I bet you read labels more now than you used to. I bet you know what's in your tomato sauce, breakfast cereal and soft drink. But are you reading the labels of the soaps, shampoos, creams and lotions (even sunscreen) that you put on your body? Did you know that what you put on your body is very quickly absorbed into your body? Not only are you what you eat, but you are what you bath in and slather on!
If you don't believe this, there is an old trick you can try. Put a pealed clove of garlic between your toes. In a few minutes you will be able to taste the garlic. Amazing!
Your skin is the largest organ of your body and it's job is to hold everything together in a beautiful way. It also make Vit D from sunshine and expels toxins through sweating. This incredible organ will soak up everything you put on it in a matter of minutes.
Your skin, however, does not have the same capacity to filter and break down toxins that your stomach, liver, kidneys, etc have. So toxic substances rubbed on the skin are absorbed and can find their way to vital organs where they can do some serious damage.
Drinking lots of pure water, taking in plenty of organic, whole-food nutrition, and sweating a lot will help you detox - but why not avoid using these toxins in the first place.
Here is a partial list of ingredients to avoid. You can find more on line with a google search.
A good rule to remember is "Never put on your body what you would not eat!"
* Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum – Petroleum products that coat the skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating a build-up of toxins, which in turn accumulate and can lead to dermatologic issues. Slows cellular development, which can cause you to show earlier signs of aging. Suspected cause of cancer. Disruptive of hormonal activity. By the way, when there’s an oil spill in the ocean, don’t they rush to clean it up – fast? Why put that stuff on your skin?
* Parabens – Widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic industry (including moisturizers). An estimated 13,200 cosmetic and skin care products contain parabens. Studies implicate their connection with cancer. They have hormone-disrupting qualities – mimicking estrogen – and interfere with the body’s endocrine system.
* Phenol carbolic acid– Found in many lotions and skin creams. Can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma and even death from respiratory failure.
* Propylene glycol – Used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and as a carrier in fragrance oils. Shown to cause dermatitis, kidney or liver abnormalities, and may inhibit skin cell growth or cause skin irritation.
* Acrylamide– Found in many hand and face creams. Linked to mammary tumors in lab research.
* Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)– Found in car washes, engine degreasers, garage floor cleaners… and in over 90% of personal care products! SLS breaks down the skin’s moisture barrier, easily penetrates the skin, and allows other chemicals to easily penetrate. Combined with other chemicals, SLS becomes a “nitrosamine”, a potent class of carcinogen. It can also cause hair loss. SLES is sometimes disguised with the labeling “comes from coconut” or “coconut-derived”.
* Toluene – Poison! Danger! Harmful or fatal if swallowed! Harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Made from petroleum or coal tar, and found in most synthetic fragrances. Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) contains toluene. Other names may include benzoic and benzyl.
* Dioxane– Found in compounds known as PEG, Polysorbates, Laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Common in a wide range of personal care products. The compounds are usually contaminated with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane, easily absorbed through the skin.
Dioxane’s carcinogenicity was first reported in 1965 and later confirmed in studies including one from the National Cancer Institute in 1978. Nasal passages and liver are the most vulnerable. Dioxane is easily removed during the manufacturing process by “vacuum stripping”. Warning: It is a synthetic derivative of coconut. Watch for hidden language on labels, such as “comes from coconut”.
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