Toxic Cosmetics

I have never been one to use much in the way of cosmetics - traditional stuff on your face. I have so many allergies to metal and fragrances that the most I ever used was a foundation and a little blush and of course lip stick. Nothing around the eyes or they would swell shut.

When I quit my job as the business office manager of a local hospital and was "just a housewife" I stopped using any make up except when I was going out. Gradually I got used to seeing myself without make up and stopped using it all together. When I went back to work at the grocery store as a cashier, there was no point in wearing make up - you just sweat it off in an hour.

Technically, the term cosmetics refers to anything you put on your body such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, hair color, hair spray, nail polish and remover, artificial nails, tanning products, lotions and potions of all kinds.

According to William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. in his daily news letter, cosmetics should be really be called Toxmetics. He reported on research from Chemical Safe Skincare a UK based group that women used an average of 12 products a day for a possible combination of 175 chemical compounds some of which are suspect carcinogens.

It is not just women who face this dilemma, but men and children also face the hazards. As adults we are responsible for our own health and will have to deal with our choices. But it is heartbreaking to think that we are unknowingly putting our children at risk. Is that bubble bath safe?

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According to HSI, a group called Campaign for Safe Cosmetics issued a press release to warn consumers that several popular children's bath products contain a cancer-causing petrochemical with the cumbersome name of 1,4-Dioxane. This chemical is considered a probable human carcinogen and a proven animal carcinogen. Johnson's Baby Wash, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, and Hello Kitty Bubble Bath are all reported to contain 1,4-Dioxane.

The folks at Chemical Safe Skincare have put two widely used cosmetic chemicals high on the "Must Avoid" list: parabens and phthalates. Studies have linked both chemicals to disruption of normal hormone function and increased breast cancer risk.

Parabens are antimicrobial preservatives used in deodorants, creams, body sprays, and many other cosmetics. Phthalates are found in deodorant, perfume, nail polish, and hair spray. Their use has also been linked to lung, liver, and kidney damage.

Needless to say, many groups, such as Chemical Safe Skincare (ChemicalSafeSkincare.co.uk), Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (safecosmetics.org), and others are currently waging campaigns that call for the ban of certain ingredients and a requirement that all cosmetic products carry ingredients labels.

In the meantime, there are two things you can do: 1) Share this e-Alert with friends and family to let them know that toxic chemicals might be hiding in many of the personal care products we use every day, and 2) Choose safe cosmetics.

Here are three sources that offer cosmetic products free of harmful chemicals:

• Raintree Nutrition (rain-tree.com)
• Lluvia Skin Renewal System (amazonianherb.com)
• Elave (elave.co.uk)

Thanks to www.hsibaltimore.com for this information.

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For the last couple of years, I have sold Masters Miracle products which include a deodorant stick that does not contain aluminum. The gel is the only product I have found that I can use around my eyes. If you are interested let me know, I can get you a better price that the published web sites.

You have probably read about the testing done on hair dyes and the possible toxic effects on the body. Millions of women dye their hair every day and more and more men are jumping on the band wagon. One more advertising program that has convinced us that only the young are intelligent or worth while.

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I was talking with a man from the meat market the other day. He was complaining that a new meat market that just opened was stealing his business. He said their meat was grass fed and could not compete with his grain fed beef. I told him I had heard that grass fed was healthier. He just shrugged and said his tasted better. Guess I will have to go check it out. Their meat is less expensive because they do not pay the feed lot, grain fed, hormone injected costs. One question I will have to ask is -- has the meat been frozen at any time.

I bought a 10# chub of ground chuck the other day. When I got home my daughter put the whole thing in the freezer. Now how do I go about splitting it up. My husband offered to use his shop saw. I think it might be a better idea to wait until I have 2 days together off from work, defrost the whole thing and cook up several things with it and then freeze again. What do you think? Would that be fresh left overs?

until next time smile
Sharon
(c) Answers For Your Health