I don’t use much makeup because it’s too hard to find many natural personal care products. Except for the time in my life when I taught Ballroom Dancing and had to wear stage makeup for performances, I do not wear makeup other than lipstick.
One reason is that I don’t like to devote the time it takes to put it on and the other is that, since I have cleaned up my diet so much now, I have developed sensitivities to most makeup ingredients. It's my body's way of alerting me to danger.
And now that I have been learning about how to really take care of my health, what I have found out about personal care products, makeup included, has often times horrified me. For instance, did you know that mascara has mercury in it as a preservative? And that the red lipsticks are most often contaminated with lead?
What I have learned has really convinced me that the natural way that Nature made us is the best way to go. Women have been inundated with ads for everything under the sun and have been made to feel that they are inferior if they don’t use these products.Well, I’m here to tell you that you are many times ingesting poison (with lipstick and lip liners) and absorbing it through your skin which is your body’s largest organ of absorption and elimination. It’s sometimes hard to find natural personal care products, but it is not impossible.
Here is some great information from Dr. Samuel Epstein who wrote the book “Toxic Beauty”, which I own and have read. Dr. Epstein is the chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. He has researched the use of toxins in our personal care and everyday products.
How safe is your make-up?
Many women wear make-up every day. It enhances appearance and can add confidence. However many cosmetics and skin care preparations contain carcinogenic ingredients.
Foundation creams often contain bentonite, which is used to put out fires. It suffocates the flames so that oxygen can't get through to inflame the fire. In skincare preparations bentonite suffocates the skin, stopping it from breathing.
Liquid foundations may contain mineral oil which is a potential carcinogenic.
Most of us use a moisturizer every day on our skin in the hope of improving our skin and protecting it from the elements. However the majority of them contain molecules that are too large to enter the pores of the skin. As a result these creams sit on the surface of the skin, gradually blocking the pores and glands.
The sweat glands are unable to work properly and the oil glands can't drain effectively, resulting in the build up of toxins and bacteria in the skin. This in turn can cause black heads, spots and a dull complexion.
Propylene glycol is also commonly found in skincare products. It's a cosmetic form of mineral oil found in industrial antifreeze, and brake fluid. It acts as a moisture retainer by preventing the escape of water or moisture from the skin.
Material data safety sheets warn against skin contact with propylene glycol as it can be an irritant and cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.
You would be better off drinking 2 litres of water a day to rehydrate the skin than spending a fortune on some of these expensive moisturizers.
Many eyeshadows and blushers contain talc, which is very similar to asbestos. Talc is a known carcinogen and has been linked to ovarian and lung cancer. Numerous tests have shown a link between using talc in the genital area and ovarian cancer. It also posses a health risk when inhaled into the lungs.
Other powders found in these products contain artificial fragrances which is the most common cause of allergic reactions to cosmetics.
Mascara may contain alcohol, formaldehyde and plastic resins. Sensitivity to these ingredients can cause irritation to the eye in the form of redness, swelling and burning.
9%-25% of toxins that we are exposed to are absorbed into our bodies from cosmetics and personal care products that we use each day. The skin is very permeable and some chemicals can penetrate the skin in large amounts. This is especially true of facial make-up, which is often worn all day.
The average woman has 4 times more toxins in her blood, and a hairdresser has 4 times more than the average woman.”
Here is a longer list of ingredients to avoid in personal care products of all types. You may want to print it out to compare to the ingredients in things that you are currently using.
What can you do?
One of the best resources out there for finding natural personal care products is the Environmental Working Group’s page called Skin Deep. It lists different brands of products, both makeup and others, and how they rate. If your brand is not on the list, you can add it by asking them to rate it.
Here’s another website that gives you an independent third party evaluation of what products, other than makeup, are natural personal care products as well as cleaning products to safely use. On that page, go to the bottom and click on the link called “Personal Care and Cleaning Products Safety Guide.”
The good news is that more companies are responding to the quest for organic ingredients and are offering safer, more natural personal care products. One of these is Dr. Mercola’s Organic Skin Care Line. Just click on the picture below for more info.
I personally use these products daily and I have seen such a difference in my appearance. My face used to be red and somewhat splotchy and now it is smooth and deeply hydrated.
These are by far the best products that I have ever used and I recommend them to everyone, male and female alike. They are truly natural personal care products and are in fact, USDA certified organic, which means you can eat them. If you wouldn’t eat something, it has no business going on your skin either.
I feel that I don’t need to wear foundation or powder, and that I look beautiful just the way I am. Perhaps that is the confidence that comes with age but I think that beauty is way more than skin deep. What a person is inside and what he or she does on the outside is the true measure of beauty.
If you think you are beautiful, you will be beautiful in word and deed and that is the most important thing. The natural personal care products listed here will only serve to enhance that inward beauty.
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