by Melissa Engle
What is your body’s largest organ? No, it’s not your gluteus maximus (and that is a muscle, not an organ anyway). It’s your skin.
True fact: Sixty percent of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies. If you care about your health, it’s worth paying attention to what substances you’re using on your face and the rest of your body.
It can be daunting to read the product labels and understand what you’re looking at, so, here’s some clues about finding toxin-free, good for you (and good for the earth) products.
Vegan certified: These are products not tested on animals and not using animal products or by-products. (Examples of animal product/by-products include tallow, which is rendered animal fat, and lanolin, which is sheep sweat) [
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Anti-aging: One cause of accelerated aging is use of products containing mineral oil (or you may have seen it listed as petroleum on some labels). Ahhh, mineral oil. It sounds like a natural ingredient, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s a derivative of crude oil.
“Mineral oil is a colorless and odorless oil that’s made from petroleum. It's a by-product from the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. It’s long been used as a common ingredient in lotions, creams, ointments and cosmetics. Mineral oil is considered ‘comedogenic’, which means it can clog your pores and increase the risk of acne and blackheads.” [
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“Petroleum and mineral oil are ‘occlusive’ agents, which means they seal off the skin from air, water or anything else getting in (or out). Wherever they're applied, they form an invisible film on the surface that blocks the pores and the skin's natural respiration process. If you want a safe moisturizing lotion, look for ingredients like coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E, shea butter, cocoa butter.” [
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Another aging agent is the sun. It can cause all sorts of skin damage — wrinkles, spider veins, fine lines, discoloration, sun/age spots, so be sure your daily moisturizer has an SPF of 20 to stay protected – even in the winter!
“The sun is responsible for the vast majority of visible aging, according to new research—another reason to slather on the sun screen all year round. UV rays accounted for 80 percent of skin aging, including wrinkles, in a study of almost 300 women—half sun-worshippers and half shy of the sun. The study also found that a two percent increase in skin damage ages a face by three years.” [
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Have a teenaged girl in your life? Here’s something to think about.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that adolescent girls’ bodies are contaminated with chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and body care products.
“In fact, we detected 16 potentially toxic chemicals—
phthalates,
triclosan,
parabens, and
musks—in blood and urine samples from
20 teen girls. Studies link these chemicals to potential health effects, including cancer and hormone disruption. To make matters worse, teens may be particularly sensitive to exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, given the complex role they play during puberty, precisely when girls typically experiment with an increasing number and variety of body care products. When we surveyed them, our teen study participants reported using an average of 17 personal care products each day, 40 percent more than an adult woman.” [
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Skincare and cosmetic regulations: To make it easy on yourself, find a manufacturer that adheres to the EU regulations, which are stricter than U.S. standards.
“The European Union has banned over 1,300 chemicals found in cosmetics. The FDA has only banned 8 and restricted 3.
[In the U.S.] it’s a free market and you don’t have to do anything—no safety testing required—until there is a problem. And the issue is, a lot of these health impacts are long-term. If someone develops breast cancer in 20 years, linking that to the
aluminum zirconium in my deodorant can be tough.
We don’t know how these ingredients are interacting when they come together. The
average woman puts 515 synthetic chemicals on her body every single day without even knowing.” [
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Arbonne International—provider of skincare, hair, makeup, bath and body, and nutritional products—is all about ‘Pure, Safe & Beneficial’. [
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Its products are vegan and kosher certified, free of gluten, mineral oil, parabens, and we adhere to the EU standards.
My goal is to help you find the highest quality and safest products for you and your family. Your skin is the largest organ on your body and deserves to be well cared for. This is a good place to start to make a move towards cleaner, toxin-free products. Your skin will thank you!
Here's a little skincare challenge
1. Look through your bathroom cabinets and makeup bags and toss anything that's expired or contains mineral oil.
2. If you're not already, find a good daily moisturizer with SPF 20.
3. Be mindful of lip products—if it goes on your lips, it goes in your mouth.
A version of this post was previously published on by Women Belong.
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Melissa Engle is a Chicago-based mom, actor, voice-over artist,
entrepreneur and advocate for moms who suffer from postpartum depression
and anxiety.
She has worked in Chicago and across the country with such theaters as Lifeline, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Raven, LiveWire, Oak Park Festival, Shattered Globe, Stage Left, and regionally with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks and Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Melissa's also a fan of baking, watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls, doing yoga with her toddler, and all things health and wellness. With her Arbonne business, she strives to educate women about the toxins in our everyday personal care products, empower women with healthier and more accessible options for themselves and their families and provide the highest level of woman-to-woman customer service possible.
