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A few months back, Holly Haze did a great blog about our largest organ: the skin. She explained the importance of really being mindful of what you put on your skin and ultimately into your blood stream.
Holly dives right in…”Yes, this is the time of year that everyone starts flooding places with the scented lotions, bath and shower gels, plug ins, candles, hand soaps, scented hand lotions, room sprays and all the things that make your house smell perfect for the season. I for one, never understood the fascination with smelling like a cookie or apple, but to each their own!
The havoc that these chemicals do to your endocrine system is seriously harmful. Do you ever wonder why women have such issues, wayyy moreso than men, with fertility and hormone imbalance?
When you apply something on your skin, it takes under 30 seconds to get in to your bloodstream.
Do not panic! This does not mean your house can’t smell great and festive.”
There are so many ingredients you need to be aware of before you make that purchase.
Holly made a list:
Isopropyl Alchohol: may cause premature aging of skin. Ummm, you guys…it is found in anti-freeze. It strips skin of natural acid mantle, promoting growth of bacteria. It can cause headaches, flushed skin, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Also causes mental depression according to “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients.”
Tetrasodium EDTA: contains formaldehyde and is a known skin and lung irritant.
BHT: this fragrance has been linked to organ system toxicity and is a known skin, eye, and lung irritant.
Disodium EDTA: neurotoxin linked to brain damage and liver changes in animals.
Diazolidinyl Urea: this chemical releases formaldehyde(so does Splenda, but don’t get me started) into your body. Mayo Clinic says formaldehyde can irritate the respiratory system, cause skin reactions, trigger heart palpations, immune system toxicity, and cancer in humans. Exposure may cause joint pain, depression, headaches, dizziness, loss of sleep, chronic fatigue, ear infections, allergies, and chest pains. It can also trigger asthma and aggravate colds. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen found in Johnson and Johnson baby care products (yep), skincare, antiperspirants, and hair dyes.
Methylparaben and Propylparaben: DIRECTLY linked to breast cancer. In mice it had weak estrogenic effects which caused damage to the sperm formation in the testes. It may contribute to sterility in males, hormone imbalances in females, and cause early puberty. A relative of methylparaben, sodium methylparaben has been banned in the E.U. There is an easy way to detect these on labels…some other common names for parabens are ethyl-, butyl-, and isobutyl- all ending with paraben. ******These do not have to be labeled, so sometimes companies will not list within ingredients panel!!!!!!!
Ceterareth-20: ENHANCES the absorption of ALL above chemicals
Holly continues, “I ALWAYS have a good, natural soy candle burning. Inhaling burning candle fumes from toxins and slathering chemicals all over your skin is extremely damaging to you. Once you stop using them, your body will be able to detox from the daily toxins. Although the FDA should be the ones looking out for us, they’re not. It’s up to us to make better choices. We MUST be our own advocates in many, MANY ways. Really good alternatives are available and affordable, you just have to know where to shop for them. I can even recommend some local items.
Take away: stay away from the big stores with the scented lotions and candles. Really, that is my take away.”
