How often do you think about the personal body care products you use everyday? Have you done your homework to research the product ingredients before your buy them and put them on your body? Have you used a google search on those hard to pronounce synthetic substances to determine if there are any concerns or warnings regarding how they may affect your health?

Unfortunately if you are like most people the answer is no because you feel too busy or worse yet you assume they are safe. Remember some of what you put on your skin is absorbed directly into the body and can harm you. The great news is today you will learn some important distinctions about body care products to help determine “are body care products helping or harming you”?

Body Care Product Standards

There are many body care products that people use on a regular basis which contain questionable ingredients, such as:
Safety of Personal Care Products

  • bar soap
  • bath gel
  • shampoo
  • hair conditioner and hair rinse
  • styling mouse and hair gel
  • under arm and body deodorant
  • toothpaste and mouthwash
  • bath powder
  • body and face creams
  • face and body lotions
  • perfumes and colognes
  • after shave and shaving gels

These products are used without basic caution or a detailed investigation of the ingredients and manufacturing process. While people often spend tens of thousands of dollars on these products over a life time they usually fail to understand the risks associated with putting them on their bodies. They are clueless to the possible consequences and side effects in addition to the impact on the ecosystem, environment and water supply.

Even though many products on the market use various advertising and labels that imply or even say “all natural, baby safe, gentle, herbal, food based, natural, organic or safe” it is in your best interest to read a little further. Contrary to what you may be thinking, there currently are not clear federal guidelines and regulations established and supervised to insure safe standards.

Unlike the FDA and USDA which does have regulatory guidelines and authority for enforcement no such protection exists regarding body care products. As a result the current situation is very confusing at the least and downright deceitful and the worst.

“Organic” Label on Body Care Products

Using the word “organic” is not specifically regulated on body care products as it is with food products and using the certified USDA National Organic Program. The USDA Organic Standards represent the “gold star” when considering personal body care products.

Many body care products have the word “organic” in their name or product label even though often the primary cleansing ingredients and preservatives are usually made with petrochemical and synthetic compounds.

Be sure to read the ingredients label to find out how many ingredients are organic and how many are petroleum based and synthetic.

Look for the following compounds in your products:

  • Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS),
  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES),
  • Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate,
  • Sodium Myreth Sulfate and consider yourself warned.

Click to also learn more about petrochemical carcinogen 1,4-dioxane which is added to a wide  variety of consumer personal care and household cleaning products.

The Great NEWS is that the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and several certified organic personal care brands have filed a suit to urge the USDA to regulate cosmetics and body care products as they do food.

When consumers pay a premium for high quality organic products they expect the main ingredients of the product to be made from certified organic agricultural material produced on organic farms, and not from petrochemicals or synthetic compounds. For more detailed information on what ingredients to be on the look out for and which companies and products scored best and worst under analysis please click to visit the Organic Consumers Association Coming Clean Campaign.

To learn more, click > petrochemical carcinogen 1,4-dioxane
For one of my favorite brands, click >  Dr. Bronner’s

Check Your Personal Care Ingredients

How safe are your body care products?

Find a day on your busy calendar when you can do an audit of your personal body care products to review the ingredients. Then you can check the Organic Consumers Association website to see how your products rate compared to others.

Remember today you have learned some key distinctions about body care products and the next step depends on you to determine,

Are your body care products helping or harming you”?

PS: The beauty industry controls billions of dollars by manipulation of consumers self image and using make overs and make up. Their vanity arsenal includes: botox, cleansers, cosmetics (base, blush, eye liner, lipstick, mascara, etc.), creams, fake nails, lotions, nail polish, teeth whiteners, scrubs, and other products.

Our next blog post will share: Billions for Beauty and Bad for Body