Staying healthy by checking labels
When shopping for your beauty products, it’s always wise to check the labels first. Make sure that they don’t contain any of the following ingredients:
1) SLS/SLES and ALS/ALES – these are foaming agents that bring dirt to the surface. Unfortunately, they cause eye and skin irritation.
2) preservatives such as parabens, BHA/BHT, DMDM Hydantoin, Phenoxyethanol and TEA. Parabens are allergenics and they promote premature aging. BHA/BHT has been linked to cancer. DMDM Hydantoin is believed to weaken the immune system. Phenoxyethanol is an irritant and it causes allergy, while TEA or triethanolamine is carcinogenic.
3) DEA or diethanolamine – it’s an emulsifer that helps to combine water-based liquid and oil. But DEA is said to affect hormonal activity.
4) moisturizers and emollients such as mineral oil, dimethicone, isopropyl palmitate,petrolatum or paraffin, and urea. These ingredients soften, relax and sooth the skin, but in the process of doing so, clog the pores, speed up aging, worsen acne, and in the case of urea, cause cancer.
5) fragrances in the form of parfum and phtalates. Parfum causes allergy and is an irritant as well.Phtalates damages the liver and reproductive organs
6) solvent such as propylene glycol. This one damages the kidneys and the liver.
7) antibacterial agents such as triclosan. Triclosan causes endocrine and reproductive malfunctions. It’s alarming, really, but chemically formulated skin care products, including hair shampoos, have at least one of these ingredients.
Interesting topic, and I’ve been reading about beauty product ingredients. Do you have any research to back this up?
Comment by Carlo — December 19, 2009 @ 7:20 pm