Why skin care is important to your health

When it comes to your health there are quite a few areas in your life that may need attention: the food you eat, the exercise you do, the hours you sleep and how you manage your time so your mind and body are in peak condition.

If you are reading this post you are probably on top of your fitness regime. You understand the importance of staying active. You also appreciate good quality fitness gear that helps you to feel good when you are taking part in whatever sport and fitness activities you love.

I am guessing you are also a person who considers the food you put into your body. Do you check the ingredients in a product before buying it?

What about your skin care products?

Have you considered how the ingredients in the products you use may affect your health?

There are almost 13,000 chemicals used in cosmetics and only about 10% gave been evaluated for safety ̂. This is a scary statistic and one that really hits home when you think about how many products we use on or skin on a daily basis!

So what can you do to get the chemicals out and the good stuff in?

Read labels

Just like you read food labels, read the labels of your cosmetic products. Your skin is the biggest organ in your body so you should be just as strict with this as you are with food. Specific chemicals to avoid are:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS . is a widely used and inexpensive chemical found in many mainstream personal hygiene products such as shampoos, toothpastes, mouthwashes, bodywash, soaps, detergents and body wash. Whilst unsubstantiated rumours abound that it is a carcinogen these have not been proven. What has been proven is that it is known to cause skin irritation. So should definitely be avoided for children and those with sensitive skin at the least.
• Talc. Lots of information on this one. Essentially there appears to be really bad talc (which contains asbestos but isn’t in any consumer products since the 1970’s) and just the average bad talk. Although tests have been inconclusive and appear to only result in small increases, there are links to a fair few cancers including: ovarian and endometrial. Essentially the research isn’t conclusive and hasn’t been done completely but why take the chance
• Fragrances, over and above annoying hayfever from fragrances, many people develop skin irritation from fragrances, especially those containing alcohol. Alcohol also tends to dry the skin so rather opt for either natural fruit based fragrances that have real names (and not chemical ones)or go for fragrance free. You can always use a natural alcohol fragrance free oil on top if you want to smell pretty.
• Toluene. Ironically toluene occurs naturally in crude oil and in the tolu tree. From a tree you say – surely its then good for you. That would be a no, similar to poison ivy, not all things natural are good for you. Toluene has a number of serious health concerns surrounding your central nervous system. The CDC writes “Effects can be temporary, such as headaches, dizziness, or unconsciousness. However, effects such as incoordination, cognitive impairment, and vision and hearing loss may become permanent with repeated exposure, especially at concentrations associated with intentional solvent abuse. High levels of toluene exposure during pregnancy, such as those associated with solvent abuse, may lead to retardation of mental abilities and growth in children. Other health effects of potential concern may include immune, kidney, liver, and reproductive effects.”

Please note: also do your research, there is a lot of misinformation (similar to the anti vac campaigns) that is incorrect about certain chemicals causing cancer and other side effects, but these have never been proven by someone with a medical degree, don’t fall for the hype!

Check for environmental testing / by products

It’s great to have products that are free from chemicals and although it doesn’t necessarily have an impact on your skin, to be the kindest to our planet, ensure products are not tested on animals. A great product that is 100% pure and natural Australian certified organic, vegan and not tested on animals is Rosehip.

Another thing to consider is microbeads. These are used in exfoliating personal care products, toothpastes and in biomedical and health-science research. Microbeads can cause plastic particle water pollution and pose an environmental hazard for aquatic animals in freshwater and ocean water. They are essentially polluting out oceans and these have now been banned in America and other countries. You can find out more and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics if you find you are passionate about this.

̂Dr Mercola (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/05/13/toxic-chemicals-cosmetics.aspx)

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