Hands up if…
- You have suffered from dry skin.
- You have spent copious amounts of money to fix your dry skin.
- You find something works for a little while, but you have to continue using it in order to not have dry skin.
- You’ve tried a product and it makes your dry skin worse.
- You find something that helps your dry skin, but only for a little while.
- You find something that helps your dry skin, but it makes you break out or creates a rash.
These are all things that I have struggled with throughout my life. I wish I had a started making my products sooner. As a long time suffer of skin ailments, I have found that mainstream or conventional bath and beauty products containing harmful ingredients or high levels of alcohol will work for a short time but inevitably fail in their goal. You need to continue using them in order to have any benefits, the moment you stop, is the moment the dry skin, or the rash comes back.
In other instances a product looks promising but then you come to find it’s packed full of skin damaging chemicals, or ingredients that can cause some pretty serious health issues. What are these issues?
Well nearly all of these stem from products containing endocrine disruptors. Which basically mimic or substitute in for your bodies natural hormones. If you don’t know already these hormones are in a delicate balance in the body and key hormones need to be produced to have healthy cellular replication. So, what are some of these disruptors?
- Formaldehyde
- Paraformaldehyde
- Methylene glycol
- Quaternium 15, which releases formaldehyde.
- Mercury, can damage the kidneys and nervous system.
- Dibutyl and diethylhexyl phthalates, which disrupt hormones and damage the reproductive system.
- Isobutyl and isopropyl parabens. These disrupt hormones and harm the reproductive system.
- The long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, which have been linked to cancer.
- M- and o-phenylenediamine, used in hair dyes, which irritate and sensitize the skin, damage DNA and can cause cancer.
These are just a few to scratch the surface of ingredients that can cause harm in common cosmetics and skin care. So what do we suggest?
ALWAYS read ingredients before making a purchase, and do a patch test. If you start having health issues, or feeling generally off, look to your products, personal and household as they may hold many answers. In the meantime, ditch and switch slowly.