What’s in your products? And why should you care?

Did you know that the United States has a virtually unregulated system for personal care products like lotion, shampoo & conditioner, soap, creams, powders and makeup? The FDA doesn’t have the power to remove or cancel brands or products that contain harmful ingredients. In fact, the U.S. hasn’t passed a law regulating the personal care industry since 1938… that was 82 years ago!! Did you know that? I sure didn’t a few years ago… 

Currently, there are over 80,000 chemicals used in the marketplace today. Many of them haven’t been researched so we have no idea how they perform or anything about their safety for human health. The average person puts anywhere from 80-168 chemicals/ingredients ON their bodies every day. 

The European Union currently bans or restricts 1,400 ingredients from personal care products because they have been known to be detrimental to human health. Canada bans 600. The United States bans 30.

My wakeup call with this issue came five years ago when my daughter was a baby with bad eczema. Her pediatrician recommended a specific thick lotion cream for her. After using it for a few weeks and seeing no difference I remembered a website my friend told me about where you can look up your products and it rates them for safety based on criteria of- allergy concern, cancer concern, developmental concern, and usage restrictions. I looked it up and I was absolutely horrified! Some of it’s ingredients were rated 9/10 for developmental concern, 9/10 for use restrictions, 8/10 for allergy concern, with 5/10 overall for cancer concern. And I was slathering my baby in it! I was pissed. How does this even happen? Why would this be available to buy?!!

The anger quickly turned to action and I began checking all of our products for safety. I ended up with trash cans full of products. Things I had been using myself or using for my kids, and I had no idea they were unsafe. This issue has become a huge passion project for me and I’ve made it a mission to help educate people about why they need to pay attention to what they’re putting on their bodies.  

Fortunately, there are many brands that do know all of these statistics, and are working hard to provide high performing and safe products for all of us. I have some tried and true brands that I trust and use. Beautycounter being my main go to because of it’s safety standards and performance as well as the one stop shop aspect- I can get most of what the family needs in one place! I love it so much it’s available in my offices and via my website (email me with questions or for a free consultation- I love helping with this!). 

Here’s a few of my favorite brands- check them out. And if I’m missing any great ones hook me up!!)…

• Beautycounter— focused on higher end performance + safety, they ban over 1,800 ingredients from ALL products… my recs:: skincare regimens (skin type specific), shampoo, conditioner & body wash, makeup (it’s all I use), lotion & body balms/oils, kids & baby products, men’s charcoal body bar. *We seriously use all of this at my house- like I said, one stop shop!!*
• Primally Pure— “focused on real, recognizable ingredients”, certified organic with purity and potency a priority… my recs:: great deodorant that won’t stain clothes and actually works, dry shampoo powder works really well, great value, and they have versions for light or dark hair. 
• Nail Care— “free of the major toxins and allergens that are often associated with nail polish: formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, camphor, formaldehyde resin, TPHP, xylene, ethyl tosylamide, parabens, and gluten”… great nail polish without all the toxins!! 

EWG (Environmental Working Group) is a fantastic resource to learn about products and foods to help you make the best choices you can for your health. The app is a great resource too- scan your products to check their safety! 

P.S. Eczema is usually a gut flora imbalance- kombucha and probiotic supplements fixed my daughter’s severe eczema in weeks!! Click here to learn more about nutrition services.