Skin Deep

[annuin]

Skin Deep

http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep/

How safe are your personal care products?

I'd already heard about the fact that there is basically nothing stopping companies slapping "natural" and even "organic" labels on personal care products, being that they aren't governed like the foodstuffs bearing the USDA Organic label. In fact, they're not really governed at all, so it can be a bit of a chemical free-for-all in the ingredients list.

Kind of scary if you think about it, especially when you consider that many products contain known carcinogens and other toxins... and we rub this on our bodies or in our hair or stick it in our eyes without thinking about it.

Comments

[darkvervain.livejournal.com]

Ya know, parabens scare the crap out of me. :(

[tanthe.livejournal.com]

And, like with corn syrup, they're in nearly everything.

[darkvervain.livejournal.com]

yeah I know! :(

[catdraco.livejournal.com]

Actually, a lot of regular products cause all sorts of problems. If you're prone to thrush, many types of ordinary hair conditioner can exacerbate/trigger the condition markedly. Also, hormones in hair and skin products have been implicated in early puberty rates among African-American girls.

Scary stuff.

[abigailvr.livejournal.com]

That is very interesting! Do you have any details about it? What exactly to look for and avoid? I had thrush on my nipples when breastfeeding my first son and I'm trying my darndest to avoid it with my second (currently nursing).

[catdraco.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, I'll have to ask my Mum. She'll be happy enough to remind me, I've asked her before on behalf of other friends! *grin* I think Mum knows the specific thing to look for... I'll ask. I do know the thing about hair conditioner is not when you use it on your hair, it's that most people use it in the shower and it runs all over the rest of you when you rinse. The last friend who found that advice useful still uses conditioner, but she rinses her hair over the tub instead of in the shower - hasn't had a problem since.

[abigailvr.livejournal.com]

That is a good point about not letting it run over your whole body. And all this time I thought shampoo was not so good for you, but conditioner was okay. Guess not!

[extatika.livejournal.com]

The delightful (read: sickening) other side of the same coin is that many such known carcinogens and other toxins *have* been tested and declared safe by an unethical process of essentialy testing the substance on every possible breed of every possible species in every possible manner until the desired "safe" result is obtained, and all other results declared "anomalous" or just outright destroyed/ignored. Then if anyone says "this product contains known carcinogen X" the manufacturers have the security of pointing to the test results and saying "well it's been animal tested and it's safe, ha-ha-ha, you can't sue us!"
Rather than being exceptional this is a standard practice in all areas of the vivisection industry, but *especially* cosmetic and agrichem testing.

[bonny-katie.livejournal.com]

Burt's Bees is about the only brand I trust :/