Did you know that women in the U.S. apply an average of 168 chemicals to their skin every day according to research conducted by the Environmental Working Group?
These chemicals are absorbed into your bloodstream and carried throughout your body. Many of these chemicals are harmful and haven’t been reviewed for safety before making their way onto store shelves.
Most of the mass marketed skin care products you can find in drug stores are full of added chemicals and unnecessary ingredients.
Much like we do with food, it’s important to read labels and ask questions about what’s in the products you’re putting on your skin every day.
Ingredient lists can be long and hard to decipher at first. Once you become familiar with harmful ingredients you should avoid, it will be easier to make better decisions.
Here are 10 of the most harmful chemicals commonly found in skin care products:
- Parabens: Preservative that is an endocrine disruptor and has estrogen-mimicking properties associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and early puberty in females.
- Phthalates: Endocrine disruptors linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. May be found in fragrances and not disclosed in ingredient lists.
- FD&C Synthetic Colors: Derived from petroleum or coal tar, skin irritant, and suspected carcinogen.
- Fragrances: A catchall for nearly 4,000 different chemicals associated with allergies, asthma, and dermatitis.
- Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfates: Skin, lung, and eye irritant. Can also interact with other chemicals to form carcinogens.
- DMDM Hydantoin/Diazonial Urea (Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives): Carcinogen, skin irritant, and harmful to the immune system.
- EDTA: Skin and eye irritant.
- DEA/TEA/MEA: Emulsifier and foaming agent that is a suspected carcinogen.
- Propylene Glycol: Skin irritant associated with allergies and dermatitis.
- Methylisothiazolineone: Preservative associated with allergies. May be neurotoxic.
These harmful ingredients are scary to read about, but fortunately there are plenty of healthier alternatives available. Natural and organic ingredients are not only better for you, but they provide better results in the long run because they nourish and promote your skin’s natural ability to heal itself.
If you’re looking for products with ingredients you can feel good about putting on your skin, check out our skincare line.
