Toxic Sticker Shock

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

You pay a little (or a lot) more because you get results! That expensive anti-wrinkle, lift-up-my-face serum that comes in a ridiculously tiny, less-than-one-ounce micro-jar is worth it, because after all, “it’s better to look good than to feel good!’

Bad news on the skin care front - the preservatives that are in that concoction are some of the cheapest and currently the most questionable ingredients in the industry. You’re paying extra alright, but it’s not for the highest quality ingredients, you’re paying for chemical shortcuts that are only healthy for the skin care company’s bottom line.

Go to your bathroom, yup, right now.  We’ll wait...
Read the label on your shampoo, moisturizer, sunscreen, toothpaste, hair product, child’s toothpaste...  Look to see if words like paraben, DEA, sodium lauryl sulfate, anything with a zene or a benz are listed. Chances are very, very good that you have spent your precious financial resources on chemicals that are actually unhealthy for you. Sadly, it doesn’t stop there. These chemicals are washing right down the drain and poisoning our wildlife.

Known and suspected hormone disrupters, heavy metals, and carcinogens are the things your personal care products are made of. According to the Environmental Working Group there are 10,500 unique chemical ingredients in these products. They include plasticizers, degreasers, surfactants, pesticides, reproductive toxins, and the ugly list goes on.
One of these chemicals that you probably won’t find on the label - they just don’t list them - are phthlates, aka xenoestrogens. These xenoestrogens have been linked, in a study by the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester’s school of medicine, to the feminization of boys. This study shows a significant link between the concentration of these xenoestrogens in the mother’s blood and the size of the boy’s penis, the incomplete descent of testicles and the anogenital measurement.  Source: http://statismwatch.ca/2008/10/07/plastics-ingredient-linked-to-feminization-in-children/

The Environmental Working Group notes that “everyone uses personal care products. Exposures are widespread, and for some people, extensive...exposures add up, and raise questions about the potential health risks from the myriad of unassessed ingredients migrating into the bodies of nearly every American...”

It won’t help to spend the extra money on those products at the store labeled ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ either since there is no regulation by the FDA of what constitutes natural or organic. If you consider that the ‘industry’ definition of organic is anything that has carbon in it, even gasoline qualifies.

There are solutions. Find a third-party certifying agency, such as EcoCert, that you can trust. Seek out those products that have the certification. Request a copy of the “Toxic Twelve” list from this magazine. If you are a fan of something you use now and want to know more, contact the manufacturer, ask about these ingredients. Whatever you choose, make the choice to spend your dollars on products that don’t contain toxins. If you’re going to spend your money wouldn’t it be better to not buy poison?

For more info, contact: 441-688