The day I’m on my deathbed, I’ll scare anyone observing me to the other side before me. Without make-up, my face is nearly invisible, and I have this crazy hair that dances in every direction if not flat ironed into submission.
I’m one of those women who won’t leave my house without makeup, and I also use lotion from head-to-toe. I’m too vain to show the real me in public. But I do admit that slathering all those chemicals on day-after-day does concern me. I have enough health problems. I don’t need to pollute myself further.
However, there are safer products and ways of checking how yours rate on the safety scale. Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep is an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products where you can look up the safety of a product or ingredient. The database provides safety ratings for tens of thousands of personal care products.
Skin Deep lists a hazard rating and a data availability rating for products and ingredients. The hazard score is on a 1-10 scale with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest hazard. A 1-2 score is believed to have low hazard, 3-6 is moderate, and 7-10 is rated high. The data availability rating reflects how much scientists know about an ingredient’s safety.
If you own a product that is rated high on the hazard list, it’s suggested that you do not dispose of it down the drain. This adds to the growing concern of water pollution. Tossing it in the trash is not ideal but considered a better option.
You can find extensive information on the EWG’s Skin Deep site about products and ingredients. Try it out for yourself. Enter the names of your shampoo, conditioner, make-up, and skin care products into the search bar. You may be quite surprised at what’s in your favorite products.
For safer skin care products, check out Beauty Counter, products that work beautifully without compromising safety.
(Information gathered from EWG’s Skin Deep)
©2015, Mary K. Doyle
Comments