Cosmetics, Skincare, Chemicals and You – Are You Getting What You Want?

We all want to look good, feel good, smell good. So, we layer on ourselves, day after day, products designed to give us what we want — a gorgeous, ageless appearance; smooth, radiant skin; and a scent that will attract the man or woman of our dreams. But are all these products giving us what we want or are we getting something we didn’t bargain for? It has been estimated that, on a daily basis, most of use between 10-13 personal care products. For men, it’s closer to the lower end of the scale.

Most women are at the higher end and will also use an additional half-dozen or so cosmetics on top of that. So, what’s the problem, you ask? Well, there are several. You may have been taught that your skin is a barrier and prevents unwanted substances from getting into your body. Wrong! Your skin is highly permeable. If it weren’t, using nicotine patches to wean yourself off of cigarettes or progesterone creams to help with hormonal imbalances wouldn’t be so popular. What you put on your skin is just as likely to end up in your body as what you put in your mouth.

To make matters even worse, manufacturers add what are termed “penetration enhancers” to their products to aid in getting some of their more desirable ingredients to penetrate. Of course, that helps the undesirables get in, as well. And, in today’s high-tech world, we face the added spectre of “nanoparticles” which can carry the materials even more deeply into the body’s tissues. So, it’s safe to say that just about anything that is contained in your cosmetics, skincare or personal care products is being absorbed to some degree by your body.

Because of that, you really don’t want to be putting anything on your skin that you wouldn’t put into your mouth. Actually, when something is applied to the skin, it doesn’t go through the liver’s filtering process, which captures and neutralizes many toxins that we eat. So those things you directly apply to your skin are going the express route right into your bloodstream. If all of that isn’t enough to make you afraid to apply your next round of skincare, think of this…you don’t usually apply just one product, do you?

No, it’s more likely in the realm of 10-13 or so, as stated earlier. The layering effect is now taking place. There is a chemical brew being concocted daily on the surface of your skin that has never been tested in a lab, with multiple chemical products layering and combining on the surface of your skin and being absorbed to do who knows what. So, maybe it’s time to ask again. Are you getting what you want? If not, you might seriously want to consider pitching all your regular cosmetics, skincare and personal care and switching to natural and organic products.

We’ll be discussing some of the actual chemicals in your present products, along with better alternatives soon. In the interim, try to pick one product to either eliminate or substitute with a more natural brand. Deodorants are a good place to start. You can even just use some baking soda under your arms if you like.

Remember…a few small changes every day in your lifestyle habits could add up to big changes over time in your health.