Fragrance: I thought I'd start with fragrance seen as this is a pretty loose, elusive ingredient that no one really knows what it entails. What do I mean by that? Well, companies can label their product with Fragrance as to not give away their secret ingredients but as to what actually makes or contributes to that fragrance we don't know. Because of this 'loophole', you could use a product thinking it is free from all the nasty ingredients below but those ingredients may contribute to the Fragrance. Sneaky, huh?
Parabens: From my understanding, Parabens are used as a preservative for products, and prevent the product developing bacteria or mould. It has also been linked to breast cancer, with samples of the chemical found in tumour biopsies. Parabens can also be found in many body products and even in pharmaceutical products as well as food.
Phthalates: These are basically a group of chemical which softens plastic -I think. From my reading, the chemical has been banned in children toys' in the EU but is still used in products such as deodorant, body lotions, perfumes and nail varnish. Phthalates have their equal effect on the body as many of these other ingredients and are linked to various cancers' such as Breast, Kidney, Liver and Lung cancer.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): This ingredient really helps foam a product so it is usually found in face wash, body wash, shampoos and even cleaning products. When the body absorbs this chemical it can cause issues with kidney, lung and the skin as well as being very irritating to eyes. This really is a nitty-gritty bugger that you want to avoid as, from my reading, it seems that when the chemical mixes with others it can potentially create a whole new harmful ingredient hosting a whole new set of problems to the body.
I specifically chose these ingredients from the long list of ingredients I could have mentioned as I felt these were the ones I had always heard of but never actually knew what they did and how they affected the body. Now I'm not going to tell you not to use them, that would be pretty impossible as many of the products in your bathroom cabinet contain them, the purpose of this post was more so to educate and make people a little more aware. Your skin is your body's biggest organ and absorbs a large portion of everything you put on it, so naturally, it's only right we know what is inside. Think of it like eating artificial preservatives in your food, except your applying them to your skin.
If you want to read more about cleansing your skin, the beauty industry and avoiding these harmful products I'd recommend this book. I also posted a review on it, which you can read here.
How do you feel after our skin lesson? Head hurt? Feel portrayed? I did too.
Cheerio for now!
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