Archive for the ‘Toxins and Detoxification’ Category

Toxic Skin Care and Makeup

Many snythetic ingredients used in skin care and cosmetic products in the United States have been banned in Europe for decades due to their known links as dangerous health hazards and skin destroyers. Over 450 personal care ingredients have been outlawed over the past 67 years by the European Union, whereas only nine have been outlawed by the United States FDA over the same time period.

What’s Really In Your Perfume?

What Toxic Ingredients Are In Your Perfume?

You may already be aware that most mass-produced, commercial perfumes and fragrance products contain a volatile form of alcohol as the primary ingredient. But did you know that this alcohol is so dangerous that purchasing, possessing or handling it requires a special license issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms? The secondary ingredients in commercial products usually include a vast array of unrecognizable chemicals, some with harmful toxic properties.

Alcohol-Free Therapeutic Herbal Fragrance Blends

One of our primary goals at Purely Clear is to help you understand that whatever you put on your skin is absorbed into your blood and cells, and can directly affect your overall health and well-being. Our Therapeutic Herbal Fragrance Blends are alcohol-free and contain essential oils, herbal extracts, and trace minerals found in nature which are known to have a beneficial effect on the body. All Purely Clear oil and fragrance blends contain rose oil which, combined with trace minerals, carries an electrical charge that enhances cellular energy levels and the overall health of your skin and body.

Take charge of your health and well-being. Experience the beautiful herbal fragrances from Purely Clear and discover their many therapeutic benefits.

Purely Clear products are available through our website www.purelyclear.com, select salons, spas, health food stores, and our newest location, Naturally Pure Spa, located in the Southern Market, 5400 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN, 588-0274.

What is sodium laurel sulfate anyway?

Sodium laurel sulfate is one of the most toxic, synthetic substances you can put on your skin.  SLS is an engine degreaser and a solvent used to clean grease off garage floors.  If you were to drink a spoonful of SLS  you would die; it’s just that toxic!  SLS is a dangerous ingredient you would not think would be found in any skin care product.   However, sodium laurel sulfate is used in shampoos, facial cleansers, lotions, soaps, etc.  for its foaming abilities.

Sodium laurel sulfate causes eye irritations, skin rashes, hair loss, scalp scurf, and allergic reactions.  It penetrates the brain, heart, eyes, and liver.  It can also keep children’s eyes from developing properly.  Remember, whatever you put on your skin it is immediately absorbed into your bloodstream.

Ingredients to avoid

Go grab the bottles of skin care products you currently use. You might find that your personal care products contain one or probably more of many potentially dangerous ingredients.

Here are a few of the most common suspicious ingredients:

* 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.

* 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”.

So, do you want to put these chemicals on your skin? Hopefully not…

You’d be better served by switching to skin care products made of plant names you recognize, can pronounce, and could even eat (if you had to).