Toxic chemicals in our environment threaten our rivers and lakes, our air, land, and oceans, and ultimately ourselves and our future.

Read more about it:

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/campaigns/toxics-free-future

There are harmful toxic ingredients in many products around in our house. Do we want to make our house a safer place for ourselves and our family? A safer place for children to grow up in?
“We look good, we smell good, and we have just exposed ourselves to 200 different chemicals a day through cosmetics” ~ U.S. News & World Report, Nov. 10, 1997

Do we suffer from headaches, dizziness, rashes, skin irritation, allergies, premature aging? Did we ever consider that our personal and skin care products may be causing problems for our health?

The health and nutrition of our skin is very important to our overall health. I bet we don’t realize the hundreds of chemicals we apply to our body every day; whether in the form of shampoo, hand cream, face cream, shaving cream and makeup. Even sunscreens can be hazardous to our skin because of the harsh chemicals within them. Toxic chemicals can have many negative impacts on our immune system. Why poison our skin when we can use safe alternatives that are 100% certified Toxic free?

Our skin is the largest organ of our body and it absorbs what we put on it. The personal and skin care products we use daily may have harmful petroleum derivatives, vinyl’s, and plastics that can have effects greater than just damaging the skin and making it older and less healthy…they can actually cause illness. Most off-the-shelf personal care products contain harmful ingredients that strip, coat, suffocate, and leave our skin vulnerable.

Here is a short overview of what has been found in everyday products:

Soaps and Detergents. Typical cleansers contain soaps and chemical detergents which dissolve our skin’s natural proteins and oils. Result is a reduced immune system. (Examples: sodium laureth sulfate, cocomido DEA and MEA).

Plastics/Pesticides/Antibacterials. Petroleum by-products coat our skin with a “plastic” layer, inhibiting its ability to breathe. Resulting in hormonal disruption, immune system malfunction and premature aging. (Examples: mineral oil, PEGs, propylene glycol, triclosan, butylene glycol, PVP, and acrylics).

Parabens. These chemicals, found in about 99 percent of cosmetics and body care products, mimic estrogen in the body. Animal studies have shown that parabens have adverse effects when injected beneath the skin. Some research indicates that a mother’s exposure during pregnancy could affect her male child’s fertility later in life. Parabens may appear on labels as alkylhydroxyparaben, alphahydroxybenzoate, propylparaben, or butylparaben.

Solvents. To release the properties of herbs, most companies extract them with solvents leaving the plant extract useless. These solvents penetrate our skin’s protective barrier and break down intercellular mortar. (Examples: isopropyl alcohol, i.e. SD40, propylene glycol and butylene glycol).

Synthetic Fragrances. Many ingredients found in synthetic fragrance can irritate our skin and strip away its natural protection. Complaints to the FDA concerning fragrance include asthma, headaches, dizziness, rashes, brown spots, violent coughing, vomiting, and skin irritation. (Examples: fragrance, perfume, and cologne).

Formaldehyde-Donning Preservatives. Preservatives have a tendency to become formaldehyde donors, releasing trace amounts of formaldehyde into the skin. Many preservatives are cellular toxins. Most important, formaldehyde causes discomfort to the joints and many other health issues. (Examples: DMD, hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea)

Color Pigments. Synthetic pigments contain heavy metal salts and deposit toxins onto our skin. Many can be carcinogenic. (Examples: FD&C plus pigment color numbers).

Rancid Oils. Very few oils are cold-pressed, so oils turn rancid very quickly from the heat used in extraction. As our skin releases these oils, the sun becomes a catalyst, activating these rancid oils. This causes our own skin’s oils to oxidate, which produces lots of free radicals and creates the environment for skin cancer and melanoma. (Examples: Most vegetable oils including sesame, almond, sunflower, and safflower; mineral oil).

Talc. If you are a parent, you may remember dusting your little one’s bottom with talcum powder during a diaper change. You probably didn’t know that you were exposing her delicate skin to a chemical that bears a close resemblance to asbestos. Research has indicated that the use of talcum powder can increase the risk of a certain type of ovarian cancer. While the risks of talc are still a controversial topic, why would you use it if you weren’t absolutely sure of its safety? Try substituting a sprinkle of corn starch wherever you need to keep skin dry.

Diethyl phthalates. When a research team from the National Center for Environmental Health measured levels of 24 environmental toxins in the bodies of 3,000 randomly selected people, the results came as quite a surprise. In particular, levels of diethyl phthalates were much higher than anyone predicted they might be. Found in soaps, perfumes, nail polish, mosquito repellents, and many other personal care products, these chemicals act as hormone mimics, disrupting normal hormone function or even causing birth defects. Diethyl phthalates soak easily through the skin and build up in the body over time. They may appear on labels as 1,2-benzenedicarbolic acid or diethyl ester.

If we value our health, find a healthy alternative and dispose toxic products.

Educate ourself and take part in the mission to create millions of toxic free homes.

What Is the Environment?

When most people think of the word “environment,” they think of forests, oceans, or mountains. In cancer research, however, scientists define the environment as everything outside the body that enters and interacts with it. This interaction is called an exposure. So, environmental exposures can include such factors as sunshine, radiation, hormones, viruses, bacteria, and chemicals in the air, water, food, and workplace, as well as lifestyle choices like cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption (more than 2 drinks/day), an unhealthful diet, lack of exercise, or sexual behavior that increases one’s exposure.

Read more about it: Cancer and the Environment