Natural NonToxic Personal, Bath and Skin Care


What is your skin eating?  Did you know that anything you put on your body whether its your hair or skin or mouth is absorbed as if you ate it.  Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs most everything it comes into contact with.  What is in the products you put on your body?  And how safe are they really?  Grab your shampoo and lotion and look up the product or ingredients listed in it, at the cosmetic safetly database.  This is a great way to find out how safe it is, what the ingredients risks are and will give it a rating.  If your products or their ingredients have a rating above their green safe level, you should not be using them!

Cosmetic Safety Database

Some Common Ingredients in Personal Care Products
That Should Be Avoided

FD&C Color Pigments
Many color pigments cause skin sensitivity and irritation, and even oxygen depletion in the blood. Most are made from coal tar and contain heavy metals that deposit toxins directly into the skin.  Many studies show that almost all of them are carcinogenic (cancer causing). For example, FD&C Red #4 is no longer available for use in foods because of a known threat to the adrenal glands and urinary bladder. It is considered a carcinogen but is still used in non-food products.

Mineral Oil
Mineral oil is very common but is a petroleum derivative that coats the skin like plastic wrap.  It inhibits the skin's natural and important function of releasing toxins from the body. It also slows the skin's natural cell development, causing the skin to age prematurely and it promotes acne and other disorders.  Many lotions contain mineral oil and baby oil is 100% mineral oil and should not ever be used, especially on your baby!  Manufacturers use petroleum based products because it is really cheap.  Other petroluem based ingredients include liquid paraffinum, paraffin wax, paraffin oil, and petrolatum.

Triclosan is a chemical antibacterial ingredient with a chemical structure similar to that of Agent Orange and it behaves the same way. It is also a hormone disrupter, which means it affects sexual developement, function and fertility and may foster birth defects, low sperm count in men, infertility and early puberty in girls/delayed purberty in boys. Its manufacturing process produces Dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects in quantities as small as parts per trillion (that's one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools).

The EPA has triclosan registered as a pesticide that is highly toxic to any living organism.  It is also classified as a chlorophenol which is suspected to cause cancer.  Triclosan stores in body fat and can accumulate to toxic levels in the liver, kidneys and lungs. It can also cause immune system suppression, brain hemorrhages, paralysis, and heart problems.  Triclosan can also contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria we are seeing today as it is used and washed into our environment.  Triclosan is widely used in antibacterial cleansers, toothpaste, and other household products.

Antibacterials such as Triclosan have been banned in Europe, yet still available in the United States and surprisingly contained in over half our soap products!  All when normal hand washing, etc. has been shown to be just as effective for normal healthy people at eliminating harmful bacterial while saving the damaging effects of triclosan!

Phthalates are associated with low sperm counts and causing sexual abnormalties, deformities and infertility.  They are used as a plasticizer in food wraps and many pliable plastics including plastic baby and children toys.  They can be absorbed especially when babies are sucking on and chewing on them.  They are also common in hairsprays and cosmetics, especially nail polish.  In a recent study testing body load of chemicals all 289 people tested positive for phthalates.

Parabens can come in many forms including methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl.  Widely used though known to be toxic.  They act as endocrine/hormone disruptors and affect sexual developement,
fertility and other sexual functions.  They cause many allergic reactions and skin rashes.

More resources for learning about healthy personal care