What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and it absorbs everything – including toxins. If you are concerned about not eating unhealthy foods, then you’ll definitely want to know which ingredients you should watch out for in the products you use.
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Once absorbed into our bodies and blood streams, toxic chemical ingredients can cause and/or contribute to a wide array of problems:
▪ Cancer
▪ Developmental/reproductive toxicity
▪ Allergies
▪ Immunotoxicity
▪ Neurotoxicity
▪ Endocrine (hormonal) disruption
▪ Organ system toxicity
▪ Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
▪ Enhanced skin absorption (some chemicals actually cause our skin to absorb even more chemicals!)
▪ Biochemical or cellular level changes
What You Need To Avoid
Before buying beauty products, check the ingredients list. These ingredients can be found in make-up, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, baby care products, sunscreens, toothpastes, nail products, and deodorants. If you’re looking for a good brand that doesn’t contain these potentially harmful ingredients, check out organic options, or make your own cosmetics.
Makeup/Cosmetics:
Silica/Crystalline (or Quart or Rose Quartz), Propylparaben (or Butylparaben or Methylparaben or any paraben), Aluminum Power, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance, PEG-4 Diheptanoate, BHA, D&C Red 30 Lake (this is one example of an artificial color– most come up highly toxic), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Alumina, Octinoxate, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT, Polyethylene Glycol, Manganese, Barium Sulfate, Oxybenzone, DMDM Hydantoin, Triclosan, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Steareth-21, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone.
Shampoo/Conditioner:
BHA, Fragrance, Butylparaben (and again, all of the parabens), Octinoxate, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Methylchloroisothiazolinone, DMDM Hydantoin, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate (almost anything with Laureth or Laurate in it), Cocoamide DEA, BHA, Resorcinol, P-Phenylenediamine, P-Aminophenol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Salicylic Acid, Ceteareth-12, Benzyl Alcohol, PEG-10 Sorbitan Laurate.
*Note– Don’t be taken in by “natural” products without still reading the ingredients. A lot of supposedly natural brands still have these toxic ingredients!
Deodorant:
Fragrance, Ceteareth-12, Ceteareth-20, Triclosan, Coumarin, Lilial, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Limonene, Propylene Glycol, Isobutane, Benzyl Alcohol, Zinc Oxide (sunscreen grade), Eugenol, Benzyl Salicylate, Butane, Aluminum Chlorohydrate, 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor.
Bar Soap/Body Wash:
DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Ceteareth-20, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Octinoxate, Cocamide DEA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben (and all other parabens), Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Coumarin, Salicylic Acid, Lyral, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cinnamal, BHT, Eugenol, Oxybenzone, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzalkonium Chloride, Hydroxycitronellal, Diazolidinyl Urea.
Skin Cleansing and Lotion:
Fragrance, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Salicylic Acid, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, PPG-2-Cetearathe-9, PEG-7 Glycerol Cocoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Geraniol, Limonene, Polysorbate-20, Laureth-23, Ceteareth-20, Triethanolamine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polysorbate-60, Eugenol.
Nail Polish:
Toluene, Triphenyl Phosphate, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Benzophenone-1, Dibutyl Phthalate, Aluminum Powder, Octinoxate, Barium Sulfate, Tartrazine, BHT, Formaldehyde, Oxybenzone, Alumina, Isobutylphenoxy Eopxy Resin.
Hair Styling Products (mousse, hair spray, gel, etc):
Fragrance, Retinol (Vitamin A), Octinoxate, DMDM Hydantoin, Butylparaben, Propylparaben (and again, all parabens), Triethanolamine, Polysorbate-20, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Phenoxyethanol, Polyethelene Glycol, Geraniol, Limonene, Isobutane, Propane, Diazolidinyl Urea, PEG-40.
Toothpaste:
Fragrance, Sodium Fluoride (of course, there is debate over whether this is toxic or not), Retinol (Vitamin A), Propylparaben, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, FD&C Blue 1 Aluminum Lake (another example of a coloring), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine.
Perfume/Fragranced Products:
Oxybenzone, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit A Palmitate), Fragrance, Propylparaben, Octinoxate, Diazolidinyl Urea, BHT, Lilial, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Ceteareth-20, Tartrazine, Geraniol, Citral, Lyral, Coumarin, Amylcinnamaldehyde.
Toxic Beauty: What Cosmetic Companies Won’t Tell You was originally published on blackdoctor.org
