semester of Chemistry and immediately e-mailed my professor about this. I remember it was 1AM and I couldn’t sleep because I was just sick over reading about the lack of ethical responsibility on the part of conventional labels and even some organic brands! My professor responded by saying that there was such a negligible amount of toxins in each of these products that it shouldn’t cause rise for concern. Was he kidding? I counted the number of products I use on a daily basis, and embarrassing or not, I average about 20, (and this is not including manicures, pedicures, facials, and hair color every 6 weeks. And, yes, I’ve even been known to get Botox). I’ve been a heavy consumer of personal care products since the age of 15, and I’m supposed to think that all of the chemicals in the 20+ products I use per day over time doesn’t amount to anything! I decided to do some further investigation and discovered that the Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that “the presence of 1,4-dioxane, even as a trace contaminant, is a cause of concern.” This was after a study showed an increase in the number of nasal passage cancers in workers exposed to dioxane. I also learned sodium laurel sulfate can react with other chemicals to form cancer causing nitrosamines and dioxane, it can interfere with the reproductive system, cause eye damage, hair loss, and increased skin sensitivity. As if all of this information wasn’t alarming enough, I then found out that 1,4-dioxane wasn’t the only culprit amassed in personal care products. There’s also diethanolamine and triethanolamine (DEA and TEA), which can form carcinogens when mixed in products containing nitrate preservatives. Talc has been linked to ovarian cancer; coal tar dyes have also been linked to different forms of cancer, and can be found in cosmetics and lipsticks. Parabens are known hormone disrupters, can affect fertility, and have been found in breast tumors. Toluene found in nail polish may cause spontaneous abortion to women exposed to it, cause liver damage, and may also attack the central nervous system. This, by no means, is an exhaustive list. There are many thorough resources out there that will tell you exactly what different ingredients are and how they can affect your body. One that I recommend is www.cosmeticsdatabase.com. Dr. Samuel Epstein, professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition is the leading international authority on this topic and has written a number of books all of which are very insightful.
Needless to say, I started educating myself on ingredients so I would know exactly what I was slathering on my skin. I gave a speech in my Cell and Molecular Biology class much to the horror of my classmates. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has outstanding materials to use in order to shine light on this topic including fact sheets, recent news, talking points, and even outlines how to host a healthy cosmetics party to help spread the word.
Several months had gone by since my sister-in-law and I had talked, and when we were finally able to catch up again, surprisingly found out that she too had been researching the very same thing! Plus, she had already switched over to more organic products than I had. We were both righteously angry with all of the major cosmetics brands that we had given thousands of dollars to over the years that not only helped to exacerbate our problems, but also potentially damaged our health. Ever since, we’ve been exploring all of these exciting new brands that we had never heard of before: Suki, Pangea, Dr. Alkaitis, Living Nature, Organic Apoteke, Suzanne aux bains, and Alima Pure, just to name a few. It’s like starting all over again, so we share what works and what doesn’t which saves time, money, and frustration along the way. Please note that not every product labeled "organic" is free of toxins. There are actually organic companies undergoing litigation because they were still putting harmful ingredients in their organically marked products. You must read labels. As I have mentioned before there are several on-line boutiques that have already done the legwork for you. If you are a busy mom, have a demanding career or anything in between, you can purchase products from these websites with absolute assurance that what you’re buying has already been carefully researched for its safety, effectiveness, and standards of business practice. These boutiques include Spirit Beauty Lounge, Saffron Rouge, and Future Natural. The goal of most of us is to care for our bodies and live long, healthy, productive lives. My hope is that you will utilize this eye-opening information for the health and well being of you and your loved ones.
