The skinny on body care products

Of course, you want a shampoo that gives lots and lots of lather, don’t you? You guys want a shaving cream that really foams talk about shaving grace! You want a soap that produces an overflowing tub of bubbles for that really bubbly feeling? But in the middle of your bath or shave, have you ever stopped to think what’s causing all that foam and lather?

Stop, look, and read. You may not feel so bubbly after reading this: There may be harmful chemicals in that innocent bottle of shampoo, bar of soap or tube of toothpaste you’re using. And did you know that what your skin ingests could cause more harm than what you eat? But more on the latter later.

Stop, look, listen! Experts from the Organic Consumers Association give us the skinny on personal care products: “These may seem like some of life’s simple, innocent pleasures  until you look at what is causing all that foam and lather. Once you find out, you may decide it’s not so simple or pleasurable after all.”

Indeed, life was so much simpler in the ancient days of Cleopatra, beguiling queen of the Nile, who simply bathed in raw milk and honey, or mud from the Dead Sea (now you know her dirty little beauty secret).

According to the experts and news culled from the US News & World Report, “Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), and their cousins like ammonium lauryl sulfate and sodium myreth sulfate produce a lot of foam very inexpensively. But SLS is so strong that it’s also used to scrub garage floors. And it has been proven to cause cancer in the long run.” 

SLS is said to stay in the body up to five days. According to studies, it can “easily penetrate the skin and enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain.”

SLS is found in most cleansing and foaming products, and even in some toothpastes. That’s the tooth and nothing but!

Here’s why what you put on your skin can cause more harm than what you put in your mouth, according to health activist Dr. Joseph Mercola: “This is in large part because when you eat something, the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. When the chemical cocktail is delivered into your bloodstream via your skin, however, it bypasses this built-in protective filtration process, so you have decreased protection against the toxins. There are literally thousands of chemicals used in personal care products, and only a tiny fraction of them have ever been tested for safety.”

The good doctor exposes the most common culprit: SLS. SLS can penetrate your eyes and other tissues, such as your heart, liver, and brain, according to a study done by the Department of Ophthalmology at the Medical College of GA. Dr. Green, lead author of the study, notes, “SLS is rapidly taken up and accumulated by eye tissues. It is retained for up to five days in most eye tissues. It produces nitrosamines, potent carcinogens that cause your body to absorb nitrates. It strips your skin of protective oils and moisture. According to Japanese studies, it can cause cellular DNA damage.”

Did you know that if you use conventional cosmetics on a daily basis, you are absorbing almost five pounds of chemicals and toxins into your body each year?

Many of them have been linked to cancer.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health lists nearly 900 chemicals used in cosmetics that are toxic. Here are the major ones that you should watch out for:

• Paraben. This chemical is found in underarm deodorants and other cosmetics. It has been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, which can drive the growth of human breast tumors.

• Phthalates. These are plasticizing ingredients, which have been linked to birth defects in the reproductive system of boys and lower sperm-motility in adult men, among other problems.

• Musks. Used as fragrances, musks can accumulate in the body. They have been linked to skin irritation, hormone disruption, and cancer in laboratory studies.

• Artificial fragrances. They’re among the top five known allergens and can cause asthma.

• Methylisothiazolinone (MIT). This chemical is used in shampoos to prevent bacteria from developing, which may have detrimental effects on your nervous system. (The rule of thumb is: If you can’t pronounce or spell it, be very wary.)

• Toluene. Found in most synthetic scents, it’s made from petroleum or coal tar. Chronic exposure to toleune has been linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage. It may also affect a developing fetus.

• Mineral oil, paraffin, and petrolatum. These products coat your skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating a buildup of toxins. They also slow cellular development, which can cause you to show earlier signs of aging, and are a suspected cause of cancer and disruption to hormonal activity.

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