{"id":1348,"date":"2012-04-18T11:25:05","date_gmt":"2012-04-18T16:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newstage.betterlifemaids.com\/?p=379"},"modified":"2012-04-18T11:25:05","modified_gmt":"2012-04-18T16:25:05","slug":"spotting-toxins-in-everyday-beauty-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newstage.betterlifemaids.com\/spotting-toxins-in-everyday-beauty-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotting Toxins In Everyday Beauty Products"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m41IeJobWFo\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"463\" height=\"261\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The video does not necessarily relate to beauty products, but the principle is the same. The same toxic chemicals that we so rigorously avoid in our cleaning practice are being slather directly on our skin.<\/p>\n<p>When we set out to create our green cleaning company, Better Life Maids, we did it with the intent of ridding our household (and our clients\u2019) of harmful cleaning substances that pollute the environment and can be problematic for us and those we love. In our quest to educate you, our loyal readers, we branch out occasionally to inform you of other areas our lives are impacted by toxic substances \u2013 sometimes right under our noses. Literally.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s post focuses on beauty products and the ingredients that are best avoided if you wish to reduce the amount of toxins in your and your family\u2019s lives. Yes, this does mean you\u2019ll have to read ingredient labels. The extra time you take to do this could mean the difference between being healthy and suffering from some weird malaise that no one seems to be able to diagnose.<\/p>\n<p>Here goes:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Triclosan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not that long ago anti-bacterial agents were all the rage and appearing in just about every type of product you can think of. Beauty products are no exception. Triclosan is a preservative and anti-bacterial agent used in products as diverse as toothpaste to deodorant and many others. It\u2019s not been proven conclusively that using it every day is a good thing. What is known is that it\u2019s a known skin irritant. It\u2019s also a suspect in hormone disruption and could, unintentionally, aid in creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria (a very bad thing). Look for products that don\u2019t contain Triclosan. Instead, use regular (non-anti-bacterial enhanced) soaps and products that contain thyme, an effective, all-natural anti-bacterial agent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Parabens<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Parabens have been used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products for years as preservatives. They\u2019re relatively cheap to produce and are effective at the job of preserving products. Parabens can be found in moisturizers, shampoos, personal lubricants, shaving gels, toothpaste and makeup. Parabens are easy to spot on labels because they all begin with \u201cethyl,\u201d \u201cmethyl,\u201d \u201cpropyl\u201d and \u201cbutyl.\u201d Parabens are suspected of mimicking estrogen (hormone disruption) and have been found in low concentrations in breast cancer tumors, although no direct link has been found between paraben use and cancer. There is some evidence to suggest that use of parabens and exposure to sunlight can hasten skin aging. (Ironically, parabens are often included in anti-aging products.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Phthalates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pronounced <em>thalates<\/em>, this frequently used ingredient shows up in a number of places in our lives, not just in beauty care products. Think plastics, medical devices, glue, building materials and more. (Yuck.) Phthalates are used to gel, emulsify, coat, lubricate or stabilize end products. Phthalates are frequently found in nail polish, perfume, hair spray and makeup and is a known hormone disruptor like the two ingredients above and a suspected carcinogen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sodium Laureth Sulfate\/Sodium Laurel Ether Sulfate<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These ingredients are used in shampoos, soaps and toothpaste to make them foamy. They are suspected hormone disruptors and carcinogens, although this has not been proven. They can cause skin and eye irritation, however. Sodium Laurel Ether Sulfate (SLES) has been known to contain 1,4-dioxane, a known carcinogen (discussed next). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been monitoring the levels of 1,4-dioxane in beauty products and the industry has been slowly phasing it out. You\u2019ll know products are SLES free (and, therefore, 1,4-dioxane free) because the product label will likely proclaim it boldly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1,4-Dioxane<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is a process, not an ingredient, so you won\u2019t see it listed on any product labels. The process, called ethoxylation, refers to an industrial process whereby ethylene oxide is added to phenols and alcohols to create phthalates and SLES. There is no evidence the <em>process<\/em> causes problems in humans, animals or the environment, but the additive 1,4-dioxane is another matter. It is a suspected carcinogen, is toxic to animals and humans, leeches easily into groundwater and is on the watch list of the FDA (see above). In 2008, testing sponsored by the U.S. Organic Consumers Association found 1,4-dioxane in nearly half of the organic personal care products tested. If that\u2019s true for organic products, what do you think the percentage is for non-organic products?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fragrance<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Such a simple concept, right? You\u2019d think fragrance would be a natural additive but it\u2019s typically not. In fact, a fragrance can contain up to <em>500 different chemical ingredients<\/em>. And you\u2019ll never know this because fragrance is protected by the beauty industry\u2019s \u201ctrade secret laws.\u201d This means you won\u2019t see the ingredients in fragrance listed anywhere. It\u2019s a secret. What\u2019s not a secret is that many products contain fragrances that are composed of harmful chemicals that can make us sick including allergens, hormone disruptors, neurotoxins, etc. So any time you buy a product with a pleasant smell, you really don\u2019t know what you\u2019re getting.<\/p>\n<p>Never fear \u2013 the solution isn\u2019t to stop using beauty products. You can see how your brands stack up in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ewg.org\/skindeep\/\">Environmental Working Group\u2019s Skin Deep database<\/a>. You can also look up individual ingredients, in case you\u2019re curious to know more about them. You can also check out \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/More-Dirty-Looks-Products---Cosmetics\/dp\/0738213969\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319480589&amp;sr=1-1\">No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products \u2013 and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics<\/a>\u201d by O\u2019Connor and Spunt.<\/p>\n<p>If you have read this far its not to late for a shameless plug. <a href=\"http:\/\/cleanhappens.com\">Better Life<\/a> our co-branded retail partner has recently released a line of hand soaps and lotions that are free from all of these harmful ingredients. Its a safe place to start when looking for new products.<\/p>\n<p>Like anything in life, it pays to know what you\u2019re using. Here\u2019s to a greener lifestyle!<\/p>\n<p>Founded in 2008, Better Life Maids, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a professional \u201cgreen\u201d house cleaning service. Having created a unique partnership with Better Life, a natural household cleaning products manufacturer, Better Life Maids is the first franchise green house cleaning service to co-brand with a product line, which creates both a greater consumer experience and a better franchisee opportunity. The service and products are centered being earth\/environmentally friendly in order to protect your home and family from the ill effects of toxic products while also protecting the planet. More information about Better Life Maids green house cleaning franchise can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betterlifemaids.com\/\">https:\/\/www.betterlifemaids.com<\/a> or to find out more about Better Life and their line of natural household cleaning products visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cleanhappens.com\/\">http:\/\/www.cleanhappens.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The video does not necessarily relate to beauty products, but the principle is the same. The same toxic chemicals that we so rigorously avoid in our cleaning practice are being slather directly on our skin. When we set out to create our green cleaning company, Better Life Maids, we did it with the intent of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Spotting Toxins In Everyday Beauty Products - Better Life Maids of St Louis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newstage.betterlifemaids.com\/spotting-toxins-in-everyday-beauty-products\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spotting Toxins In Everyday Beauty Products - Better Life Maids of St Louis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The video does not necessarily relate to beauty products, but the principle is the same. 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