Downsize Your Impact

I decided to tackle my bathroom today. Many of us do a spring cleaning of sorts in the new year. I just decided to take it one step further. I took out all of the products in my cupboards and lined them up to get a good look at what i was using. I started reading the ingredient labels and quickly realized that I couldn’t pronounce half of the ingredient list. After some research, I was surprised to learn that all but 2 of the products I use are considered either moderate or high toxicity by the U.S. Environmental Working Group (EWG).

These are just a few of the products that were considered moderate to high in toxicity. As you can see, I numbered them according to rating.

The EWG launched an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products in 2004 called Skin Deep. Their aim was to fill in the gaps and give consumers information on the content of products that they purchase. They reveal information on over 52,470 products with 8,831 ingredients, integrating  a collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.

As a consumer I was really happy to find such a database of information because it breaks down some pretty complicated information into layman’s terms. We need information like this because under the FD&C Act, cosmetics, personal care products and their ingredients are not required to undergo approval before they are sold to the public. Simply put, just because a product is on the shelf in the store doesn’t determine that it has been adequately tested or that you should be using it on your body. Do you know what imidazolidinyl is and why it’s in a majority of moisturizers? Case in point.

To be perfectly honest with you, the more I researched the more irritated I became. I was a big fan of purchasing products that used words like “natural” “pure” and “gentle” thinking that this would be an indicator of the healthy benefits on my body. I was wrong. Our beauty industry is self-regulating and we as consumers pay the price.

The list of toxic chemicals available on ingredient lists is endless but a few commons ones are parabens, urea and tolulene.

1. Parabens (ethyl-, methyl-, propyl-) are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These are found in most cosmetics products.
2. Urea also known as imidazolidinyl and DMDM hydantoin is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative used in many cosmetics, toiletries, lotions and pharmaceutical preparations and is often found in preparations labelled as ‘hypoallergenic’.
3. Toluene or BHT / benzoic and benzyl – sunscreens, lipstick, blush, and shampoos contain this ingredient. Toluene is a common solvent, able to dissolve paints, paint thinners, silicone sealants.

I used this list and the database to learn more about the products I was using. I decided that products with these in them shouldn’t be going on me. I came across several body lotions that had a rating of 10, the highest toxicity level available with links to breast cancer tumor studies. The lotion marketed as “natural” and “clean” contained ingredients linked to several scientific studies surrounding breast tumors. It’s enraging.

I used the same scale administered by the EWG and separated all of the products, recycling all that were higher than 6. For me, it’s just seem worth the risk to hold on to products that have been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity and/or violations, restrictions & warnings by the FDA. The same products that I have been using for months if not years on my body.

I’ve also made a commitment to purchase only 0-2 grade products in the future. Admittedly, the cost of purchasing truly natural, organic ingredient products can be more expensive than those on drugstores shelves. The reality however, is that it is my body and I want to know what goes in it, to be able to make an informed choice. I am willing to use healthier products more sparingly (and homemade skincare recipes) in the knowledge that I will be healthier for it. I am no longer willing to put my faith in companies that operate with no restrictions and no requirement for safety testing. It’s simply not an option.