Not All Personal Care Products are the Same

Personal care products are supposed to make us beautiful and help keep us in good health. After all, manufacturers are constantly touting the benefits of using their products 24/7. This shampoo will give you soft manageable hair. That face cream will erase 10 years worth of wrinkles. Your favorite body wash will make your skin sparkle which will attract the eye of every manly man within a 50 mile radius.

But underneath these sometimes impossible to believe claims lay a hidden cost that the manufacturers and marketers don’t want you to know about. The true cost of the everyday personal care products you enjoy go far beyond what is listed on their price tag. In actuality, you are taking years off your life every time you wash your hair, brush your teeth, or put on hand lotion purchased from mainstream beauty companies. The truth that they are trying desperately to hide is that many of the products on the shelves contain dangerous chemicals that are toxic to your body.

Ingredients in Personal Care Products

For example, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate are surfactants found in just about every cleaning product you can think of from dish soap to shampoo. Its job is to break down the surface tension of water which helps to create lather as well as break down oils. This common product has been implicated in aggravating and maybe even causing some diseases like cancer. In high enough doses, it can cause mutations at the genetic level in both animals and humans.

Even something as innocuous sounding as mineral oil (otherwise known as baby oil) has been shown to clog pores as though the skin was covered in plastic and actually cause premature aging. These are just a few examples of personal care products that cause less than beautiful damage to the skin and body.

One claim that manufacturers and marketers try to use to confuse the issue is that their products are topical agents that are not ingested by the body. This is actually not true. You may not be able to see them with the naked eye (well maybe on your face) but your body is covered in pores. This is how your skin breathes and gets rid of some wastes. Anything that is put on the skin is eventually absorbed by the body and makes its way to your bloodstream where the dangerous toxins can cause damage to cells and internal organs.

What to Do About Personal Care Products

The solution is to go green and switch to personal care products that are made from natural ingredients. For example, olive oil provides the same skin softening and moisture retaining benefits as mineral oil but nurtures the skin and body with needed vitamins and antioxidants to stay healthy.

The nice thing about switching to natural products is that a lot of times, if you are short on cash, you can make your own beauty products at home using items from your refrigerator and pantry. So not only will you be nurturing a healthier body you will also be helping the environment by cutting down on packaging waste.

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For additional reading:

Common Toxic Chemicals in Personal Care Products

Visit my archives for more information on green personal care products and being eco-friendly.