The Dirty on the Outside: Natural and Non-Toxic Skin Care
Hey! Go ahead, grab your favorite organic “cup o’ whatever” and get ready to free up one of your daily routines from chemicals. First, let’s take a quick quiz! I’m making it quick so you’ll have plenty of time to ponder the results… And no worries, you’re already getting an A++ just for being here!
O.K! Quiz Time!
- What is the largest organ in your body?
- Which organ is responsible as the body’s first line of defense against pathogens? The middle linebacker of organs in other words?
- Jam packed with nerves, what organ is responsible for keeping the brain in touch with the outside world?
- Lastly, what organ produces vitamin D which converts calcium into healthy bones?
Did you get it? (I sure as heck hope you did since it’s in the title of this post, but…if you didn’t, we’ll just blame it on lack of coffee, menopause, the weather, the kids, too many chemicals…etc. All valid.)
Ok so humor me and wait for it….drum roll…It’s our skin! Surprise!
Our skin performs so many necessary functions for us and yet we expose it to so much.
On our farm, I’ve spent countless hours in the hot sun and some brutal New England wind with no protection. I’ve earned many bruises and cuts (well, I’ve earned most of them anyway, some I can only give credit to klutziness). As a result, I’ve watched with fascination over the amazing colors that happen during the equally amazing healing process. I do remember a certain battle about needing stitches and ultimately giving in to just one of the multiple uses of duct tape. Oh…the invincibility of youth. Anyway…
Our skin.
Not only do we want it to look good, but we want it to be healthy. Naturally.
We want to give it what it needs to do an outstanding job in protecting our insides, from outside harm. We want to give it what it needs to perform those all-important functions that we barely scratched the surface of (yes, pun intended!)
Suffice it to say, our skin works so hard for us!
Shouldn’t we be working hard to keep it healthy?
Check out the following scenario…
Rolling right out of bed, you hop in the shower. It’s FriYay! and time for suds (no, not that kind of suds yet. You just woke up!) Sudsing up the parabens, sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) , methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone you decide to use the cocamidopropyl betaine and triclosan too, because well, hell, it is FriYay after all!
After that, you get out of the shower, grab your heavily scented towel and dry yourself off with dioxane, formaldehyde and fragrances. Just for a few moments, you can’t help but stand there with that towel of softness pressed to your face. Ohhh, that fluffy, static free feeling of phthalates and ethanol.
Then, finally, today dammit you’re going to take the time to moisturize, because you’re worth it! And because the label says it’s the most pure, gentle and effective moisturizer for your skin. Dermatologists agree no less! And furthermore, it’s paraben free! So you slather on the dimethicone, glycol stearate, PEG-100 stearate, petrolatum, and acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate. Good darn thing this trusted product has been around forever.
Moisture… comin’ at ya for hours!
Look at you go! All your labels said “natural” and “free from”, “clean” and “simple”, “pure” and “crisp.” In addition, they have pictures of flowers and grass, sparkles and sunshine, teddy bears and beautiful babies! All products that are safe and good for you and your skin, right?!
And all this before you even get out of the house. Hot damn, you’re on FYA!
Even more, all of this, before your skin hits the sun, smog and exhaust fumes, antibacterial wipes and gels and countless other off gassing fumes and airborne particulates and….
Get the picture? Somehow, this doesn’t sound like natural, non-toxic skin care, despite what some of the labels said.
Not. Healthy. At. All.
What the heck?
What are all these ingredients?
I’ve mentioned many chemicals above. During your morning routine, how many chemicals do you think you came in contact with? Similarly, throughout your entire day, how many more do you encounter? Because not only are these ingredients in our skin care products, but they run rampant in our household cleaners too. (Check this out for more info on household products).
While there may be some “chemical encounters of the worst kind” that we can’t avoid, there are however, many ways we can definitely reduce our exposure. One way is simply by choosing products that are better for us! In other words, finding the natural and non-toxic skin care products that really are out there.
But first, why are these chemicals bad for us? To sum it up in a “simple” list, many of these chemicals are known:
- carcinogens
- endocrine disrupters (which can alter normal hormone levels, mimic our hormones, or alter the production of hormones.)
- to impact thyroid concentrations (think of what we smear under our armpits near our lymph nodes!!! Arrghhhh!)
