Natural Products

Photo by Michael Graham

This week I have been thinking again about what I can do to make my families personal care products safer. I know many things in the products we use are absorbed through our skin and into our joints, tissues and organs. We use many products with different chemicals on an everyday basis: soaps, lotions, shampoo, conditioner, antiperspirant, make up, baby cream, etc. and then there are household cleaners (perhaps I will save that topic for research in the near future.) I also heard a report on national public radio this morning about the dangers of some plastic containers our products come in and how the chemicals from the plastic can leach into our products. There are many great organic products but the balance comes finding ones that are also affordable. I would love to hear what others have found that they like.

I have also learned that there is a lot of "green washing" going on where companies tell us their products are safe and natural and even organic but are really just mixing healthy ingredients with the same harmful chemicals and substances.

Here are some helpful links I have found so far:

Skin Deep
Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products from researchers at the Environmental Working Group. They rate products on a scale from 1 to 10 on safety, and tell you the chemicals in the products and what they do.

Holistic-Beauty-and-Acne.com

Holistic Beauty Books

The Green Beauty Guide.com
Julie Gabriel has a great blog where she reviews products and gives natural skin care tips. She has written two books: The Green Beauty Guide which is a resource to organic and natural skin care and her new book is Green Beauty Recipes to make your own organic and natural skincare, hair care, body care and fragrances.

Here is a list of things Julie Gabriel says to watch for:

synthetic fragrances (including fabric softeners!) most common irritation, allergy and asthma trigger. parabens hormonal disruptor mineral oil a common cheap lubrication product used as baby oil, a toxic solvent and petrochemical. phthalates hormonal disruptor in some plastic toys proplene glycol can cause burning on genital area. TEA (Triethanolamine) used as an emollient and often contains 1,4 Dioxane a very common cancer causing petrochemical in many baby and adult body products. synthetic color common irritant EDTA (Disodium EDTA) used as a penetration enhancer and has caused brain, liver, and fetal damage in animals. • Sodium Myreth Sulphate • Lauramide MEA • Sodium Laureth Sulphate • Sodium Lauryl Sulphate • Cocoamide MEA • Polyethylene Glycols • Tromethamine The main reason she recommends staying away from these ingredients is because of their “contamination with the carcinogen 1,4 Dioxane." According to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Database, this ingredient is in 46% of cosmetics and is linked to “cancer, developmental and fertility toxicity, allergies, immunotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin, eye, and lung irritation.” http://www.holistic-beauty-and-acne.com/natural-beauty-cleansing-bar.html

These are also some sites that Cali recommended: (Thanks Cali!)
www.drchristophersherbshop.com
www.rainshadowlabs.com
www.mountainroseherbs.com