Cosmetics Health and Safety

Most women (and, yes, some men) use one form or another of make-up everyday. Whether it is a little bit of mascara or everything from foundation to a brow-liner, you should really know exactly what you are putting on your face. According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, "20 products with over 200 chemicals" is what the typical woman puts on her face before she goes out of her house for the day. I would sure like to know if those chemicals are safe to put on my skin.

As I have said before, your skin is too important to neglect because it is the body's largest organ. So I did some research. First-off, it is good to know that Cosmetic companies do not have to follow the same rules as food and drug companies. This means that they do not have to approve their products by the FDA or test the items before selling them. All they have to do is say "Product is safe if used as directed". What does that even mean? I am pretty sure I wasn't going to try and eat any of it anyways, but thanks for the tip.

I really wanted to find out what chemicals I should try and stay away from, since the Cosmetic industry really was not going to help me out. What I found was actually pretty scary. When you get home, check your cosmetics for any of these ingredients:

- parabens
- petro-chemicals and their by-products (skin creams, foundations, lip balms)
- mercury (mascara)
- lead (lipstick)
- dioxane (shampoo and body wash)
- phthalates (nail polish, hairspray, perfume)

Parabens and petro-chemiclas are the most common in cosmetics and luckily the least severe of harmful chemicals. You can find them on the ingredient list by looking for anything that ends in "parabens" and anything that starts with "petro" or "petra". All of the ingredients listed above can create long term effects such as several types of cancer, infertility and birth defects. WebMD also states that "women under the age of 25 are more susceptible to these future conditions". I think I might just go out and restock my supplies!

But which cosmetics are safe and how do you find them? There are many things that you can do to make your make-up bag chemical free. Looking up the product online is a very good idea. Www.cosmeticsdatabase.com is a good website to use to see the most up-to-date ratings of the available cosmetics. It is good to remember that when it comes to make-up, less is more. The less the ingredients, the better it is for you. The more bland the smell, the better it is for you. Chances are, you don't need that much make-up anyways! Also, just because the label says "organic" does not mean that it is free of these chemicals. I have listed some websites at the bottom of this post that have really good organic cosmetics. The products contain no parabens, which is really hard to find. My absolute favorite brand is Bare Minerals. These products can be found at any of the Sephora stores (which is located at the Holyoke Mall). It can be a little pricy, but I would rather pay more money for products that will be safe rather than one that might give me cancer or take away my ability to have a child.

So long story short, make sure you are using safe cosmetics. Use them correctly and as directed. And if you just cannot part with that special foundation that you have used for years and years its o.k. Just as long as you do not use it everyday or put too much on. Our skin is important, but these chemicals also cause cancer and infertility, which is nothing to mess around with. So be smart and wear minimal make-up. You don't need it anyways!

http://bareescentuals.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BareEscentuals-Site/default/Home-Show?brandId=BM&site=251
http://www.lavera.com/index.php?p=cat_home
http://www.tartecosmetics.com/
http://janeiredale.com/

Want to check your make-up on a rating scale? Check this out:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?maincat=makeup&gclid=CMCVi5SPk54CFYdd5Qod3zurog