The FDA doesn't regulate skin care products. A cosmetic manufacturer may use any ingredient without government approval and most of the 25,000 chemicals used, have NOT been tested for long term toxic effects. The associations that are supposed to assess the safety of the ingredients are made up of the chemical companies that manufacture the cosmetics! And, 89% of the ingredients in the personal care products haven't even been evaluated for long term safety. The US government is not checking this $50 billion industry. The good news is that there are healthy alternatives.
Our skin is our body’s largest organ and more than 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our blood stream or stored in our bodies. You do not want to absorb hormone disruptors, carcinogens or neurotoxins that are in most commercial products. Organic, natural products are recommended with the absence of synthetic preservatives, artificial colors (esp. FDC’s), chemical fragrances and chemical additives and nanoparticles.
See Vicki’s safe personal skin care product list on this site along with her one page list of chemical toxins to avoid. Her list will save you lots of time!
Vicki recommends visiting www.cosmeticsdatabase.com and going to “Skin Deep” to check the safety of your personal cosmetic products.
Besides the above website and doing a google on the internet, Vicki also recommends dictionaries with cosmetic ingredients to assist you in your research: “The Chemical Maze” by Bill Statham, “Cosmetic Ingredients” by Ruth Winter, “What’s in Your Cosmetics” by Aubrey Hampton, etc.
The movie, “The Story of Cosmetics” by Annie Leonard is a must see. Go to www.safecosmetics.org to view it. It will change your life!
