Could Looking Pretty Be Harming your Daughter’s Hormones? Check Out Body Ecology’s “Go Green” Beauty Guide!
One of the most fun coming-of-age rituals as a woman is when you finally get to start wearing makeup! In fact, if you are a mother already, you may have had fun with your little girl by putting blush, lipstick, and even mascara on her to play “dress-up”.
However, more and more research is uncovering that over-the-counter cosmetics are full of harmful, toxic chemicals that can store up in your body to cause long-term damage.
Is your daughter at risk?
In a recent study conducted by the Environmental Working Group, 20 teenage girls between the ages of 14 to 19 had their blood and urine tested to detect whether or not 25 of the most common chemicals in cosmetics were present. All of these teenage girls lived in different areas of the US and came from different ethnic backgrounds. The results of the tests showed an AVERAGE of 13 hormone-altering chemicals present in their bodies.
These chemicals are normally found in beauty care and makeup products, and the girls within the study used roughly 17 different personal care products that had over 174 chemical ingredients in them.
These over-the-counter cosmetic chemicals found in their bodies were linked with hormone disruption and even cancer, as well as other side effects, like reproductive development issues, an increased risk of asthma, thyroid problems, and impaired fertility.
For this reason, EWG scientists strongly recommend that you avoid ingredients in your beauty products, like fragrances, dyes, parabens, TEA, PEG, sodium laurel, and chemicals that end in “eth”. As a rule of thumb, it is often best to steer clear of cosmetic ingredients that are impossible to pronounce and sound like a laboratory experiment! Why would you want to put that on your skin?
In addition to choosing beauty products that are safe for you and your daughter to use, you also must put thought into the possible risk of toxins in your home.
Did you know that there are over 150 toxic chemicals lurking in your home?
Each day, we are all exposed to toxic chemicals in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. You would think that our homes would be safe, but they’re not…unless you make different choices.
The good news is you don’t have to move to a hideaway in the mountains to reduce your exposure to toxins!
Fortunately, there are more and more beauty and home products coming out today that allow you to live a modern life without so many toxins.
At Body Ecology, our goal is to empower you to look and feel your best for the long term! Our Body Ecology Go Green Guide will take you room-by-room through your house so that you can replace toxic items with those that are safer or toxin-free.
Body Ecology Go Green Guide to Reduce Toxic Exposure
Here is your room-by-room guide to making better choices for your health:
Kitchen
- Pots and Pans – Replace Teflon or non-stick pans with stainless steel pots and pans or Le Creusetcookware.
- Food Storage – Stainless steel, glass, or ceramic are your best bet for food storage. You can get stainless bowls with plastic tops or glass Pyrex Bowls with glass tops as an air-tight food storage option. Ball Jars are another good choice.
Living Room and Family Room – Besides the kitchen, your family spends a lot of time in the main rooms of your house.
- Furniture – Most of the furniture on the market today (even baby furniture!) is covered with toxins. Fabrics are made to be stain resistant, inflammable, and in some cases, wrinkle free. Woods or wood particulate can off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like formaldehyde, that vaporize and enter the atmosphere.
- Most new furniture is actually off-gassing toxins and polluting the air in your home. You and your family likely spend hours sitting on this furniture, and you deserve to enjoy these rooms safely! Two options you have to reduce toxic exposure are:
- Green Furniture – Made from sustainably harvested wood and all-natural, toxin-free fabrics; choosing “green furniture” is the way to go.
- Antiques or Vintage Furniture – Recycling has become so popular these days, how about recycling furniture too? Save the landfills (and maybe some money while you’re at it) and your health by purchasing “pre-owned” furniture.
Bathroom
Your bathroom may be full of many of the harmful toxins we discussed above. Your skin is one of your major organs of detoxification, so avoid clogging it up with harmful so-called beauty products. There are so many great choices to reduce your toxic exposure on the market today:
Using a natural product like the Royal Saffron Masque will make a dramatic difference in reducing wrinkles, evening out your skin tone, and improving your complexion WITHOUT harmful chemicals or preservatives!
- Soap – Read: The Dangers of Typical Body Soaps and The Body Ecology Recommendations Instead
- Cosmetics – Choose pure products, like Larenim 100% pure mineral makeup. Larenim is free of dyes, parabens, talc, oils, and chemicals.
- Moisturizer – How about using organic unrefined oils instead of lotion and moisturizer? Most moisturizers on the market are made of poor quality or toxic oils, like mineral oil, that harm your liver. You can make your own beautiful moisturizer by taking organic unrefined sesame oil and adding about 10 drops of therapeutic grade lavender essential oil. Shake it up, and you have an all-natural moisturizer that nourishes your skin AND your liver!
Overall Household
- Cleaning Products – Have you ever felt light-headed after cleaning your home? Household cleaners are harmful to your health. Instead, use products by Ecover or Seventh Generation. Both brands have excellent options for dishes, laundry, and cleaners for the whole house.
- Plants – Green plants literally clean up the air in your home! Some plants are known to reduce formaldehyde and other toxins. According to a NASA study on clean air, the following large-leafed plants can reduce VOCs in indoor air and help neutralize “sick building syndrome”: Azalea Aloe Vera, Bamboo Palm, Boston ferns, Corn Plant, Chinese evergreen, Chrysanthemum, Date Palm, Dieffenbachia, Golden Pothos, Mini-Schefflera, Peace lily, Peperomia, Mother-in-law’s tongue, Philodendron (Heart-leaf, Lacy tree, or Elephant ear), Poinsettia, Snake Plant, and Spider Plant.
Research has also shown that plants improve our ability to recover from illness.
- Paint – Choosing low-VOC (volatile organic compound) or no VOC paint is a sure way to keep you breathing easy in your home!
Greener Living Step-By-Step
What does it mean to “go green”? Simply that you begin making better choices for your own health…and interestingly, those choices are also better for the planet!
WHAT TO REMEMBER MOST FROM THIS ARTICLE:
The first step in protecting yourself and your family is to check the ingredients in all of the cosmetics that you and your daughter may be using.Unfortunately, she could be at risk from using hormone altering cosmetics as we speak. Still, as you start taking care in the beauty products that you and your family use, you can progress to reducing your risk for toxin exposure in all areas of your life with the helpful guidelines above!
Want to learn how to protect your health and uncover the secrets to true beauty? Join Donna for Body Ecology’s Beauty & Anti-Aging Secrets Training, where you will learn exactly which harmful ingredients to steer clear of in your beauty products. Sign up today!
Check out this encouraging testimonial from a happy Body Ecology Facebook fan!
I get this alot: ‘Wow, whatever you are doing, it’s working, you look twenty years younger!’ – Angela A. Parker
Sources:
Facts and Statistics on Toxins. http://www.enviroalternatives.com/nontoxichome.html
Plants Clean Air and Water for Indoor Environments. NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI), 2007.http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2007/ps_3.html
Taggart, Jennifer. Carcinogenic Cribs and Changing Tables? May 2008.
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/carcinogenic_cribs_and_changing_tables/
What Are Electromagnetic Fields? World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/
Zerbe, Leah. “Toxins in Cosmetics | Cosmetics Chemicals Found in Girls’ Bodies.” Rodale News. 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.