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Bath & Body |
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skin, the largest organ of the human body, protects us in many ways.
Amazingly, it is also porous, allowing the body's waste to be
eliminated - and allowing substances to be absorbed. |
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New! From soap to toothpaste to shampoo, we all use cosmetics in daily life. Do you know what ingredients are used and who watches out for their safety? Learn more about these daily-use products and how you can be a savvy shopper. Click to View "Dangerously Beautiful"
Good Enough To Eat
When a substance is absorbed through the skin, we may not taste it. But, we ingest it all the same. Actually, not exactly the same because when we eat food it is metabolized and broken down. When we
Did You Know?
• The average adult uses 9 cosmetic products with 126 unique chemical ingredients each day? (source: www.ewg.org)
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The appearance of the USDA Organic Seal on any product (including
cosmetics) means 95 - 100% of the ingredients are certified organic
(not including water & salt).
ingest a product through our skin, it goes directly into our blood stream and can have a more profound affect. For example, researchers have found parabens - preservatives used both for food and personal care products—behave like estrogen in the bodies of laboratory animals when applied topically, but not when administered orally. (P. D. Darbre, et al. 2004. Concentrations of Parabens in Human Breast Tumours. Journal of Applied Toxicology v.24, i.1, 1jan04.)
Regulation
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the cosmetic industry,
which includes all personal care products, such as shampoo, deodorant,
shaving cream, cologne, perfume, etc.
According
to the FDA, "With the exception of colors and certain prohibited
ingredients, a cosmetic manufacturer may use essentially any raw
material in a products and market it without prior FDA approval." (FDA,
2005) Of the over 10,000 ingredients used in cosmetics, the FDA has
prohibited 8 ingredients and allows restricted use of 3 ingredients. By
comparison, for cosmetic products, the European Union prohibits the use
of over 1,300 ingredients classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or
toxic for reproduction and restricts approximately 60 ingredients.
Read Labels
Federal Law requires all cosmetic labels to list ingredients in
descending order of amounts. The good news: if we are educated
consumers we can select only healthy products that meet our own
personal standards. Need help knowing what to look for? Click link for
a chart of Top 5 Personal Care Ingredients to Avoid. Also visit: Cosmeticdatabase.com
LMG Articles of Interest - Healthy Living Library
Links
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