There are a gazillion products on the market for children and for adults and it can get confusing over what products are safe to use. So let’s start off by saying that not all products are equal.
Take Johnson and Johnson for example. For years, they were tooted as a “family company” specialising in baby products. So why wouldn’t we trust them?
They were sued in 2018 by 22 women claiming the baby powder caused ovarian cancer.This resulted in a $2.4 billion verdict against them! Their shampoo has had formaldehyde in it and other products contained asbestos. Truly troubling when we trust a company that has been around for years and is marketed as gentle and caring for baby.
What I have learnt over the years is that we need to become our own health advocate when deciding what personal care products to use for ourselves and our family, which are not harmful and full of toxins. Parabens and phthalates , two common toxins frequently found in personal care products are hormone disruptors or endocrine disruptors , which wreak havoc on hormones that can cause cancers and infertility amongst others things. Fragrance or “parfum” actually represents a mixture of many chemicals that are unlisted. “These chemicals can trigger allergies, migraines and asthma symptoms “according to the David Suziki Foundation.
Look for products that are:
- free of articificial colours and fragrance
- Vegan, products not tested on animals and do not use any animal by-products
- Formaldehyde-donating preservatives, they are known carcinogens
- Parabens, hormome disruptors, which can increase link to cancer
- Petrolatum, also known as petroleum jelly. It is a by -product of petroleum which contains the “impurity polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been linked to cancer”.
- Phthalates, hormone disruptors and may cause birth defects
- Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), usually found in shampoos and can cause skin irritations and allergic reactions.
The list can go on and on…..
I often get asked what products I use. Honestly when my kids were young, I used whatever I could find as I did not know any better and I used what was advertised or what my friends recommended. I have since educated myself and I use only Arbonne products as they are vegan certified and toxin free and there are 2000 ingredients they do not use in their products! To put that in perspective, the skincare industry is very unregulated and in the US there are about 30 ingredients they do not use in their products and in Canada there are a few hundred.
I would rather know that what I am using and putting on my body and my family’s is free of harmful toxins. Let’s face it , we use these products on a daily basis which means that if they are full of toxins, these chemicals are going into our bloodstream daily and constantly for many many years! In fact it is estimated(from the Enviromental Working Group) that that the average American woman uses average of 168 chemicals on their bodies each day through personal care products and men 85 chemicals! An outstanding number!
This is a topic I am very passionate about and now I am so glad now that we have choices available to us and that we are beecoming more educated .
Start becoming consumer savvy and know what you are putting on your skin before you buy it.
I would like to give away samples of the Arbonne baby line. If you would like a sample please share my post and drop me a message.
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