- to pass through the skin barrier into our bloodstream
- respiratory toxicants
- skin irritants
- precursors to contact allergies.
- to contribute to skin tumors and cancers, and
- to cause kidney, liver and brain damage
- And more!
When your pores are open, like after a hot shower or sweating, for instance, your skin can absorb whatever it comes in contact with. Think about that for a minute. Your skin is essentially acting like a sponge. Whether it’s residual laundry detergent, deodorant, moisturizer, makeup, beard oil, pathogens, harmful sun rays or air pollutants, our skin is taking the brunt of it all. As a result, all of this builds up in our systems and can wreak havoc on us!
The very products that are so cleverly marketed with buzz words, beautiful images and beloved tv personalities, that seem healthy, are oftentimes not. Similarly, we can’t just trust a label, or the manufacturer, or our loyalty to brand we’ve been using for generations.
Truth in labeling isn’t always “truth”. It requires us to be detectives. To sleuth out what all those ingredients really are and what they do…
…chemicals for scent,
and chemicals for shelf life,
chemicals as anti mold agents,
and chemicals to react with other chemicals for sudsing…
Oftentimes the products that are good for us, we’ll never even see a marketing campaign for. Further, we’ll probably never see coupons for them in Sunday’s paper. And they usually aren’t the BOGO items.
So how do you find natural and non-toxic skin care products to keep you healthy?
Don’t despair! You’ve already taken the first step without even realizing it. You’re learning how to recognize ingredients that are dangerous.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
You are educating yourself. Bottom line, you’re now aware that your outside, your skin, needs your educated choices to be healthy.
You are going to start reading labels. All those long, can’t-pronounce-ingredients are intimidating. But once you know which ones to watch out for, you’ll be able to steer clear of them. Way back when, I first started out by picking a few and just avoiding anything that had those ingredients in them (any parabens, SL(E)s, formaldehydes, fragrance). With time and more research becoming available, I started adding more “NOs!” to my other “Absolutely Nots!” (triclosan, phthalates, petroleums, etc.)
If you like a certain product and aren’t sure about the ingredients then check out your product here or here.
I warn you, this can be pretty intimidating. It seems like everything has something harmful! It. Doesn’t. But a suggestion if I may… If you cannot find/afford/use an “EWG Verified” rated product, then try to find products with a “1” or “2” rating. Chances may be that they are significantly better than what you’re currently using. There are many very reasonably priced healthy choices out there for every skin care need. Natural and non-toxic skin care can be affordable!
Keep upgrading to the top!
Do beware too though of varying ratings in a certain brand. Just because one product in Brand X is rated “EWG” or “1”, doesn’t mean all their products are just as good. Believe me when I say that I have purchased items by brand thinking they were pretty darn good, only to check EWG and see a “4” or “5” rating. Just to make it even harder, right?
Then what?! I hate to waste. It’s not good for the environment or for my wallet. If I can’t return it, unless the product is rated really low on the list, I use it up (hopefully in conjunction with other natural, non-toxic skin care items to prevent a super toxic overload). I, sadly, also know a small handful of people who (despite all my efforts) could care less about their health when it comes to “cheap” and “free”. “Cheap” and “free” can be extremely costly down the road when it comes to our health though! And at least the “5s” that I pass along to them may still be better than their “10s”.
So research a few different products and shop around. Two online companies I like to use, Pharmaca and PureFormulas, have many better choice products with helpful user reviews. Find the product that meets your needs and check out those ingredients! Also, sign up in the pop-up for my free “Skin Care Ingredients to Avoid Checklist”. You can bring this list shopping with you to help choose safer products.
Want Specific Products that are Safe and Effective?
Looking for specific products? My go-to is Annmarie Skin Care. Hands down. Check out my article about them here. They currently have two awesome offers to get you introduced (i.e hooked) to their products: The Clean Beauty Trial and The Serum Trio. Do yourself a favor and get them both.
How about LED Skin Therapy? Check out these options…Solawave and Omnilux.
Check my Favorites Page for updated offers and other good stuff!
Finally, just please, please remember that while getting to a natural, non-toxic skin care routine may initially seem time consuming, it’s soooo worth your investment! And I know you’re up for the challenge!
YOU are worth the investment!
And your skin, your overall health and the environment will thank you!
“Honestly, self-care is not fluffy. It’s something we should take seriously.”
Kris Carr
