Duluth Superior Magazine / September 2011 / What Is Your Skin Eating?

 Email  Print

What Is Your Skin Eating?

Each day, the average woman uses a dozen personal care products; the average man half of that: Soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, lotion, bath oil, perfumes, make-up, sun screen, lip moisturizers, hair, skin and nail care products.

Whatever is in the products you put on your body will be absorbed into the bloodstream. Have you ever tried to decipher the ingredient list of any these products? Reading a label won’t tell you anything if you don’t know what that ingredient list means.

Some consumers believe today’s personal care products contain man-made chemicals that might be dangerous. Yet researchers counter that based on the best evidence available, cosmetics and personal care products are perfectly safe to use.

The FDA has authority over cosmetics in a very similar fashion than it does to food and drugs.  There are two important laws protecting consumers, one is the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which states that products cannot contain anything that may injure the user when used in a “customary and usual” manner. The exception is for hair dyes, which have to be labeled that they may irritate skin on certain individuals if they contain a non-approved coal tar color. The other has to do with cosmetic labeling practices. If you have any question about the cosmetics you use, the FDA has a very consumer-friendly website at www.fda.gov/Cosmetics which answers a lot of questions about labeling, etc.

I’m an advocate of precautionary and preventative consumerism. Decisions we make today regarding how “green” we choose to live may well affect our well-being in the future.

What can we do? Research the toxicity of our favorite products online, purchase products that are truly organic and free of potentially caustic chemicals, or make your own products at home.

This is where the education part comes in. There are ways to uncover harmful ingredients in your personal care products, but it means taking time to do your own research.

Lisa Casperson is the owner of The Art of Hair on London, in Duluth. www.artofhaironlondon.com