Cosmetics are part of our daily lives. We all used lotions, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners, and face creams. The average person is exposed to roughly 120 chemicals a day through their cosmetics. Some of these chemicals are carcinogens.

A little bit won’t hurt you, but used over a long period of time the affects add up. With the amount of products we use, we’re putting untested combinations of chemicals on our skin.

Your skin is porous and whatever you put on it absorbs directly into your blood stream. This puts these chemicals on the fast track to be pumped to your major organs.

Here’s a list of some of the worst offenders:

Lead–Do you remember the reports of lead being in lipstick last year? They say that the amounts are so small that it doesn’t matter, but consider that the average woman consumes up to 4 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. Lead Acetate is used in some hair dyes and gels. Lead is a neurotoxin. It can cause seizures, brain damage and even death.

Mercury–The mercury containing preservative, thimerosal, can be found in some mascaras. Mercury is a neurotoxin.

Coal Tar–This is a chemical used in soaps and dandruff shampoos. 71% of hair dyes list it as an ingredient. The dyes FD&C Blue 1 and FD&C Green 3 are coal tar based. Coal tar is a carcinogen.

1,4-Dioxane–This chemical is found in products that contain ingredients following ingredients or partial ingredient names: “PEG,” “polyethylene,” “polyethylene glycol,” “polyoxyethylene,” “-eth-”, “oxynol” “ceteareth,” or “oleth.” An example is sodium laureth sulfate. It is linked to cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans.

Fragrance–Many cosmetics have this ingredient listed near the bottom of the ingredient list. What’s so wrong with fragrance? It smells nice so it must be made from something nice, right? Many fragrances contain a chemicals called phthalates. These chemicals are linked to obesity, infertility and can harm developing fetuses.

Nanoparticles–These are found in skin creams and sunscreens. They’re sometimes listed as nano metals or buckeyballs. Nanoparticles can burrow into your brain and get into your red blood cells.

There are alternatives to cosmetics that contain these harmful chemicals. Read the labels on your cosmetics to make sure they don’t contain these ingredients. Buy things that are unscented or fragranced with essential oils.

I use all natural cosmetics that I buy from my local health food store. I use coconut oil to moisturize my skin. I’ve used it for a long time,and it works great. A good rule of thumb is not to use anything on your skin that you wouldn’t eat.

Here’s a good site about toxins in cosmetics. You can search your favorite cosmetics to see what toxins they contain.

This post is featured on Green + Chic.

Photo by annia316

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